HIGHEST QUALITY TOMATOES FROM MOUNT VESUVIUS VOLCANO.
Located along the coast of southern Italy, mild temperatures in winter months and summer heat, Mt. Vesuvius tomatoes are considered the best in the world. Setting the tomatoes grown along the slopes of this volcano south of Naples apart from every other tomato is their superb quality and sweetness. DOP certification (PDO or Protected Designation of Origin) certifies that these tomatoes are grown in a limited area of the volcano that has a unique soil composition, exposure to the sun, and temperature differences due to the altitude. High in sulphur and other mineral content, the soil in this sun drenched part of southern Italy is vastly different from what is found in the valleys nearby, and you can really tell the difference in the tomatoes. Golden color tomatoes introduced from Peru to this part of Italy in the 1700s grew into qualities like San Marzano, Piennolo, Corbarino and others. Their bright red color is attributed to the altitude and temperature difference between day and night.
SAN MARZANO - ARTISAN CULTIVATION, HAND PICKED, HAND PROCESSED
Signora Maria Sorrentina and her family work the rows of San Marzano tomato vines, making sure they are properly watered and positioned. Soil composition and location do the rest, assuring the San Nicola dei Miri brand of San Marzano tomatoes will be the best available anywere. After selectively hand picking, they are peeled and manually placed in each jar using a secret recipe handed down by Nonna Giulia. They are packed in water so that the full flavor of the intact tomato comes out. The San Nicola dei Miri tomatoes are not certified organic, but they actually are grown and processed organically, from freshly picked and vine ripened product, with no artificial ingredients or preservatives. The best you can get.PIENNOLO TOMATOES FROM MT. VESUVIUS - THE SWEETEST LITTLE TOMATO IN THE WORLD
These small cherry tomatoes unique to the Mt. Vesuvius slopes are sweet with a thick pulp and low water content. They can be found hanging unrefrigerated in clusters outside peoples' homes from when they are harvested in September until late January, providing a beautiful bright red backdrop to the area around the Mt. Vesuvius volcano. Piennolo, in fact, is a Neapolitan dialectal word that means "hanging". La Signora Maria Sorrentina and her family grow the Piennolo tomatoes in the same area where they grow the San Marzano vines. They are hand picked and processed, then canned in water and shipped to us in California.PIENNOLO TOMATOES FESTIVAL - MOVIE
Click on the movie link to see a video filmed during yearly at the Boscotrecase Mt. Vesuvius area festival of the Piennolo tomatoes. Agronomist Dr. Catello Pane explains everything about these small cherry tomatoes, how they are hung, and how they are usually prepared in local kitchens.
THE ZAMPINO FAMILY - NICOLA, ALBERTO, PASQUALE, AND SIGNORA MARIA SORRENTINA
With signora Maria Sorrentina as chief cook in the kitchen of their restaurant along the main street of Gragnano, this family of food artisans keeps to local food traditions born of the soil and sun of the Mt. Vesuvius area. Their production of Gentile pasta may very well be one of the best among the dozens of pasta factories of Gragnano, while the vegetable and fruit preserves with the San Nicola dei Miri brand spearheaded by signora Maria Sorrentina are of the highest quality.