The Story of the Calvenzano Melon
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Edward Bent © 2018 HORTCOM THE STORY OF THE CALVENZANO MELON by Edward Bent The fruit of the Calvenzano melon is large, weighing 2-5kg (the record is 6kg) elongated with a strongly netted exterior or rind, and crisp, orange flesh. It is quite sweet at 8-12 °B (Brix) but much less sweet that modern-day Cantaloupe varieties which are usually 13-14°B. This makes the Calvenzano melon particularly good to eat with ham and can be thought of more as a vegetable than a fruit. Calvenzano is a small town in the lowlands of the Bergamo province near Treviglio, Italy, where this variety of melon was traditionally grown. http://www.coopcalvenzano.it/ A small symbolic annual production is maintained by the Società Cooperativa Agricola di Calvenzano, founded in 1887, one of the oldest Cooperatives of its type in Italy. This variety has been selected by the Presidium Slow Food and the Cooperative also produces a much-acclaimed melon-liquer, confettura and the so-called ‘senapata’ (to accompanying meat dishes etc). https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/it/presidi-slow-food/melone-di-calvenzano/ However, the variety’s popularity waned in the early 1960’s with changes in the prerogatives of the distribution chain and consumer preference. Distributors wanted smaller, more uniform fruit that were easier to handle, with crisp flesh when mature, a good level of digestibility and lack of odor after cold-storage. To meet consumer preference, the sugar content of the melon varieties, now mainly grown in the Mantova area, has been slowly raised to 13-14°B and can now be as high as 17°B. Applied research led to hybrid varieties with many of these characteristics, although plants are commonly grafted onto more resistant root-stocks due to the overuse of the land; melons being a crop that require a fertile soil rich in organic material. The use of hybrid varieties also means that new seed has to be used for each crop. Scientific research into the genetic composition of this melon shows strong similarities to melons originating in the savanna areas of Africa. It is thought that they may have been introduced to the area by the Spanish during the 170-year rule in Northern Italy starting in 1535. It was the Spanish sailors that introduce melons to the New World in the late 15th, early 16th Century, they were used aboard ship to contrast scurvy and as ballast. On a more scientific basis, the Calvenzano melon has been included in the germplasm bank at the University of Valencia, Spain. From the research led by CRAG (Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics) https://www.cragenomica.es/ and Chinese research that has sequenced over 1,000 melon varieties, the origin of the Calvenzano melon should be better understood. Edward Bent, Via Legionari in Polonia 33, 24128 Bergamo, Italy. [email protected] Edward Bent © 2018 HORTCOM The melon (Cucurbit) family have a flowering habit which is quite unique among vegetable crops. They are "monoecious", which means they produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant. The flowers are found in the axils of the leaves. The flowers can be easily distinguished from each other as the female flowers have small, immature fruits at their bases. In order for fruit set to occur, pollen from the male flower must be transferred to the female flower. When crosses occur between members of the same species, we do not see the effect of the cross the first year. However, if the seeds are saved and planted, the resulting plants will produce fruit that will be different from either of the parents. Once in a while, gardeners will allow a chance-seedling to grow in their garden. The fruit that sets may appear quite unusual. Occasionally one can guess what the parents were by looking at the fruit and/or remembering what was planted in that area of the garden the previous year. This variability is characteristic of the Calvenzano melon in terms of fruit shape, size and the extent of the reticular pattern on the rind also because, following tradition, the seed of some of the fruits is used to raise plants for the next year’s cultivation. The Calvenzano melon remains an important part of agricultural history of subsistence farming and the association of small-holdings into cooperatives in this part of Italy. Over a relatively short period of time, some 20 agricultural cooperatives and three rural banks were established in the area of Calvenzano, population of no more that 3000 inhabitants. A fundamental role of the cooperatives was to be in an economic position to buy new land on behalf of its members when land was put up for auction and to guarantee bank loans. But the member small-holders managed their land independently. Machinery and equipment were also purchased by the cooperative and rented to the members. In its hay-day the Cooperative was sending 300 quintals a day of these melons to the Milan markets during the season (July +/ - a week or so). 300 quintals (30.000 kg) represents 6.000 – 15.000 melons, according to size. This translates to a total annual production of more than 500.000 kg of melons on a cultivated area of about 15 ha. Some of these melons were subsequently exported and in the 1920’s and 30’s they could be found in Paris restaurants and were much appreciated by the English Royal Family. The land, owned by aristocratic families, the Church or wealthy industrialists, was divided into small-holdings, worked by individual families or as part of a cooperative. The size of the small - holding depended on the number of members making up a given family. Usually on the arrival of a new child (male/female) a little more land was assigned to that family, equally a portion was usually taken away on the death of a member. An area of 1-2 ha per family was quite common although this might be divided into more than one nearby location. The payment of rent had two Edward Bent, Via Legionari in Polonia 33, 24128 Bergamo, Italy. [email protected] Edward Bent © 2018 HORTCOM annual deadlines: the 29th June, called St. Pietro & Paolo, and the 11th November, called St. Martino. There was no monoculture, each piece of land was cultivated with a rotation of different crops, usually peas, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, grass and melons, according to season. The melon crop was considered a cash- crop, from which the profit from a single crop could often pay the annual rent. Mediators from Milan, determined the produce quality and paid the small-holders individually. Most families also supplemented their income by spinning silk from the cocoons, growing a few Mulberry trees on their land to feed the silkworms. Another means of earning was to undertake extra work for the cooperative in the process of boiling and bottling tomatoes. In order to remove some of the acidity and to inhibit bacterial formation a thin layer of molasses or honey was added before closing the containers. Seeds of melons are known to have medicinal properties. The fine powder from ground-up seeds was used against tuberculosis. The fruit is good for heart disease since it is high in the anticoagulant adenosin. The lycopene pigment is a good antioxidant positive against free radicals that can damage cells and cause cancer. High levels of potassium are good against high blood pressure. Thanks go to the Calvenzano Cooperative and Manager, Fabrizio Messaggio (in the picture) for their availability and information. Edward Bent, Via Legionari in Polonia 33, 24128 Bergamo, Italy. [email protected] .