The Aglio Rosso di Nubia (''Nubia Red Garlic''), also known as Aglio di Paceco (''Paceco Garlic'') and Aglio di Trapani (''Trapani Garlic''), is a Sicilian variety of garlic, characterized by the intense purple color of the robes of its bulbils. It is mainly cultivated in Nubia, a fraction of the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

of Paceco, in the

Province of Trapani Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it ...

. In less extent, it is also cultivated in the neighboring municipalities of

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

Erice Erice (; scn, Èrici) is a historic town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, Sicily, in southern Italy. Geography The main town of Erice is located on top of Mount Erice, at around above sea level, overlooking the city of Trapani, the ...

Buseto Palizzolo Buseto Palizzolo ( Sicilian: ''Palazzolu'') is a town and ''comune'' in North-Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. Geography Buseto Palizzolo is located in the hills east of Trapani, the highest of which is w ...

, Valderice, Marsala and

Salemi Salemi is a town and ''comune'' in southwestern Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. History Salemi is where Giuseppe Garibaldi announced the annexation of Sicily on May 14, 1860, as part of the Expedition of the T ...

.Serena Milano, Raffaella Ponzio, Piero Sardo. ''L'Italia dei Presìdi''. Slow Food Editore, 2002. pp. 374-375. The cultivation takes place on dark, dry and loamy soils, in rotation with

Paceco yellow melon Paceco ( Sicilian: ''Paceca'') is a town and ''comune'' in Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani, located nearby the Trapani city area, a distance of . Paceco is a small rural centre: among its agricultural pr ...

(a local variety of melon also known as ''cartucciaro''),

vicia faba ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...

and

durum Durum wheat (), also called pasta wheat or macaroni wheat (''Triticum durum'' or ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''durum''), is a tetraploid species of wheat. It is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat, although it represe ...

, in order to avoid the over-exploitation and the subsequent impoverishment of the soils. The sowing takes place between December and January, while the harvest takes place in the months of May and June in the evening and at night, because the increased moisture of the leaves facilitates the braiding of the bulbs. For the same purpose, before harvest the inflorescence of the plant ( in local dialect) is removed. It has a bulb consisting of an average of twelve cloves, with the outer tunics of white colour and the bulbil tunics of a bright red colour. Analysis carried out by the Faculty of Agriculture at the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo ( it, Università degli Studi di Palermo) is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its ...

showed that the Nubia red garlic has a content of

allicin Allicin is an organosulfur compound obtained from garlic, a species in the family Alliaceae. It was first isolated and studied in the laboratory by Chester J. Cavallito and John Hays Bailey in 1944. When fresh garlic is chopped or crushed, th ...

well above average. This gives it a particularly intense flavor. It is listed as a

traditional Italian food product ''Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale'' (PAT) is an official approval for traditional Italian regional food products similar to the Protected Geographical Status of the European Union. A list of approved products is published by the Ministry of ...

(P.A.T.) by the

Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, it, Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali, italic=no or MiPAAF, is an Italian government department. It was formed in 1946 as the Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle F ...

. Mipaaf
List of traditional food products

References

{{reflist Garlic Province of Trapani Cuisine of Sicily