10918 Olio Novello

I used to be able to order a gallon (5lt) tin of evoo from a producer in Sicily, but he will no longer provide (ship) less than 10 tins...far too much for me.

Does anyone know of a producer who will ship their OWN 'extra virgin' (first press if possible) in small quantities?

Shame you are so far away Carole you would have been welcome to try some of ours, so far have picked 16 crates in 2 days (with a little help from our friends) and only covered about 15 of our trees (65 to go) we estimate that one crate produces about 4 litres of oil, very roughly, so a bumper year, we dont sell it but if anyone living locally would like to try a sample they are welcome.Just pm me.
If I had to write a label for it I would say, single estate, organic , first pressing extra virgin, picked by hand....and dont we know it!,
Wonder how Artina is getting on with hers?.
A

Well done Angie and Robert. Fingers crossed that the weather holds out for you over the next week or so.

Its the back that might give out first Keith!, but thank you for your good wishes, I have heard that whilst there are many olives this year the actual oil yield isnt that good, cannot remember if I read it on the forum or not, we shall see.
A

Congratulations A. & R. Lots of hard work but you should be proud of yourselves. Let's hope you have fair weather until the end of the harvest.

[quote=Carole B;102466]I used to be able to order a gallon (5lt) tin of evoo from a producer in Sicily, but he will no longer provide (ship) less than 10 tins...far too much for me.

Does anyone know of a producer who will ship their OWN 'extra virgin' (first press if possible) in small quantities?[/quote]

Carole, could you not order from your usual supplier and split the consignment with a friend??

I found this - [url=http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/notes/food/pk_olive_oil.htm]Slow Travel Italy - Olive Oil[/url] Here are addresses of oil producers that might do smaller quantities. Buona Fortuna

What a labour of love that must be folks... and only 65 more trees to go - WOW. You are really dedicated. Complimenti!

As far as the quality goes - I wonder if it is like here in the Valtellina with the fruit and vegetables? There are plenty of them this year, but the fruit growers say that the taste isn't as good as usual due to too much rain... It seems that there is a fine line between what is a good mix of sun and rain, and this year the rain has made everything a little less delicious and mouth-watering. That goes for fruit and vegetables.

Thank you for saying I could have had a taste of 'your' oil, but I think it [I]would[/I] be just a 'bit' too far to dip some bread in saucer of your nectar to taste it!

P.S. Sally, thank you for the link... A 5lt can lasts me over a year - I only use it for condiments - not for cooking...it's too good!

I'm sure Angie would post a bottle out to you Carole - a couple of quid would cover postage etc.

Actually, that could be a good idea if people here have excess oil - flog it to members - nothing fancy - no ribbons and bows - just a plain bottle of (hopefully) decent oil at a decent price. It would be interesting to try a few different oils produced by people here.

There is a local producer here who mat be prepared to send you some oil Carole. I can vouch for it, really excellent stuff. Here is the link to his website.

[url=http://fontemonache.com]fontemonache.com[/url]

Well done Nielo. I think Carole is about to strike gold or is it oil??? lol

A thought has just occurred to me. Does Italy have "pick your own" olives or indeed any other crops, for sale??? It might be quite lucrative (and prevent your sore back.)

[quote=Sally Donaldson;102499]A thought has just occurred to me. Does Italy have "pick your own" olives or indeed any other crops, for sale??? It might be quite lucrative (and prevent your sore back.)[/quote]

I have never seen any in this area nor are there hoards from the cities coming for a bit of fresh air like the hop pickers used to do in Kent.

Perhaps the thing to do is offer corporate team building weekends, where teams are in competition to pick the most olives, Then you would get your olives picked in super quick time and get paid for it into the bargain!
:eerr:

Nice one Carole.

[quote=Angie and Robert;102474]...I have heard that whilst there are many olives this year the actual oil yield isnt that good, cannot remember if I read it on the forum or not...[/quote]
Don't know if you read the post or maybe heard it elsewhere, but I did mention this in the [URL="http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/gardening-agriculture/10746-olives-worth-hassle-4.html"]Olives - worth the hassle?[/URL] thread. The yield on the batch we've already had done was less that we got last year, but it's not like it was hugely down on last year – something like a kilo or so less oil from 230 kilos of olives. That might make a big difference for a commercial operation, but the fact is that we've got so many olives this year that we're still going to get easily three times the amount of oil we did last year.

As for quality, I'm no connoisseur, so it's not really for me to say whether this is a "vintage" year for us. The frantoio we use doesn't measure oleic acid routinely, so I can't even cite that. What I can say is that the oil definitely is [I]not[/I] bland and it smells nice to me.

I believe that the oil percentage is down simply because it has been very wet and so the fruits are juicer; it's not so much that there's less oil, more that there's more juice... if you see what I mean.

We were out picking again today, this time in our olive grove proper. The two of us (with occasional interruptions and helpful advice from seven month-old Katie in her playpen) spent about six hours clearing five trees and ended up with six very full crates of olives. I estimate about 160 kg in total so, if the yield is the same as the batch we had pressed last week, that's another 17 kg of oil (or, at 0.9 kg per litre, 19.5 litres).

Only another 22 trees to go!

Al

Hi Angie and Robert

Many thanks for your thoughts,,, we've many fewer trees than you and have now finished.. thank god!! Just put a post on the Gardening section.

Agree about the description....Single estate, biological, organic, extra virgin, picked by and and almost counted every one!

Good Luck and I hope the weather holds.

This is perhaps dangerous ground but the olive oil produced in Umbria is peppery and the new oil we have tried is both peppery and very green in colour. We like it best. Last year we were in Sicily when the oil was new and bought some from a mill, there. I used it for cooking as it wasn't as flavoursom but was half the price. We also bought new oil in Calabria which was very good, (the producer bought all his equipment from Umbria), but I was told not all oil from Calabria was as good. Finally we were given some new oil from northern Tuscany and again it tasted quite different, mild and creamy, not peppery, so unless you have broken you back picking your own olives, shop around for the olive oil you like best as they vary in flavour, quite considerably.

Keep up the good work Al!, and lucky you Aretina, 3 more days of picking for us, we will never do them all despite the fact there will be 6 of us tomorrow (plus the puppies!!!), but will let you know how we get on, will post some photos later, will warn you in advance I am the old grey haired one asleep under the tree!
A

Yes you too keep up the good work Angie Girl. Maybe next year members here could hold sponsored olive harvesting for charities as further incentives. Just a thought.

[quote=Sally Donaldson;102501]Nice one Carole.[/quote]

Beg your pardon Sal.... :veryconfused:
I never said a word - that was Nielo!

Sorry I know. Hard to separate you two sometimes!!! lol

I like to try EVO from different areas. At the moment I'm using oil from the Lake Garda area here in the north. It's different - not peppery at all. But some of the 'southern' oils I have tried (since no longer getting supplies from Sicily), have definately been on the peppery side. I must admit I prefer first press, unfiltered oil. I have no objection if a bit of olive comes out of the tin/bottle with my oil...

If there is anyone among you who might have a spare 5lt tin (or even two 3lt tins), and the time (and inclination) to take the trouble to ship it to me, I would be more than pleased to pay above the 'going rate' plus all shipping costs... I hope you don't mind me asking - but hey... Nothing ventured, nothing gained - right?

[IMG]http://www.lmp.com.lb/images/OliveOilCanCollection.jpg[/IMG]

regarding oil content this year....

this is pretty well a constant... although of course taste varies... when picking early...ie before the traditional date of the 15th of this month you will find that the earlier you pick the higher the water content... ie per quintale you will get around 10 litres of oil... the rest of the weight/difference in yield can be put down to the water...

when we picked last week we were getting 13 litres... and this next lot should be getting around the 15 lts per quintale...

so if moving or picking large amounts of olives it pays to leave then... because at the mill your cost is per quintale..

for most of us this would not really mean a significant difference...and if you balance it all out as the ease of picking in warmer drier weather... against the misery of dew drenched trees ...mud and cold i know we prefer to bask in autumn sun...in fact this year has been exceptional as regards warmth and lack of rain....

however for those still thinking of starting or those that have still to complete the task the weather from Wednesday on is about to go down hill..... cold rain and snow... all moving down from the north with i would think little chance this late in the year of temps recovering much.... after this front moves through... so i think if like us you prefer olive picking without the cold it would be a good idea to get busy now....

the other point is that mills are pretty well packed out and booking is essential ... last week we could have picked any time of day ... have been hearing that some neighbours have only been able to get appointments two week hence.... and this is important as the max time for olives off the tree before milling should be as short as poss and never more than a week...

might well be that they are the ones that use continual process mills... we still use traditional cold press... maybe they are less popular ...

Now that I have all the olive oil experts together, I am going to pick your brains..... Can you give me the name of an extra virgin olive oil which will be mild enough to bake cakes with? I make two cakes: the 1-2-3-4 and the "castagnaccio" and I have to use oil for both. In Italy, I have tried several of the ones described as "soave" but the flavour is still very strong. In Spain, I'm OK, but I am not going to travel all the way to Italy with a bottle of Spanish olive oil!!!!!! Any help greatly appreciated.

Hi Carole B

Discovered yesterday that the taste of EVO not only varies considerably with region, that I can understand, but within areas just a mile or so apart; even accounting for the many different varieties of olive tree. While we were at the mill, got to taste other growers' oils and all were different despite all being from around Arezzo. Some much more peppery (Tuscan oil is traditionally spicy and strong), some more 'herby and grassy' and others with a smoother more rounded taste.

We have noticed that different years also produce a different taste, our oil this year is not nearly as peppery as usual, and a bit 'sweeter'. It will take a bit of getting used to as we normally get that 'kick' when the 'pepper' hits. It will get more peppery as it ages, but smoother at the moment.

ps Hi Gala, I think Ligurian oil is much lighter than others and so would probably be suitable for baking. If you are near an Esselunga (No! I don't have shares in the company), pop in and pick up a copy of their Novemmber issue of their monthly 'News' magazine, Front cover and inside article on Italian EV olive oils. And, they give a brief descripton of each region's oil

You dont even have to go to the supermarket for the mag. This is the link to Esselunga and click on the 'News' link [url=http://www.esselunga.it/]ESSELUNGA - Homepage[/url]

Aretina is right. The mildest creamiest tasting oil is supposedly from Liguria but I do wonder if, unless you buy it from a first class merchant, rather than a supermarket, even though the label may say it's from Liguria, that it may not be. (Sorry but it's my Italian mindset!)

The best EVO I ever tasted came from a small 'local' mill (?) in the 'cinque terre'. I seem to remember it was up behind Vernazza somewhere...

Mind you though - a close contender was the oil from l'Isola d'Elba... oh that WAS good... Very creamy and a delight on such things as mozarelle/tomatoes or with some pepper on soft goats cheese 'caprini'.

All this talk is definately making me drool here... better stop! :bigergrin:

It's an age thing Carole - drooling - wait until you need a bib and diapers before worrying about it. :laughs:

[quote=juliancoll;102604]It's an age thing Carole - drooling - wait until you need a bib and diapers before worrying about it. :laughs:[/quote]

Hahahaha....:laughs:
You're too late - I've already got one!
[IMG]http://www.megacoolstuff.com/3DSmileyFace/SmileyFaceBabyBib.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/forum/images/smiles/tongue2.gif[/IMG]