Tourists Late, Crops On Schedule in Dalmatia
July 4, 2006 – 2:44 amThe tourist season may be off to a late start in Dalmatia this year, but the growing season is already in full swing on the Pelješac Peninsula. These grapes are soaking up sixteen hours of intense sunlight daily, preparing to be VERY strong white wine.
Here beneath the fearsome Sveti Ilija, figs and olives grow side by side in a family orchard. Dalmatians are fond of saying that olives are a prominent regional crop because their cultivation requires scant maintenance.
Like the strong regional wine, Pelješac olive oil is also quite robust. You will never taste anything like it if you don’t visit Dalmatia and sample freshly pressed green oil, as the best of it is simply not exported. The best of the best never leaves the neighborhood. If you should happen to visit Dalmatia, don’t open a bottle of the stuff if you have children sleeping in your hotel room or apartment. People with delicate temperaments should also not be exposed to the profound funk of this cold-pressed gold.
Olives above, figs below.
They say that one should make lemonade when given lemons. I will tell you that the flavor and freshness of the lemonade served at Konoba Karmela in Viganj is so dazzlingly brilliant that it could resurrect the dead. Dalmatian lemons can grow to the size of softballs, and their florid perfume is practically explosive due to a high concentration of volatile citrus oils. I’ve prepared a few cold fish and vegetable salads with the zest of these sour bombs, and the results were eye-opening to say the least.
It’s exceedingly difficult to describe the locally produced food on the Pelješac Peninsula without waxing hyperbolic, but I’ve honestly never tasted fish, fruits, vegetables, oils and wines with such vibrant flavor and vitality folded into them by the sun, soil and sea. You’ll need to come and taste Dalmatia to believe it.
4 Responses to “Tourists Late, Crops On Schedule in Dalmatia”
john, you are a voluptuary!
–byron
By byron on Jul 5, 2006
…your writings are delicious!
By giovanna cassilly on Jul 6, 2006
John, do try sea-urchins(hmm, forgot is it females or males),
žbirac(specie of crab), vlasulja(anemone).
By Noisiv on Jul 8, 2006
Hi Byron… Uh, ‘voluptuary’? Ma daj! I’ve gained a little weight on this trip, but not that much.
JJG
By johnjgoddard on Jul 19, 2006