Cornelian cherry in the Black Sea area and Italy: local knowledge, uses and potential for health promotion

The need to preserve and extend the availability of perishable and seasonal fleshy fruits and obtain derivatives for direct consumption and seasoning has generated in the world a wide range of traditional products characterized by peculiar sensory quality and expected functions and based on different raw material and home processing systems. A comparison of present situation of traditional fruit derivatives of the Black sea area and Italy, as reference Country of the Mediterranean Basin, has been the subject of an investigation aimed at finding common points and differences in way of processing and uses. The survey has focused on Georgia, Ukraine and Bulgaria in the Black sea area, and on the regions of Emilia Romagna, Marche, Trentino Alto Adige in Italy. Growers, processors and local experts have been interviewed. Consultation of historical and recent documentation on ingredients and processing have been carried out; Information on paste and present uses and recipes has been collected.. Within each category of product (for direct consumption or seasoning; liquid or solid; sweet or sour) similar processing systems and raw material are used in the Black sea Countries and in Italy. In both areas the traditional ways of fruit preservation are: - the reduction of water content (dried fruits, concentrated juices, concentrated juices and pulps, dried pulps; - addition of sugar or salt; - fermentation (alcoholic or other). Correspondences between the two areas for products, ingredients and systems may be individuated: pekmez and saba are concentrated juices obtained after long cooking of fruits and grapes (Black sea area) and grapes (Italy); pelamushi are made with flour mixed to cooked juice of grape or other fruits) similarly to ‘sughi’ (grape must cooked with flour), lekvar and savor or savurett are produced boiling for hours fruit juice with fruit slices, isrimi (Georgia) and agresto (Italy) are verjuices obtained from unripe grapes and are generally used as a substitutes of vinegar, Factors of differentiation among products are area of production, species used and needs of the local communities. The varying local availability of raw material as a function of territory and year has led to recipes often characterized by ingredients and dosages not strictly fixed, but adapted to the current situation. In Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine these traditions are well preserved and widely diffused. In Italy saba and sughi are produced not only at home ihave been almost lost or only recently resumed (agresto), other are. 1) Dried fruits are still The present richness of traditional products in the different areas from the Black sea regions to the Mediterranean Basin is variable, mostly as a consequence of life style and economic conditions which have allowed different levels of preservation of these traditions or pushed to their abandonment and to innovation.