L'ANNURCA, ITALY'S ANCIENT “QUEEN OF APPLES”
Italy is on the way to becoming one of Europe's most important apple growers, with over 2.317 million tons harvested in 2025, and coming second to Poland, the EU's biggest apple exporter (between 3 to 4 million tons).
The greatest part of apple production in Italy is concentrated in the northern Trentino-Alto Adige regions which alone harvest 2 million tons of the popular world-wide known brands like Golden and Red Delicious, Granny Smiths, Fuji , Melinda and so on, cultivated by family cooperatives.
Just beginning to make a debut abroad is the native Italian apple: the ancient Annurca Campania, which has been cultivated in southern Italy for over 3000 years and is mentioned in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia as well as featuring in a fresco at the earthquake-destroyed town of Herculaneum. The Ancients believed it originated at the “Gates of the Underworld” at Lake Avernus near Naples.
The Annurca has many virtues. It is water-resistant and can be stored for long periods.
Picked from the trees while still green and turned regularly towards the sunlight, it ripens slowly and naturally over the autumn months in cool surroundings. Smaller than modern cultivated brands, it is sweet and crunchy and can lower cholesterol levels. It is also believed to help hair grow!
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STENHOUSE
