Marrone del Mugello PGI: the "Water Curing" Process

"Marrone del Mugello" PGI (PGI=Protected Geographical Indication) is a quality trademark recognized by the European Community with regulation n. 1263/96 for fruits (fresh, dried or milled as flour) and obtained from European Chestnut Trees (Castanea sativa Mill.) growing in the Mugello area (Tuscany-Italy). The chestnut fruit has a particular chemical composition, very rich in carbohydrates and in starch, that decrease during the post harvest period. In the Mugello area (Tuscany-Italy) is diffused a traditional post-harvest methodology that belong to the past: the "water curing", that extends the preservation of these fruits up to four months. In fact "water curing" was known in the past as "novena" which means that fresh chestnut fruits were kept for nine days in the water to extend their shelf life. The objective of this method is to reduce the development of fungi during the storage processes and at the same time to promote the death of worms living in the chestnut fruits. This paper reports some preliminary results of some tests carried out during this treatment to verify its ability to preserve the nutritional values of chestnut fruits. Effects of "water curing" on the fungi development were observed.