Cilegino – Cherry Tomatoes

Cilegino cherry tomatoes from Italianavera from Campania

Cilegino cherry tomatoes from Italianavera are small, round fruits in their own juice, whose sweetness clearly outweighs their acidity. The name comes from the cherry, which the fruit resembles in size and shape, and in the kitchen, it requires short cooking times.

Cilegino cherry tomatoes are canned cherry tomatoes from Italianavera in Campania, preserved in their own juice and packed whole. They carry a lot of sugar in a small package, which is why they break down into a thick sauce in just a few minutes, requiring almost no additional seasoning.

Sweet in tone, small in format

Anyone who has ever nibbled a ripe cherry tomato fresh from the vine will recognize this flavor in the can, only denser and with a bit more salt behind it. The skin remains firm during cooking, the flesh underneath becomes tender, and the broth tastes sweet and well-rounded. When crushed, little water is released, but a lot of what actually tastes like tomato is.

Acidity plays a secondary role in this variety, which is just as appealing to children at the table as it is for a sauce that needs to be ready quickly in the evening. A spoonful taken straight from the can therefore tastes more like fruit than preserves. Served with mozzarella or ricotta, all that is needed afterwards is a basil leaf and a drizzle of olive oil.

Short time in the pot, or the sweetness shifts

Crushed in a hot pan, Cilegino turns into a thick, dark-colored sugo within a few minutes. Ten minutes over medium heat is enough; longer reduction causes the sugar to caramelize and overpower the flavor of the fruit.

The same applies to caponata, shakshuka, or a risotto: add them towards the end, let them steep briefly, and they are ready. In sauces for roulades or in goulash, however, the sweetness adds depth that blends with the meat during slow braising. The sweetness also goes well with oven-baked fish or roasted vegetables from the tray. If you are cooking pasta, simply add the fruit to the finished, warm noodles and stir.

Why small fruits taste sweeter

A small tomato has more skin and less water in relation to its weight than a large beefsteak tomato. The sugar is therefore distributed over less volume, and the fruit tastes more concentrated without any outside help. This is precisely why cherry tomatoes are traditionally synonymous with quick cooking in Southern Italy. The vines of this variety are harvested multiple times over several weeks because not everything on a cluster ripens at the same time.

Italianavera harvests the variety by hand and packs them whole so that you can still see in the kitchen which fruit was in the can. The juice comes from the same harvest and provides the binding that a short cooking time requires.

The can for a quick evening

Having Cilegino in the pantry shortens the time from finishing work to eating to just the time it takes for pasta water to boil. Transfer any leftovers into a screw-top jar and keep them in the fridge, where they will last for a few days. If you are looking for an even sweeter, elongated variety, you will find it in the Datterino date tomatoes from Italianavera.

What else Italianavera sends from Campania can be found in the producer's assortment, alongside other tomatoes from Italy.

Content 400g – Drained weight 240g