Kale is one of the oldest brassicas in the world, originating over 4,000 years ago in the eastern Mediterranean basin. Exchanges with southern Italy were very common at the time, and so it was that this dark leafy green, initially known as cavolo greco ("Greek cabbage") arrived in the Acerrano-Nolano area around Vesuvius, which quickly became one of the most important zones of production for the crop. Fields of torzella, as it came to be called, as well as cabbages and broccoli, stretched endlessly along the water-rich rice paddies that extended from the Principality of Salerno almost as far as Sibari. These fertile plains were what the Romans called Campania felix ("happy countryside"), a land abounding in culture and traditions, with a mild climate and volcanic soil, rich in minerals and trace elements and irrigated by several rivers.
Torzella riccia, or curly kale, is a member of the Brassicaceae family. A herbaceous plant with an autumn-winter growing cycle, it reaches an average height of around 100 centimeters and a diameter of around 70 centimeters. The sturdy stalk sends off numerous axillary shoots that produce curly dark-green leaves, while the flowers are bright yellow. The plants are sown in the second half of July in nurseries or seedbeds, then transplanted into the fields in the second half of August. The seedlings are spaced around 40 to 60 centimeters apart to ensure healthy development. Curly kale is perfectly suited to the Vesuvian environment: The soil conditions provide the plant with everything it needs to flourish and it requires little other care, apart from some sporadic irrigation in cases of prolonged drought. Once the plant is well developed, the central shoot is removed to ensure the abundant growth of the smaller, secondary shoots. This cultivation practice is very important to obtain the tenderest, most flavorful leaves, which begin to sprout in around November. The leaves are harvested by hand in stages until March.
Kale has long been the perfect food for the countrypeople of Acerrano-Nolano during the winter months, nutritious and low in fat, a rich source of vitamin C, folic acid, fiber and potassium. Kale leaves are eaten raw in salads, or cooked in the flavorful soups of rural Neapolitan tradition, like minestra maritata ("wedding soup"). The kale is also paired with seafood or preserved for eating through the summer, when it is often cooked briefly together with San Marzano tomatoes.
Kale preserved in oil used to be prepared only for home consumption, but now the product is sold both fresh and jarred in oil or as a spread for eating straight or saucing pasta.
Season
The harvest begins in the second half of November and can continue until as late as the first 10 days of April.
Back to the archive >The Presidium supports the work of a group of growers who want to reintroduce this historic crop and promote it more widely. The production protocol specifies sustainable practices in the fields, including a ban on chemical weedkillers and a triennial rotation with Solanaceae, Leguminosae, Asteraceae and Cucurbitaceae.
Production area
Acerra, Afragola, Arzano, Brusciano, Caivano, Camposano, Carbonara di Nola, Cardito, Casalnuovo di Napoli, Casamarciano, Casandrino, Casoria, Castello di Cisterna, Cicciano, Cimitile, Comiziano, Crispano, Frattamaggiore, Frattaminore, Grumo Nevano, Liveri, Mariglianella, Marigliano, Nola, Palma Campania, Poggiomarino, Pomigliano d'Arco, Roccarainola, San Gennaro Vesuviano, San Paolo Belsito, San Vitaliano, Saviano, Scisciano, Striano, Tufino, Visciano and Volla municipalities, Naples and Caserta provinces, Campania region
Supported by
Fondazione Hyria-Novla
Italian Ministry of Labor and Social Policies*
The Campanian Curly Kale Presidium is funded by the Italian Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, Directorate-General for the Third Sector and Corporate Social Responsibility - notice no. 1/2018 “Slow Food in azione: le comunità protagoniste del cambiamento,” in accordance with Article 72 of the Third Sector code, as per Legislative Decree no. 117/2017.
Agriturismo Il Cortile
di Giovanna Nucci
Via Roma, 43
Cicciano (Na)
Tel. +39 347 3036316
giovanna.nucci@virgilio.it
Acqua e Sole
di Massimiliano Cerciello
Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 273
Marmigliano (Na)
Tel. +39 366 3466771
agricolaacquaesolemarigliano@gmail.com
Carmela Calabrese
Via Napoli, 304
Castellammare di Stabia (Na)
Tel. +39 347 6744925
info@ortodicarmela.com
www.ortodicarmela.com
Casale Pietropaolo
di Francesco Espresso
Via Aldo Moro, 8
Sant’Anastasia (Na)
Tel. +39 333 3366260
info@casalepietropaolo.it
Eccellenze Nolane
di Giovanni Trinchese
Via Francesco Napolitano, 86
Nola (Na)
Tel. +39 340 2496618
info@eccellenzenolane.it
Vincenzo Egizio
Via Camilo Cucca, 295
Brusciano (Na)
Tel. +39 389 2713615
scrivenzo@libero.it
Masseria Clementina
di Antonio Buscè
Via Municipio, 60
Ottaviano (Na)
Tel. +39 366 8047512
info@masseriaclementina.it
Masseria dello Sbirro
di Lorenzo Cozzolino
Via Zumbini, 27
Portici (Na)
Tel. +39 349 6212808
info@masseriadellosbirro.it
Officina Vesuviana
di Francesco Manzo
Via Fruscio
Boscotrecase (Na)
Tel. +39 334 1594060
francesco.officinavesuviana@gmail.com
Ortosano
di Davide Casoria
Via Giambattista Potenza
Cicciano (Na)
Tel. +39 380 9029639
davideortosano@gmail.com
Marco Russo
Via Tevere, 2
Acerra (Na)
Tel. +39 389 4326951
vincenzo3russo@gmail.com
Bruno Sodano
Via Pratola
Pomigliano d’Arco (Na)
Tel. +39 347 8070109-340 3026435
aziendaagricolabrunosodano@yahoo.it
Annamaria Taliento
I Traversa, 10
Rocca Rainola (Na)
Tel. +39 328 4807871
atalie@libero.it
Terre Nuove
di Filippo Castaldo
Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 151
Acerra (Na)
Tel. +39 335 295759
castaldo.filippo@libero.it
Luigi Turboli
Via Giordano Bruno, 54
Brusciano (Na)
Tel. +39 338 8419882
info@luigiturboli.com
Villa Mazza al Vesuvio
di Simona Briganti
Via Boccea, 6
Torre del Greco (Na)
Tel. +39 339 7055185
smbriga@gmail.com
Katia Tsapakina
Tel. +39 351 1245552
katia.tsapakina@gmail.com
Slow Food Coordinator
Gianluca Napolitano
Tel. +39 328 9024494
gianluca.napolitano@alice.it