|
|
|
| THE OIL |
|
|
 |
Italian olive oil begins with Tuscany.
Many food critics, chefs and connoisseurs agree that some of the most flavourful and highest quality oils comes from this region.
Olive oil has become a symbol of Tuscany and is known as "liquid gold".
There are many different types of olives trees, with the most common being frantoio, leccino, moraiolo, and correggiolo.
Each of these trees determines the oil's distinctive flavour.
In Tuscany, the olives are hand picked while still attached to the branches of the tree and before reaching complete ripeness.
This process, know as "brucatura," usually lasts from mid-November to mid-December.
True purists maintain that each olive has to be hand-stripped from the trees - it is a very tactile pleasure to drag your hand down a stem and feeling a dozen or so olives come free.
Extra-virgin oil results from the first cold-pressing, using the traditional method of mill-stone or disk pressing.
It is decanted in little jars several times and then bottled.
Tuscan oil has a distinct green colour and a fruity flavour with hints of aromatic herbs.
It is exquisite when drizzled on pasta, vegetables, meats, fish or simply on toasted bread which is called “bruschetta”.
Olive trees have an almost titanic resistance, a vital force which renders them nearly immortal.
Despite harsh winters and burning summers, despite truncations, they continue to grow, proud and strong reaching towards the sky, bearing fruit that nourishes and heals, inspires and amazes. The Gonzi family has a real passion for olive oil. They own a superb traditional oil mill with typical millstones and an old press with “pressing mats” which is used only to press olives from the farm’s own production. Their delicious olive oil is then bottled, labelled and made available for sale.
|
|
|
|
|
|
