DELICACIES OF WHITE FIG SANTOMIELE
The first look, the first word, the first taste… An ancient food loved by the Greeks and the Latins, the fig rededicated to contemporary food culture, returns to our tables in a new appearance. Processed according to traditional craftsmanship but resorting to modern technologies, the product becomes the protagonist. The story of Santomiele speaks of a family tradition that began in the early 1900s and of a fruit that is thousands of years old.
The TERROIR of Santomiele figs is a place with unique geographical and environmental characteristics of rare beauty. The Santomiele Laboratory is located in the Cilento National Park: the place of the soul. Figs are grown in a hilly environment. The hillsides where the plant is found are generally exposed to the southwest, at an average altitude of 100 to 400 meters above sea level on soils that belong to the rock formation called “flysch”: alternating clay and sandstone. The warm wind coming up from the sea keeps the habitat dry and positively affects the quality of the figs.
Santomiele FIGS belong to the precious “Dottato” cultivar, which is widespread throughout southern Italy. In particular, the protected product is that derived from a specific ecotype of the Dottato cultivar, which is being selected and spread in very particular places.
The product has unique and absolutely valuable characteristics: the flesh is typically pasty in texture, with a very sweet taste, amber-yellow in color, with predominantly empty achenes, small and with an almost entirely full internal body. The color of the skin of the dried fruit is uniform light yellow and acquires a brownish color when the fruit is processed, as in ancient farmer tradition, with a slow baking process. This is a decisive step both for sterilization and for the richness of the specific aromatic components, determined by the burning of olive and oak wood, enhanced by laurel leaves.
The Mediterranean diet, considered an “Intangible Heritage of Humanity” whose main promoter was the American scholar Ancel Keys involves a high consumption of bread, fruits, vegetables, herbs, cereals, olive oil, fish and wine (in moderate amounts) and dried fruits. Dried figs, are rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols, which, through their antioxidant activity, contribute to good arterial health.
CARPACCIO OF FIGS, intense in flavors, the aromas are those of forest and honey. Amber colors. It is cut into thin sheets with a slicer or by hand. Pairing with great aged cheeses, salads, or as a fine accompaniment to caviar and truffle.
MELASSA, made by cold-pressing dried figs. Used at breakfast, it is a strong energizer, recommended in combination with natural yogurt.
MELASSA with cheeses gives rise to unique flavor notes with ancient flavors. Used in cooking it creates new recipes. The combinations are endless: with green salads, on legume purees, for the refined lacquering of hot dishes.
FIG CONFETTURES, with bourbon vanilla or pears, are made with Dottato cultivar figs and very little sugar; they lend themselves elegantly to pairing with both savory and sweet dishes. The color is that of gold, and the flavors are delicate and fresh. Ingredients such as bourbon vanilla and pears give the jam new and original notes.
FAGOTTINO with green fig leaves enclose like a treasure chest the scents, flavors of sunny and strong lands. Figs, raisins, oranges and almonds enclosed in essence of these places, magical and forgotten by history. The intense scents and softness of the fruit make the FAGOTTINO the ancient symbol of Santomiele.
Santomiele revolutionized the world of figs by imposing a philosophy and building a brand that is now known worldwide, so much so that it even reached the table of Queen Elizabeth of England.
In 2018 Santomiele was nominated at the UN in New York to represent Europe at the day dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises. With a sustainable business model, Santomiele has managed to value human resources and local products, goals of the 2030 agenda launched by the United Nations and culminating in the adoption of a UN resolution approved by the General Assembly in April 2017.
In 2017 Vittorio Sgarbi, conferring the Pio Alferano Award, said, “The award to Santomiele is the award to the beauty of Nature.”
