'Nucillo 'é curti' by the owners of the Restaurant E' Curti is a rich liqueur made from the walnuts growing in the heart of the National Park of Vesuvius, and is something of a find.
The husks of the nut are harvested by hand near Monte Falde on the 24th June every year.
Within 24 hours they are cut by hand into quarters and left to marinate in pure alcohol and natural herbs inside a green glass and placed in the sun.
The latter catalyses the mix and, after 60 days, creates the infusion.
To keep the delicate balance the liquid is then transferred carefully by hand and added to a syrup of sugar and water.
This operation of mixing follows a process of filtering the infusion using linen from Holland, the cloth adopted by the 'noble ladies' of Naples for the sheets of their private rooms.
Towards the end of September the Nucillo 'e curti' is ready. It is a liqueur of the highest digestive power.
This is due not only to the high level of alcohol content, 50 percent, but also from the touch of carnation contained in the aromas of the infusion, which for centuries has been known to have anesthetic powers within the stomach.
The nuts used in the making of the liqueur always had a pagan significance for both the Romans and the ancient Greeks, linked as they were to the esoteric rituals of the 'witches' who harvested the fallen nuts under the branches on the Sabbath.
Even today, tradition demands that the green nuts are only picked on the summer solstice although this day now celebrates the religious figure of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist).
The heavy dew of this night is considered a panacea for all ills.
The healing properties for the stomach were already known during the medieval times and can be read in the 'tesoro della sanita' of the famous doctor Casto Durante de Gualdo.
But the full story is even more fascinating than this.
The liqueur can be purchased in an elegant glass container of the finest local hand made tradition from the best pasticcerias, bars and enotecas throughout the region.
www.e-curti.it
