 all paintings and mosaics uncovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum suggest that citrus fruit trees were being cultivated in the zone around the Bay of Naples as long ago as the 1st century. The reputation of the lemons of Sorrento may not be that ancient but they have been widely appreciated for centuries because of their exceptional aroma and flavor. The lemons are cultivated on the Sorrentine Peninsula and the island of Capri in Naples province. The limbs of the trees are customarily trained on high (at least 10 feet) wooden trellises (usually of chestnut), over which straw mats or screens are stretched to protect the fruit from atmospheric adversities and assure even ripening. The lemons are elliptical in shape and medium to medium-large in size. Their weight is no less than 2.8 ounces. The Sorrento lemon has a yellow, highly odorous peel of medium thickness. The pulp is straw yellow in color and yields a large quantity of juice with an elevated level of acidity. Like other lemon trees, the Sorrento variety produces fruit all year round but it is at its best between May and the end of October. The lemons grow on a total of about 1,970 acres and output amounts to about 30,000 tons annually. Orchards may not contain more than 344 trees to the acre and maximum production is fixed at 14.2 tons an acre. Used in numerous food preparations, the lemons are a principal ingredient of Limoncello, a liqueur that has enjoyed growing success on foreign markets and especially the American in recent years. Limoncello is a traditional beverage of the Sorrento zone.
|
