"Processed tomatoes from Montagano constitute our leading products and are a true local delicacy," explains Giovanni Palumbo, owner of the Molise Goloso family business, which was established in 2012 as a simple website for the promotion of regional product and was then turned into a processing facility.
Montagano is a small town, a few km from Campobasso. The company is located in an old masseria turned into a laboratory for the processing of agricultural products.
Pomodoro di Montagano is a DeCo vegetable (Municipial denomination) and is part of project for the promotion of local products due to its beneficial properties and its history.
These tomatoes are sweet and not acidic and are local to the Molise area. They are rich in vitamin A and C as well as in potassium. Compared with other types, Lycopersicum esculentum M. have a high lycopene content and therefore have effective antioxidant properties.
Giovanni Palumbo stated that the company processes "tomatoes from around 40 hectares, only partly owned by us. It is a production with low yields/hectare and we cultivate it in a natural way. Crops are located in various areas, so we still cannot obtain the organic certification."
Plantlets are transplanted in open fields manually in May-June. They grow on sandy-clayey slopes without using chemicals or irrigation. Harvesting is carried out by hand between mid-August and late September.
The Molise product range includes Sauces, Vegetables in oil and Jams.
"The objective is to promote the local territory with regional dishes that would otherwise risk being lost. When preparing our sauces, we use exclusively Pomodoro di Montagano, which makes thick fragrant sauces. We also make peeled or sliced tomatoes that maintain the fragrance of the fresh product unaltered. What is more, we produce a spicy and a Mediterranean sauce obtained with seasonal vegetables in the 700, 430 and 500 g formats."
The vegetable in oil range boasts not only the delicious Dried Tomatoes, but also Green tomatoes.
"We cut them into wedges, macerate them with vinegar and them place them into jars in oil. The range also includes asparagus, red onions and Jerusalem artichokes."
The sweet range includes the following jams: wild blackberries, sour cherries, apple and cinnamon, strawberry and chocolate, peach and amaretto biscuits. The Montagano green tomato jam, available in 200 gr jars, is ideal paired with cheese.
Markets
The products are not available in retail shops. They are much appreciated by regional restaurants and distributed to niche delis, specialized shops and online (10% of the turnover).
"We are growing abroad as well with sales channels in Belgium, Germany and Sweden (20% of the turnover)."
Contacts:
Molise Goloso
Via Cimino snc
86023 Montagano (CB) - Italy
Cell.: +39 340 5023780
Email: info@molisegoloso.it
Website: www.molisegoloso.it