Walk up any stairway in Amalfi in early summer and the air smells of lemon. It is not a trick of the tourist board. The lemons here are different, and once you have tasted them you start to notice them everywhere.
A lemon with a long name
The variety is called Sfusato Amalfitano. Sfusato means spindle-shaped, and the fruit is long and tapered, often larger than a fist. The skin is thick and knobbly, the pith is mild rather than bitter, and the zest is full of fragrant oil.
Grown on terraces
The groves cling to terraces cut into the cliffs, held up by dry-stone walls and shaded by chestnut-pole pergolas. Much of the harvest is still done by hand, because there is simply no other way to reach the trees. Sea air and steep sun do the rest.
Why it makes a better sorbet
Gelato makers love a lemon that is aromatic first and sharp second. Because the Amalfi lemon is not harsh, we can use the zest as well as the juice, and the sorbet tastes of the whole fruit. We keep it simple: lemon, sugar and water, churned until it is cold and soft.
If you only try one thing at La Piccola Gelateria, make it the Limone di Amalfi.
