Golden yellow in color with a zesty flavor, they add a special touch to pasta dishes!
Origin
When you think of tomatoes, you usually think immediately of the red kind. But not everyone knows that the first tomatoes the Europeans encountered in the 16th century were actually yellow. The Italian name for them highlights this fact –’pomodoro’ from ‘pomo’ (bulb) and ‘d’oro’ (golden). Today, yellow tomatoes are getting trendier, increasingly used by chefs and cooking enthusiasts. Among the different types, one particularly special one is the Piennolo yellow tomato. It has come to us thanks to the work of Camaldolese monks from Nola, who cultivated them in their gardens and upheld the tradition for centuries. They’re still grown with manual techniques today, using support stakes to keep the fruit above the ground. Cultivation occurs between April and September, while the harvest is from the end of July until mid-September.
Cookit
Oval shaped, golden hued and a long pointed tip–these traits make this tomato unique. They are zesty yet soft and delicate. They have a fresh fragrance and balanced acidity. The high pectin content, which is a thickener from polysaccharide from plant sources, lets you make creamy, thick sauces in just minutes. They’re perfect in pastas dishes, and as a side with cornbread, as per local tradition.
Did you know
Also called yellow vine tomatoes, and with names in the local dialect like ‘spunzillo’ or ‘pummarulella ‘e mazzo’, this variety has an elongated oval shape. They grow in bunches and are hung from people’s balconies, and so are often referred to locally as a type of ‘pendulum’. The terrain where they’re grown is the result of millennia of lava stratification, and they’re hard to reach because they’re located so high up. For these reasons, in Naples, they’re often called ‘mountain tomatoes’.
