Chinotto

Overview

Savona chinotto is a lemon variant common in northern Italy. The fruit ranges from a green to yellow colouration and is smaller on average than other variants. The Savona in the name is a reference to the town of the same name, located in the western part of northern Italy. The town has a long tradition and reputation for growing and utilizing the fruit. The plant is known for being very resilient and grows quite heavily even in strongly polluted areas.

Uses

Chinotto is used in everything from cakes to drinks but has especially reached wider popularity due to a persistant superstition that it acts as a preventative for Haze mutations. There is little indication that it actually does so but that has not stopped Famiglia Cappello from partnering with Société de Le Havre to grow the fruit on an agricultural scale and market it as such all throughout Europe.

In this drink form chinotto is a sparkling, dark-brown colour with a slight medicinal aftertaste.

It is rare to find its other forms outside Italy but the second most popular form is its candied peel and a thick almost jello-like jam which finds use as an easy way to produce more nuanced flavours in other sweets, such as cakes and even in alcoholic drinks.

Taste

Chinotto has deeply bitter taste notes which are noticable even when preserved in syrup or candied and which many find overwhelming. But if savoured slowly and deliberately the taster can feel the sweetness express itself, forming a balance with the bitterness. Its juice especially is described as extremely refreshing, an effect that is enhanced by adding carbonation and enjoying it in a cooled glass or over ice.

Item type

Consumable, Food / Drink