Monday, March 9, 2009

Olive Oil from Umbria

For a precious few weeks after crushing, olive oil has a wonderful pungent, hot-peppery, and intensely fruity quality. This is called olio nuovo, literally "new oil."
One of the great pleasures of being in Italy in November and December is tasting the oil just as it comes from the press. A great tradition in Umbria and Tuscany is to venture into the countryside and attend the new oil festa at the local frantoio (olive press/factory) where they serve bruschetta, crusty bread grilled, rubbed with garlic, and doused with the olio nuovo, then sprinkled with sea salt. All of Italy celebrates the olio nuovo with bottles of the intense nectar in every restaurant. Read the Olio Nuovo Newsletter with highlights of this year's harvest:

Olivestri produces exquisite Gold Medal winning olive oil from select hand-picked olives. Located on the Tuscan border not far from Cortona and the famous wine producing town of Montepulciano, Petrignano imbues the best of Tuscany and Umbria in its oil. If you are not familiar with Olivestri, you can read about them here.
All of there olio nuovo is completely unfiltered so that you can enjoy it the way they do in Italy.
If you have questions about sediment and age expectancy of olio nuovo, you can read abut it here: The Gunk



Check out our selection of oil bottles to keep your favorite oil fresh. http://www.latavolabella.com/showstock_functionalitem.asp?TC=TP&IN=483 Protect fresh oil from light and excess heat by keeping a selection on the counter for cooking and the rest in a safe cool cabinet. No use wasting the precious oil.

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