Italy Part Five - Turuziello Farm Tour - Sorrento

Our room in Sorrento is huge, with a giant bathtub, and electric blinds that offer various levels of sunlight to pass through the windows. Waking up from a super comfortable sleep on our massive beds, the family heads down to the 2nd floor, dedicated entirely to breakfast. There were breakfast cakes, brownies, bacon, fruit, coffee, hot chocolate, chefs making omelets on command, and pretty much anything else you can think of. The Hotel Favorito is a five-star hotel, and its rooms and food reflect this standard.

After breakfast, we head to our pickup point. The man who picked us up works at Il Turuziello, the farm where we did the tour. Our tour guide, Elsa, meets us in their private family church, where she happily explains to us that three families live and work on the farm, connected by second cousins that follow a deep, rich generational history. Both families shared a set of grandparents that had siblings in teen numbers, making for a large familial community. This is directly reflected in the delicious food they produce, with a deep history that ties back to their bred and born Italian heritage.

Sitting in the small but beautiful church, Elsa states that this church was made in the 13th century, then restored in the 17th century. During the restoration, the floors were painted with lemons and lemon flowers. The organ was crafted for their church in the 16th century, which was also when the church was decorated with marble.

After seeing the church, we are taken through the lemon fields. The first lemon secret of our tour is that lemons are not native to Italy, but rather imported from China and India, thanks to Marco Polo. Elsa states that every family believes their limoncello is the best, but here on this farm, I’m convinced they may be telling the truth. To make the limoncello, they pick the lemons at 7 am, peel the lemons with a potato peeler, and add the alcohol to the peel. The stronger the alcohol, the stronger the lemon flavor. Once the ingredients are combined, it goes into a dark box for fermentation, after which the sugar is added.

As we walk through the lemon forest, we see the life stages of sour fruit. We see beautiful white flowers that begin forming into tiny green lemons. These small fruits grow, progressing into what appear as limes but are really “teenage lemons”, which will be ready for harvest in the next year. On this farm, lemons take one year to grow from baby to adult for the year’s harvest.

As we walk through the sour jungle, Elsa points out the canopy of netting that rests atop the trees. While this certainly assists with preventing bug infestations, the primary use of the canopy is to protect the lemons from the harsh sun. Too much sun can burn the lemon zest, which makes for poor limoncello. To keep bugs away from the lemons, appealing flowers like Hydrangea and Roses are grown to distract the bugs from the yellow fruit.

We then walk to a baby lemon tree, which grows upright before branching off at an unusual angle. This is because lemon seeds planted in the ground will not grow lemons, only lemon flowers. To amend this, all lemon branches are grafted onto bitter orange trees, which exist within the same fruit family. However, that is not the only reason that bitter oranges are used. The Turuziello family farm prides itself on being pesticide-free; the only issue is, mice love lemons, especially during the winter. However, more than lemons, mice love bitter oranges. By leaving a few branches of bitter orange on their lemon trees, the mice will leave the lemons alone. Some of the trees on this farm are over a hundred years old and still producing fruit. To keep the trees healthy, they are pruned every two years at the end of October.

Leaving the produce section of the farm, we are loaded onto an extremely small car that somewhat resembles a golf cart. There are many of these tiny automobiles, as they take turns driving the guests up to the large hill through tight corners and alleys. The road is windy, fast, exhilarating, and reminds me of a roller coaster. Once we reach the top, we are given some red wine and hard cheese. The first cheese we taste is a provolone that is eight months old. The next is the same cheese except it’s twenty-four months old. The cheese is sweet and delectable, and the family is happy to inform us that their cheese is less sharp and sweeter on purpose. As we nibble down to the rind, we see three cats weaving through the guests, putting on a beautiful show, hoping for payment in leftovers. Being an animal lover myself, I’m unable to resist their charms and give them the hardened rind left behind.

Once I’ve finished my snack, there is time to spare as the family races to transport the remaining guests. Though I do not find myself bored, taking a moment to enjoy the beautiful scenery from above Sorrento.

We are led to a table of dried breads and infused olive oils. As we taste each distinctly different flavor, the Turuziello family advises us that these oils are not meant for cooking, as the heat will destroy the flavor. Extra-virgin olive oils are cold-pressed twice, and cost more for that reason. The best way to use extra virgin olive oil is to dress your dish with it at the end to enhance your plate.

Of the oils we tasted, there was a basil oil best used for marinara. A truffle oil filled with umami, best used for fresh cheese and pasta. The lemon and orange olive oils were tangy and sweet, intended for salads. However, the most shocking to me was the hazelnut oil, which was very sweet and is meant for sharp cheese, pancakes, and vanilla gelato. In Italy, there are 533 varieties of olive.

As we finish our oil tasting, we are led into the cheese-making room where they are setting up the demonstration. It all begins with unpasteurized buffalo milk, used for its higher fat content, and the need for enzymes to create cheese. Some use lemon juice or vinegar because of its accessibility, but the Turuziello family uses artichoke and milk thistle directly from the flower in order to achieve a purer flavor.

The cheese used to make mozzarella is sour, the same type that would be used for sourdough bread. Three hours after the enzyme ingredients are added, the milk separates. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait that length of time, as the Turuziello family came prepared.

Once the melting point is reached, the curd is drained from the whey. The curd is then added to hot water to speed up the fermentation, folding it over and over by hand to observe its reaction and ensure the cheese transforms perfectly from delicate curds to chewy mozzarella. After the cheese is folded, it must be shaped. It can be shaped into a braid, a knot, a ball, a flower, or even a “knob” used to hang the cheese for drying. Mozzarella that has been dried makes for perfect pizza. Realistically, any knot can be recreated by mozzarella while it’s in this rubbery state. Once it’s been tied, it must chill for one hour before being dunked in salt water. We are given a taste of the final product, which holds a delicious sour taste, indicating its freshness.

But what do you do with the leftover whey? Well, it helps to aid digestion, so it can be drunk to soothe your stomach, and it’s cheaper than medicine. If you aren’t experiencing stomach upset, it has many other uses, such as feed for the pigs, an ingredient for bread, or to create even more cheese! The whey protein from other cheeses is recooked, causing the leftover milk proteins to curdle and solidify. This creates delicious ricotta cheese, meaning “re-cooked” cheese, despite the lack of fat added to the whey. I find it both fascinating and delightful to know that there is truly nothing wasted on the Turuziello family farms.

Now it’s time to taste some limoncello. We learn that limoncello is always kept in the freezer, because it does not freeze. When buying limoncello, you should never buy anything with less than 27% alcohol, otherwise it will freeze. There are four ingredients in proper limoncello: lemon zest, alcohol, sugar, and water. As miniature drinks are passed around, I can taste the tartness of the lemon, which burns my throat in a pleasurable way as I swallow the sweetness.

Traveling back down the hill, it’s time to make our pizza. We wait at our table for our turn, where each guest is given a small ball of dough to form the crust. Elsa shows us how to toss and stretch the dough before lathering it in sauce and mozzarella. At this time, the school lets out, and while making our pizza, her toddler son comes rushing in to see his mother. I don’t speak Italian, but I am informed after the fact that he is told to go and see his grandmother. Unfortunately, this is not what he wants, and a small fuss is kicked up. Fortunately, a quick bite of cheese is enough to make him happy, and he’s on his way. I found this to be very cute and charming, and it sits in my mind as just another example of the love and care that goes into everything within the Turuziello family farm.

Once our pizza is finished, we sit back at our table and enjoy the steamy meal with a glass of wine. To end our trip, the Turuziello family gives us a few last words, emphasizing the importance of peace. It’s important that we do not fight with those around us, because once things are said and done, you cannot always go back. True value is in family, friends, and living together. Do not envy others, as they are often faking. It’s important to always be thankful for the life we have been given.

Visit The Turuziello Family Website: https://www.agriturismoturuziello.com/en/