These plums may not be very big, they may even be a bit hard, but one thing they are is juicy. Simply put; they’re good! Little is known about the origin of the word “Zucchella” though it appears to have derived from another Italian word; “Suchéla“, meaning “full of juice”. What we do know is how these plums arrived in the Brescello area of the Reggio Emilia province. They were imported by Marie Louise of Austria, whose duchy at the start of the nineteenth century extended as far as the area of Guastalla (the full title of the duchy was, in fact, the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla). The Duchess was very fond of these plums, brought to the area by Slavic labourers whom she had summoned to her estate. Within the Reggio Emilia province, zucchella plums are currently grown mainly in the Brescello district of Lentigione where there are several special facilities covering an area of approximately six hectares. This local plum-growing tradition has given rise to the name “Prugna di Lentigione” (“Lentigione Plum”). The Brescello district has joined forces with plum producers via the “Association for the Promotion of the Lentigione plum” and, together, they have put in place initiatives aimed at raising knowledge and awareness of this plum variety. Terrain once soaked by the Po now offers the perfect habitat for growing this plum variety as the land is rich in iron and elements that give the fruit a greater sweetness. The plum’s high sugar content makes it possible to produce high-quality jams by adding only a very small amount of sugar: just 100 grams per kilogram of pulp. In fact, Lentigione Plum jam has a sugar content of just 10%; a percentage that no other type of jam can rival.
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