by Giuseppe Larosa | Aug 5, 2026 | Tips
Zagara is one of those scents you recognise before you see its source. In spring, driving past a citrus grove with the window open can be enough. It is intensely floral but clean, and quite different from the fragrance of the fruit that will appear months later. The...
by Giuseppe Larosa | Aug 5, 2026 | Tips
For years, “exotic fruit” in Italy almost automatically meant something that had crossed an ocean. That is no longer always true. In some of Sicily’s milder areas, avocado, mango, papaya, pitaya and passion fruit have become genuine local crops. “Exotic” is not...
by Giuseppe Larosa | Aug 5, 2026 | Tips
Pomegranate is often reduced to decoration: scatter a few red seeds over a salad and call it finished. That wastes its two most useful qualities in cooking. The seeds give a clean crunch, while the juice offers a sweet acidity that can partly replace vinegar or citrus...
by Giuseppe Larosa | Aug 5, 2026 | Tips
The name “apple persimmon” makes a hybrid sound plausible. It is not one. The fruit is still a persimmon; “apple” mainly describes the way it is eaten: firm, crisp and cut into wedges rather than left until the flesh is soft enough for a spoon. That texture is exactly...
by Giuseppe Larosa | Aug 5, 2026 | Tips
Avocado has an odd weakness: it is very easy to cover up. Too much lemon, a heavy sauce or a pile of toppings and the fruit’s subtle, creamy, slightly nutty character disappears. The recipes that work best are often the ones that leave it some space. In Sicily...
by Giuseppe Larosa | Aug 5, 2026 | Tips
Saying “orange marmalade” is a little like saying “red wine”: it names a family, not a single flavour. Bitter oranges produce something assertive and grown-up; Navel oranges are softer and sweeter; Tarocco and Moro bring aromas and colours that shift as winter...
