Bergamot, a unique gift of Nature

Some may say that Bergamots are a mistake of nature, but so far they have been a blessing. Easily confused for an orange or a big lemon, Bergamot is usually not eaten but used to extract a precious essential oil from its skin.

Not much is known about this fruit, not the etymology of the name nor its botanical origin: in fact if you plant a bergamot seed, the plant that grows is not bergamot but wild orange. Many believe that bergamot is a natural mutation of an orange, but so far nobody could tell when and how this happened. What is clear is that bergamots were born and flourished only along the southern Calabria coast, especially along the Ionian sea, where we find 90% of the world’s bergamots. Many tried to introduce it in other countries in Europe, Asia, Australia and America, such as Japan, Spain, Greece, Israel, but so far the only country with a micro-climate similar to Calabria’s was found only in Ivory Coast and a few small areas of Brazil.

Its essential oil is made of 350 different elements, many more than any other similar fruit. Its history is linked to its unique olfactory and chemical characteristics, in fact Bergamot oil’s fortune mainly depends on its ability to blend and enhance every other scents in a perfume. A natural oil with the same characteristic can only be found in cetaceans. 

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The first producers understood that by pressing bergamot skin on a sponge you could extract a beautifully scented oil with antiseptic properties. At the beginning it was used in the local medicine, and only in 1709 a perfume maker used it to create the first ever “Eau de Cologne”.  From that moment the use of bergamot oil became almost exclusive to the cosmetic industry. 

But at the end of the 18th century the first bergamot sweets started to be produced, especially in Nancy, France. It was the beginning of a new era. After only a few decades an owner of tea plantations in India, Sir Grey, had the idea to add it to tea leaves, and so the world-famous Earl Grey Tea was born. 

This golden era of bergamot unfortunately met an end in the 20th century when a cheaper chemical version was invented. Many bergamot gardens disappeared and the local communities almost forgot how precious this fruit is.

But in today’s world there is a growing concern about the environment and the products that we use, and more and more people decide to avoid chemical products for more natural alternatives. This global tendency resulted in a re-discovery of traditional products and a strong appreciation for small-business that produce in a natural way. Because of this, the Calabrian communities decided to revive the bergamot gardens left and extend its production, and even the European Union decided to safeguard it by awarding this fruit with the mark of POD (Protected Origin). Some are even asking for these few gardens left to be included in the UNESCO world heritage.

Today, bergamot is still one of the most appreciated components for perfumes and cosmetics, its oil is used in aromatheraphy for its soothing and antidepressant qualities, its scent is sought after by creative chefs worldwide and it is contained in a growing number of liquors and food products such as biscuits, gelato, chocolate or mayonnaise.

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