Production method
The Etna lemon production technique is traditionally associated to the town of Acireale, on which lava soil it grows until the XIX century. The legend tells that, after a Summer shower, an abandoned lemon tree remounted and gave out of season fruits with a greenish skin, fully ripen and with a succulent pulp. It was the lava soil strong draining power to consent that miracle.
xxxThe Enta lemon tree peculiarity is the constant production. Thanks to the Forcing technique on the lava soil it gives the unique Summer lemon. This is not a different variety, but a result of the Summer remounting obtained forcing the plant to blossom again and give fruits out of season. The fruits are fully ripen in the following Summer, in a period of the year no other lemons are produced.
xxxVerdello juice, tested in laboratory, shows high concentration of vitamin C, flavonoids and phenolic compounds, even higher than other seasonal varieties have. The Forcing method, through the reprise of watering, gives this third blossoming and excellent Summer lemons.
Production area
The Etna Lemon produced by around 50 producers in Acireale, Aci Castello, Aci Sant’Antonio, Giarre, Mascali, Santa Venerina municipalities and many others on the Ionian ridge. On this lands the lemon grows up to 400 meters above the sealevel, a fact that enriches the organoleptic features of this valuable fruit.
Varieties
The flagship of the Consortium is the Verdello lemon: although is not a distinct variety, this extraordinary fruit is the result of the Summer remount, obtained with the specific agricultural technique of Forcing. During the year, until about July 25th, citrus growers apply on the cultivar the watering suspension to later gradually reprise it. The Forcing gives excellent Summer lemon in the Catania plain.
The Verdello is the unique lemon industrially harvested and commercialized in the northern hemisphere between June and August: a fruit producted in controlled supply chain conditions in competition with lemons that in Summer arrive from Argentina or South Africa. Its juice is healty and rich in nutrients. Laboratory tests show its high concentration of vitamin C, total flavonoids and phenolic compounds even higher of those present in seasonal varieties.
Source:
- Etna Lemon Association