A sweet life: Growing lemons on the Amalfi Coast
It can be hard to know where to look along Italy's stunning Amalfi Coast. But this picture-perfect setting has a sort of natural, green frame: terraces carved into the mountainside where, for centuries, lemons have been grown.
Correspondent Seth Doane said, "Looking out into the valley here – you see the lemon terraces throughout this part of Amalfi."
"This is the heart of Amalfi," said Salvatore Aceto, a sixth-generation lemon farmer. Together, with his dad, Luigi, and son, Gianmarco, they farm these steep terraces.
If it were possible to envy produce – well, maybe it is. These lemons sit perched over Amalfi, unbridled by budgets or travel bans.
Before Amalfi became a ritzy tourist destination, it was the first maritime republic of what is now Italy. Trade was vital, and about a thousand or so years ago lemons were imported. They thrived on this mountainous terrain, and became a key ingredient in the culinary landscape – used in dishes, and even painted onto them.
The Acetos' lemon grove totals 2,700 trees and about 1,300 steps. It's tough on the knees, but good for the heart.
"The lemons are my life," said Luigi, who, at 87, is still working.
"In the veins, there is no blood flowing," he said. "Lemon juice is flowing!"
Doane asked Gianmarco, "Your grandfather told me he has lemon juice in his veins. Has that happened to you yet?"
"I still have to discover – I have to do some tests!" he laughed.
Gianmarco is studying agronomy, and is the seventh generation here. He'll be contending with a changing climate, and another challenge: "Without tourism this is not sustainable," he said. "It's impossible to compete with the other countries that produce lemons, because they have less cost."
Tourists (at least, pre-COVID, when they had visitors here) made up more than 50 percent of the Acetos' business. They come for tours or tastings.
Doane said, "One of the things that surprised me when I first saw these Amalfi lemons was that you eat them almost like an apple."
"Yeah, yeah – you can eat everything because it's organic," said Salvatore, as he bit into a lemon.
Salvatore's wife, Giovanna, runs the cooking classes. But with no tourists she made a lemon pasta – scialatelli – for lunch. A little garlic, parsley and lemon.
Doane asked Gianmarco, "When you were away at school, did you miss all this?"
"The meal? Or being with family?"
"Both."
The family? Of course. The pasta? "I didn't miss the scialatelli with lemons," he said. "We eat it almost every day – so I developed a repulsion!"
Others at the table – including Doane – did not agree.
The pasta was followed by a lemon chicken; scomorsa cheese cooked in a lemon leaf; and then a lemon torte – all served, of course, on a lemon tablecloth, and polished off with some limoncello liqueur, their own production.
Cousin Luigi Aceto walked Doane through the process: "We try to use only the yellow part, because otherwise it's a bit sour." They use lemon rind, pure alcohol and sugar, then let it rest for several days.
"Lemon, limoncello, then maybe ceramic from Vietri, these are the most requests products here in the Amalfi Coast," he said.
In the town of Vietri, those ceramics have a familiar theme. It's a way to celebrate (and immortalize) this perishable product.
In the sensory-overload that is the Amalfi Coast, at least one family here would argue that taste is the sense that wins: "It's amazing," said Salvatore Aceto, chomping into a lemon. "It's sweet!"
See also:
For more info:
- Salvatore Aceto, Amalfi
- Tours and cooking classes with the Almalfi Lemon Experience
Story produced by Sabina Castelfranco and Aria Shavelson. Editor: Emanuele Secci.