Bianco del Cilento Fig

Fico Bianco del Cilento, also called White Fig of Cilento, is a variety of the ancient Dottato cultivar grown exclusively within a protected area of 68 municipalities in the coastal hills of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park in Campania's Salerno province, Italy — a status recognized with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status by the European Union. Fig cultivation is documented in this specific region going back to before the 6th century BC, introduced by ancient Greek colonists who founded many of the area's cities, and the dried fig has served as a genuine dietary staple for local field workers through difficult periods across the centuries, only becoming a specialty product in more recent times. The tree's natural drought resistance made it well suited to the microclimate of the Salerno hills. The fruit is traditionally sun-dried using a "free pot" method specific to the region, shaped like a long pear, pale yellow when unpeeled and nearly white when peeled, with dense, doughy, very sweet amber-yellow flesh, and is traditionally stuffed with almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, fennel seeds, or citrus peel.