A natural antibiotic…Sweet and crunchy, is the red gold of Calabria!
Origin
The sweet red onion from Tropea, with a round and elongated shape, is a very ancient vegetable that belongs to the Allium Cepa family, originary from the center-west Asia. Eaten already 3000 years ago by Egyptians, this veggie arrived in Italy with the Phoenicians, who imported it from Calabria where is still now a day cultivated in the Tyrrhenian area, from Cosenza to Vibo Valentia. During the Bourbon supremacy it spread in the North of Europe, and afterwards, during the XX century, in the Americas too. The historical area where this ingredient is cultivated (Capo Vaticano and Ricadi). The name Tropea was given because the exportation of this product to other countries departed from Tropea.
Cookit
The IGP mark makes this ingredient unique, picked from May till July and, thanks to new developed techniques, it can be found in supermarkets all year long, fresh or dehydrated, like the famous onion braid! Famous for its sweetness and the slightly spicy taste, the sweet onion from Tropea is the real protagonist of the Mediterranean cuisine: thanks to the delicate taste, it is perfect to be eaten raw in a salad with fresh tomatoes, olives and oregano, but also au gratin.
Did you know
The legend says that the original seed of this onion, called cipuimi in dialect, was brought by a mariner from Pargheria, one of the first village to cultivate this veggie. When this onion was not selling much, farmers had the habit of cursing at the “à lindinea chi portau à simenza”, at the bat who brought the seeds.
