Sulmona red garlic

Sulmona red garlic is a local ecotype grown in the Valle Peligna. It is recognisable by its wine-red outer skins; each head usually has 8–10 large cloves and a few smaller ones inside.

It has an intense aroma and a strong flavour, due to its high content of allicin and essential oils. It is listed among Abruzzo’s traditional food products.

It is grown in the Sulmona basin and in the municipalities of the Valle Peligna, in the province of L’Aquila, with a few fields also in Popoli, in the province of Pescara. The valley, enclosed between Monte Morrone and the mountains of the Majella park, has fertile soils and wide temperature swings between day and night.

• Sulmona
• Anversa degli Abruzzi
• Bugnara
• Corfinio
• Introdacqua
• Pacentro
• Pettorano sul Gizio
• Pratola Peligna
• Prezza
• Raiano
• Roccacasale
• Vittorito
• Popoli

1. Between November and December the best cloves from the previous harvest are planted.
2. In spring the plant sends up its flower stalk (scape): it is removed by hand so the head grows bigger. The scapes are eaten fresh or preserved in oil.
3. Between June and July the plants are lifted, when the leaves start to dry.
4. The heads are left to dry in the air and cleaned of soil.
5. The dry leaves are plaited into the typical braids, or the garlic is sold in nets and bags.

In Abruzzo red garlic goes into countless recipes: a little is enough to give a dish character.

• Spaghetti with garlic, oil and chilli, or spaghetti alla chitarra with sauce
• Bruschetta with country bread rubbed with garlic and new olive oil
• Roast meat, chicken and lamb, and tomato sauces
• Pulse soups, agliata and sautéed greens
• Scapes in oil, served as a starter

• Choose firm, heavy heads with dry, intact skins.
• Hang the braids in a dry, airy place, away from heat.
• For a milder taste, remove the green shoot from the centre of the clove.
• Garlic in braids bought in summer lasts until the following spring.

Photo 1: braids of Sulmona red garlic at the market; photo 2: the heads with their wine-red skins. Credits: Marica Massaro (CC BY-SA 4.0); Marica Massaro (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons, resized; the menu icon is also made from photo 1.

Garlic growing in the Sulmona basin is old and has been handed down from generation to generation, choosing the best cloves to replant every year: this is how the red ecotype came about.

In summer, braids hanging outside houses and on the market stalls of Sulmona are one of the most typical sights of the Valle Peligna. Today the producers are grouped in the Consorzio Produttori Aglio Rosso di Sulmona.