The luxury of olive oil

Every day I walk through the olive trees and vineyards up to the village Panzano.  In a few days the olive trees will be blossoming.  On this picture you see the buds ready to burst!  Once the tiny blossoms open, the trees have a yellowish green shimmer.  The sun is constant now and warming everything up.

Olive oil is concentrated sun energy.  It is lighter and easier to digest than any animal fat and offers many different flavors depending in which region the olives have been grown.
In Tuscany you see olive trees everywhere.  Their leaves have a silvery green sheen whereas the vines are yellowish green at this time.  Two regions are famous for their olive oil-the area surrounding Lucca and the Chianti region in the heart of Tuscany.

Today there are about 30 different varieties of olive trees with various fruits.  The small ones are better for pressing out the oil while the bigger ones are better for eating.

The best soil for olive trees is found at about 300 meters above sea level on sparse, chalky soil with good sun.  Hilly areas where it is hot in the day and cool at night make the olive aroma stronger.  In orchards where olives and grape vines are cultivated together, the character of the oil is best developed.  They form an optimal community of life which has been known since ancient times.

Olive trees bear fruit from their tenth year onwards and carry fruit for about 250 years in two year intervals.  They blossom between May and June, and out of 200 blossoms only grow five olives!  By the end of October they have reached their full growth.

It is best to harvest olives by hand.  The trees are shaken and the olives fall onto big cloths laying under the tree.  Then the ones that are not damaged are picked out by hand and quickly processed which makes for superior quality.

At the very first pressing no heat is used and the oil is called “Olio Extra Vergine”.
The Consorzio Olio Vergine di Oliva, Zona Chianti Classico, checks the oil of every member after each harvest.  Only olive oil with less acidity than 1% can be called “Extra Vergine”.  The oils with acidity of 1%-1.5% are called “Soprafino Vergine” and with 3% acidity “Fino Vergine”.

Olive oil should not be kept in the refrigerator or in direct sunlight and the bottle should always be closed.  In an unopened full bottle, olive oil can last for 2-3 years.

I love a piece of fresh bread with good olive oil and a glass of wine.  So simple, yet so luxurious;  especially once you imagine the light and warmth condensed in it and know what is involved to make it!


~Claudia