The ‘Mad German’ 40 Years On

We visited Antonio from Sicilian Passion in Sicily. In a region traditionally known for its citrus fruits, Antonio decided to take a different path several years ago: he grows passion fruit (and even papayas!).A crucial part of our collaboration is precisely determining the harvest time. Our teams conduct sugar measurements directly in the field. A refractometer is used to determine the Brix value, ensuring that the fruits have reached the required physiological maturity and full aromatic profile. Harvesting only begins once these thresholds are met. In the video below, you can see our colleague Angelo taking these measurements. It’s a lot of fun, because you’re literally looking into the future.Ripening Characteristics and EtymologyAn important quality characteristic of passion fruit is the texture of its skin. Unlike many fruits, here’s the rule: the more pronounced the wrinkling of the fruit, the higher the sugar content. Due to slight evaporation during the ripening process, the fruit sugar concentrates inside, while the acidity subtly decreases. There are two harvests per year – one in the winter months and one in the summer months. Especially in summer, the fruits are “wrinklier” because the liquid evaporates faster due to the heat.Did you know that the name “passion fruit” is derived from Christian iconography? Spanish missionaries in the 16th century interpreted the complex flower structure as symbols of the Passion of Christ. The filaments of the flower were associated with the crown of thorns, the three stigmas with the nails of the cross, and the five stamens with the wounds. In the gallery, you’ll find a picture where this is very clearly visible.

Why every blood orange isn’t actually blood-redWe visited Sicily and met Danilo from AranceBio in a field where the blood orange harvest was at its peak. You can not only see the ripe oranges hanging on the trees, but you can also smell them. The sky is blue, the trees and the meadow are green, and the oranges hang like small lanterns in the trees. It’s sunny but very fresh – even in Sicily, it’s winter. This is exactly the right time for the oranges to ripen. You need a mix of warm days and chilly nights for anthocyanin to develop; the pigment that turns the pulp red. So, if the nights stay too warm, the pigment can’t form, and your blood orange might end up looking more orange than red – though just as tasty. Danilo grows two different varieties; Moro: which is a bit more acidic and has a deep red flesh (if it’s cold enough!) and Tarocco, which is a bit sweeter and very mild. It’s a bit like being a kid opening a Kinder Egg. You can’t tell from the outside whether the fruit is going to be red or just orange. Given increasing dry periods, Danilo relies on permanent ground cover. This natural carpet protects the soil and serves as a water reservoir, storing valuable water during dry spells – thus keeping nature resilient. We obviously had to ask what we should eat while in Sicily, and Danilo recommended two dishes: the traditional Pasta con le Sarde (what else?!) and those deep-fried rice balls known as Arancini.

We Weren’t Prepared for This – Or Were We?It has been raining for several weeks in Spain. This week, however, a state of disaster was declared in several regions, especially in Andalusia. Our farmers sent us the pictures attached below – and our team was speechless for several minutes. We have reported on heavy rainfall many times before, but this year the extent is particularly great. The good news is: all farmers are doing well! Persistent low-pressure weather systems brought intense rainfall, hurricane-force gusts of wind, and rivers overflowing their banks. Our farmers from the Málaga region are reporting fallen trees and muddy roads, making access almost impossible. Unfortunately, some farmers have already informed us that they will likely suffer crop losses as fruits have been damaged. The lesser evil is probably the delays in delivery – it hasn’t stopped raining, which means the fruits are too wet to be shipped; they would mould in their boxes. Haven’t We Already Found the Solution?I’m speaking with Maikel from Finca Habitat, located in a small town between Jaén and Granada – one of the most severely affected areas. He sends me a video, which you can find below – it shows his neighbors’ flooded olive groves and the raging river. In the next video, he’s in his own fields, showing how much rain has fallen. He pours it onto his trees, which he protects from drying out and simultaneously fertilizes with his sheep’s wool during hot months. “For me, the rain is an absolute joy. It’s wonderful!” says the farmer. In his fields – not even a puddle. “This is a sign that we are doing everything right, Magdalena,” he explains. Maikel decided to farm regeneratively over a decade ago. In one of Spain’s driest regions, he manages to avoid irrigating his olive trees through his practices.How Does That Work? Through a ground cover that acts like a sponge, soaking up all the water and allowing it to seep into deeper soil layers. Not a single drop of water is lost because the root system has such a high capacity to absorb water that it neither drains away nor accumulates. What if we could make farms so resilient that they emerge encouraged from extreme weather events? Would regenerative agriculture be the solution we’ve been looking for? These are the questions I ask myself when I see the pictures and videos that offer such a different perspective on the situation. The weather forecast continues to show rain for the next few days, and we, along with the farmers, reassess the situation daily – safety comes first, and we will probably have to be patient a little longer until the sun comes out again.