Introducing the limone

Campagnia is Italy’s most popular region due to its stunning coastline, and rich history that has developed a deep and interesting food history. On that note, we wish to introduce you to the  limone…

Italians, as you may know, can not live without lemons. It is difficult to hear of a sweet recipe from a cake to a pastry cream that does not include the zest of a lemon. Even fresh fish and crustacean often just get merely dressed with extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemon trees need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight a day. You will have understood that the warm Mediterranean climate naturally makes Southern Italy one of the best regions in the world for producing citrus. Italian lemons are plump, slightly dark yellow, and embody a rich perfumed taste. The refreshing flavours offer a touch of freshness under the hot Mediterranean sun, so it is no surprise that lemons feature so prominently in Italian culture. The lemon tree flowers in May while the harvest is done by hand from February to October. The lemon trees are traditionally covered in mesh, used to protect the valuable harvest, both leaves and fruit, from the occasional freezing rain that hits the Amalfi Coast.

Now into Crust’s kitchen:

Intricate, decadent and perfectly sweet with a fresh zesty flavor, Delizia al Limone is the Amalfi Coast on a plate. Miniature sponge cakes filled and drizzled with lemon custard then beautifully topped off with whipped cream and, you guessed right, more lemon zest.

Or if you prefer learning from the mixologist:

Especially popular near the Amalfi cost, Limoncello is traditionally served chilled as a digestive after meals. Still made according to the age-old recipe using macerated lemon peel, the rather thick, sweet dessert cordial is naturally intense in lemon flavor – as the saying goes, “when life give you lemons, make Limoncello”. For some southern Italians, especially since one can only drink that much Limoncello, the piece of lemon zest even gets traditionally dropped directly in an espresso.

But did you know

The lemon fruit apparently arrived from Asia and was already cultivated in Roman times in the Mediterranean basin and in this case in Sicily on the Sorrento Peninsula? The fruit was grown to provide vitamin C on long sea voyages. In modern times, the zones dedicated to the cultivation of lemons are entwined with tourism… and getting the fruit back to Asia has luckily become easier than in ancient times. It feels yet again as if we were meant to open Crust Italian in Hong Kong!