Collection and classification of Manna

DESCRIPTION:

Manna is recognized as a Slow Food Presidium and for this reason a production protocol [3] has been drafted with ash growers to guarantee quality and origin. 

Manna is the sap extracted from the bark duly cut.

The number of growers is increasingly decreasing; almost only elderly people know how to cultivate and make the cuts in the bark of the trunk of the ash tree with a special knife called mannaruolo.

An initially cerulean colored juice with a bitter taste (lagrima – tear) trickles from the small transverse cuts made with precise gestures. Once in contact with air, it rapidly becomes clears and takes on a sweet taste. As it condenses, it forms white and fragrant cannoli and stalactites.

The harvesting used to be done with the bow, spatula and box; today the spatula, rasula, and box, scatùla, are used.

Manna is classified according to the harvest technique:

• Manna cannoli: the most valuable variety, like a stalactite; it is formed by the dripping sap.
• Manna scrap: it is made from the sap that flows along the bark; it is broken with the Rasula and collected in the box.
• Manna in sorte: it consists of the sap that accumulates on the prickly pear leaves arranged at the base of the trunk.

Since the most valuable variety is the manna cannoli, a new harvesting method has been developed to increase its amount. This system involves the use of nylon threads tied to a small steel plate placed immediately below the cut; the sap flows along the threads and solidifies forming cannoli of considerable length, which can be collected every two days, in contrast to the traditional method which required weekly harvest.

The manna is put out to dry (stinnitura) for the first 24-36 hours in the shade, to remove and clean the cannoli and stalactites from impurities; then in full sun on drying racks or stinnituri for about a week, until the product reaches the right moisture content (about 9%). Finally, once selected with care, it is placed in special wooden containers and stored in a dry place.