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Tag: olive oil

  • La Parrina farm

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    The La Parrina farm was founded in 1830 by the Florentine banker Michele Giuntini when a large part of Maremma was covered by marshes and malaria was one of the principal causes of death among the locals. Labourers didn’t have any rights at all and all the farms practised sharecropping. This situation continued until 1950 when there was an agrarian reform in Italy. Then, the State expropriated two thirds of the property of the Giuntini family in order to give it to sharecroppers who were turned into owners of small pieces of land, while the property of the Giuntini family was reduced from 1800 to 600 hectares.

    Anyway, about 185 years after its foundation, la Parrina has become a large farm, relatively speaking, with a wide range of agricultural products. Thus, our visit in November allows just a snapshot of the wide range of activities which take place at this farm. In order to get a deeper understanding of what’s happening, it would be necessary to visit at various times from seeding to growing to harvesting.

    First, our guide Massimiliano showed us the wine cellar where must was slowly turning into wine in big contaiers of concrete and stainless steel. Next, we entered a room where lots of oak barrels containing wine were stored. In this way, flavours of the oak will get mixed with the wine. The wines, which are made at La Parrina, were also exhibited in the same room:

    Various white wines, all of them being DOC or IGT, but they aren’t organic. However, integrated farming is practised at this farm, meaning a low environmental impact such that use of fertilisers and pesticides is kept to a minimum..

    Naturally, we went to the farm shop where all the products of this farm are on sale: fresh sheep’s cheese, sheep’s cheese with or without herbs which has been ripened. Goat’s cheese, cow’s cheese, fresh ricotta cheese and yogurt , various types of pasta and bread, jams, wines, vinegar , sweets and cosmetics derived from plants grown on the farm. At the start of our visit, we were served a selection of wines together with various cheeses, a delicious experience. During the tasting, our guide Massimiliano talked about how mixing various types of grapes gives a particular wine and how milk is turned into cheese. Next, we got a taste of olive oil and bread, both of them originating from this farm. Moreover, there many other types of food and drink like flour, grappa, meat, honey, sour cream, peach nectar and fruit preserves. An elaborate article about preserving apples can be found here.

    In order to complete our visit, we also paid a visit to the animals of the farm. A roost contained a wide variety of poultry, mainly various types of chicken like Ancona chicken  and Millefiori di Lonigo, but also turkeys. Next, we arrived at a pond where geese were honkng and ducks were swimming. After having passed various orchards and vineyards, we arrived at an area where cows, goats and sheep were kept in separate pens.

    We rounded off our visit by going to the hotel, situated in the manor, which was built in the 1830s. In the same building, there was a restaurant and an adjacent garden where one can have dinner below ancient linden trees and where bands are playing classical and other types of music in summer.

  • Olive oil mill of Arienti Elia

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    Surprisingly, in the heart of the small historic centre of Orbetello, which looks like a place where «everyone» is drinking coffee with their friends at sidewalk cafes, there is an olive oil mill using millstones. In fact, although it is located inside a rather imposing brick building, it’s so unassuming that one can easily walk past without noticing that there is an artisan and long-lasting olive oil mill inside. However, being attentive, it’s possible to see a small sign with the text: «Frantoio Arienti di Arienti Elia», else it’s anonymous. Anyway, during the olive harvest season, it’s possible to hear machines at work, while walking past the olive oil mill.

    Upon entering this olive oil mill, it’s highly probable that you will meet the owner Elia Ariente, a man who is 73 years old and who could have been a pensioner, but prefers to go on working. He told me that this enterprise was founded in 1918 by his grandfather who bought this building at the same time. He continued running this place until his son Luigi took over, who also ran it for many years before leaving it to his son Elia. The commune of Orbetello accepts that this olive oil mill contiunes operating, but when Elia becomes a pensioner, it has to move out of the city centre.

    Interestingly, this olive oil mill is using two old millstones, making it possible to watch olives being crushed like it has been done for ages except that the millstones were being turned by a mule or an ox. Instead, most olive oil mills use machines that crush olives inside a closed chamber. Being a small company, the owner receives his customers personally and he puts their harvests in special boxes if the producers have put their olives in other types.

    When the millstones were ready, the owner and a worker would pour the contents of the boxes into a large metal bowl below the continuously rotating millstones. When all the boxes of a client had been emptied into the bowl, they closed a grille as a protection against injury. Then, the olives were gradually crushed, leaving a pulp in the bowl. Simultaneously, the drupes  inside the olives were also crushed because they contain some olive oil. While the millstones were rotating, Elia made me notice a hole in the wall, which had to be made 32 years ago when he had bought a larger olive press. After all the olives had been turned into paste, two workers stopped the millstones and opened a lid at the base of the bowl such that parts of the paste fell down into another box. Then, they pumped the paste onto a slowly rotating metal disk such that the paste was spread evenly on the disk. Next, they placed the disk, which had a large hole in the centre on a wide, vertical metal pole which was mounted on a small cart. Next, they placed a disk with some kind of fibre on top of the metal disk. Thereafter, they repeated this procedure until the disks were reaching almost to the top of the metal pole.

    Next, they pushed the cart into a press where all the disks with olive paste in between were compressed at the same time until an oily liquid was forced to flow out of the paste. Then, a pump would pump the liquid into a centrifuge whose purpose was to separate water and olive oil. Finally, the owner poured the fresh olive oil into metal containers, closed them and gave them to the producer who followed the extraction of the olives attentively. After having paid the owner, they left, while new ones kept arriving.

    When the compression was finished, the workers released the pile of disks and lifted them up one by one. The paste had been turned into solid disks and they were thrown back into the olive press in order to be crushed once more by the millstones.

    Before, there were olive oil mills at the railway station of Orbetello, at Porto Ercole and at Porto Santo Stefano, but gradually they all closed down. According to Elia, it requires a great deal of passion to maintain and run an olive oil mill and be responsible for all expenses, including salaries of the workers.

    Regarding quality and price of the olive oil, they are similar to those from modern olive oil mills, according to Elia. One reason may be that he has gradually paid off all his loans during many years, while modern olive oil presses have invested in expensive machinery, whuch requires a long time to pay off their loans.

  • Olive oil mill «Terre di Capalbio»

    Freshly picked olives falling down a hole

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    The olive oil mill «Terre di Capalbio» in the village of Borgo Carige is run by the Nannini family, who bought it in 2003. The village is situated between the coast and the medieval castle of Capalbio in a region mainly used for growing olives and vines, stretching from the lowlands near the Tyrrhenian sea to rolling hills with olive groves overlooking the village of Capalbio,

    Nannini senior had worked in agriculture for many years and he was also teaching at an agricultural school, but decided to run an olive oil mill instead, buying it from the previous owner who had run it for more than 15 years.

    Having bought the olive oil mill, all the machinery has been replaced with computer-controlled machines. Since there has been an olive oil mill in this place for a very long time and the producers live nearby, there is a strong and friendly bond between the Nannini family and the olive farmers.

    After the olives have arrived at the olive oil mill, they are sprinkled to get rid of dust and other impurities. Next, instead of crushing the olives with the drupes, they are removed before crushing, leading to that the resulting olive oil is less sour than crushing the complete olives, while increasing the fruity flavour at the same time.

    Three different types of olive oil for meat, fish and generic, respectively, are produced at this company:

    • “L’Olio del Presidente
    • “Bio-Logico“
    • “Terre di capalbio”

    In addition to the Nannini family, a secretary does all administrative work and takes care of all requests and rules, which have to be followed according to EU regulations.

    As at all olive oil mills, this one is only in operation for about a month a year, that is from late October to late November. For the rest of the year, the Nannini family occupy themselves with selling their products, cultivating their own olive grove of about 1000 olive trees and running a shop adjacent to the olive oil mill where they sell their olive oil and some other high quality farm products.

    Due to little rain and high temperatures, the olive harvest of 2016 was quite low, while the quality was high.

  • Rubiu olive oil mill

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    The Rubiu oil mill was founded in the 1950s by the father of the present owner, Nicoletta Rubiu. Already from the foundation, this oil mill used the the best available machinery making it the centre of olive oil production in the region of Sulcis-Iglisiente. The lowlands on which this oil mill is located are surrounded by gently, rolling hills and is ideal for growing olive trees and vines. Various olive cultivars are used in the production of olive oil, with Bosana the most commonly used. Another cultivar called “tonda di Cagliari” or “nera di Gonnos” is also grown together with “Pizz’ e Carroga” which are put whole in brine.

    Having entered the oil mill, we also enter an atmosphere filled with a slightly bitter fragrance of olives which have been crushed and where small groups of women and men are waiting patiently for their olives to be turned into olive oil, chatting amicably, but impossible to perceive anything because of the noisy machinery. It’s the same atmosphere and the same sensations like in the past although we don’t any longer find the imposing granite millstone, which has been conserved with the care deserved for a historic monument. The bull, which made the millstone turn around while the olives were crushed, is gone. Likewise, all the locals who came to watch the yellow olive oil flowing out of the mill. However, Mediterranean fragrances are still produced like in the past, while only the owners of the olives are watching contentedly all the phases the olives have to pass through in order to be turned into the golden liquid, which serves as an indispensable ingredient for any dish on their tables from toasted bread topped with olive oil and chopped tomatoes to various salads, from sauces to stews.

    The olives from each owner are first placed in square boxes waiting to be placed in a flippable trolley. Having filled the trolley with olives, it is flipped such that all the olives fall into a container with a funnel at its base. When the time is right, the funnel is opened such that the olives fall down on a conveyor belt with parallel tracks which prevent the olives from falling down. Instead, the conveyor belt brings them upwards until they fall down into a machine, which removes foreign bodies like leaves and branches, which inevitably follow the olives from the harvest. Then, the olives are cleaned by means of running water in order to remove any remaining impurities before entering the olive-press where they are crushed, turning them into a mix of oily and fragrant mush together with hard fragments from the stones inside the olives. This mix is transferred to adjacent containers where rotating blades make it more uniform before it enters a centrifuge where solid and liquid parts are separated. The wooden residues from the stones, which are heavier than the liquid parts, are expelled. The liquid parts, consisting of water and oil are separated because they have different densities. After having filtered the oil, it is collected in a container, ready to be bottled and brought home by the owners. The wooden residues from the stones can be used in various ways like feed for pigs or poultry or compost for enriching soil. Alternatively, they may be separated and turned into pellets for heating.

  • Petra greengrocer’s

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    A well-stocked greengrocer’s, called Petra frukt og grønt meaning Petra fruit and veg, is located near the railway station in Asker. Stein Jarle Svardal and Frode Bjørnseth are working in the store which they have been running for nearly 25 years.

    Opening hours: Monday – Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. og Sunday: 12 a.m. – 6 p.m.

    Fresh and delicious-looking salad in wooden cases delivered straight from a farmer in Lier just hours before with no plastic packaging in sight implied a quite short way from farm to shop.

    The owners Jarle and Frode have obtained good relations with their suppliers such that they trust each other, meaning that their suppliers trust that their products will be stored and displayed well, while the owners of Petra trust that their suppliers will sell them products of prime quality.

    Although the name of the shop indicates a greengrocer’s, other products are also for sale. For instance, they are selling prime quality cheese from Tingvollost. Since Tingvollost only want dedicated merchants, selling their products show that the guys running Petra are considered to be genuinely concerned about selling high quality products. It’s worth mentioning that Blåskimmelost Kraftkar, made by Tingvollost, has been awarded prizes three years in a row for being among the best cheeses in the Nordic countries.

    Other local products include organic eggs and wheat flour from Berger farm at Hvalstad, while small glasses with jams and marmalades had been made at Haslum farm in Bærum.

    We also noticed a wide selection of Italian products like, for instance, coffee, pasta, risotto, olive oil and balsamico vinegar. Frode let me know that they stay in contact with an Italian man in Norway who provides them with many of these excellent products. Then, Jarle told me that an olive oil they are selling was awarded a prize for being the best one among 6000 other types of olive oil. The olive oil was called Frantoi Cutrera originating from Chiaramonte in Sicily.

    I would also like to know why they call their shop Petra, and I was told that Petra was the name of a clothes store residing in the same premises when they started their greengrocer’s. Since the name was already known, they kept it.

    During our visit, customers were arriving in fits and starts, and everyone could get attention from the owners if they wanted to. In addition, being knowledgeable about their products, their customers could get as much or as little help as they wanted.

    Since Petra is open daily but bank holidays, some extra staff are also working there part-time. One of them did vocational training for a week when he attended secondary school, and he has been working there in most of his spare time ever since. Now, he’s graduated as a lawyer, meaning that the owners reckon he will not work for them any more.

    After having left the shop, we totally agreed that we had got a very good impression. Only products of prime quality are sold in this shop, always avoiding food additives if possible. Staff who know the products they are selling, a clean and tidy shop and reasonable prices all contribute to good shopping experiences.

  • The Pieri farm

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    The Pieri farm was founded in the 1830s and has been owned by the same family ever since. It is located in a lovely area stretching from near the Adriatic sea to a height of about 300 metres above sea level. We were shown around the farm by the present owner, Luigi Pieri. First we were shown their bakery where a young woman was making biscuits manually. Actually, biscuits, bread and jam are made by hand in this place, 2-3000 items annually.

    Next, we went to their wine cellar where were treated to a glass of their excellent Merlot wine straight from a storage tank. We also passed their vineyards before arriving at their olive grove where one of his employees was picking olives by means of a machine powered by a car battery. Having first put a net on the ground below the trees, he let the rotating blades of the machine touch the branches of the trees, bringing down the olives.

    The vines
    The grapes mature at different times and the harvest, which is done manually, is carried out in the following order:

    • Merlot
    • Syrah
    • Montepulciano
    • Sangiovese

    The wines

    The following wines are produced at this farm:

    • Rosso del Poggio
    • Rosso Conero Pieri Bottiglia Toscanello
    • Rosso Conero Pieri Bottiglia Bordolese
    • Rosso Conero Pieri Bottiglia Futura
    • Academus

    The olives
    The following types of olive trees are cultivated:

    • frantoio – 80%
    • leccino – 10%
    • pendolino – 10%

    Some of the characteristics of the olives are the following:

    • frantoio – large size, fruity, rather strong aftertaste
    • leccino – round shape, mild sweet flavour
    • pendolino – small size

    Since the olives aren’t able to pollinate themselves, the olive trees are mixed such that different types of olive trees are planted next to each other making bees able to pollinate them.

    The olive trees are grafted onto other specimens in order to grow well at a nursery in San Benedetto where they are sold when they have reached 3 years of age. The olive trees become productive after 12-13 years, that is, when a tree is capable of producing at least 20 kg of olives.

    Copper is used in order to limit fungous infections. As regards the olive fruit fly, which deposits eggs inside the olives, an insecticide called Rogor is used, a product which is not soluble in fat, hence it will disappear together with water and the olive residues during production of olive oil.

    Olive trees are very hardy, drought-, disease- and fire-resistant and they are well adapted to the Mediterranean climate.

    The extension of the area set aside for the olive trees is 4.5 hectares.

    Other products
    The following products are also produced:

    Cereals:

    • durum wheat
    • spelt
    • maize

    Legumes:

    • chickpea
    • lentil
    • grass pea

    Fruits:

    • peach
    • fig
    • jujube
    • tomato
    • pumpkin

  • The olive harvest at del Carmine

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    Having arrived at the del Carmine olive farm, we first noticed the house with the olive press and numerous olive trees. In fact, we had to ask for directions in order to find out where the olive harvest was taking place. Then, having walked a few hundred metres, we could follow the sound in order to find the workers doing the olive harvest.

    The labourers are using a machine which applies a net around the base of the olive tree. The machine makes the tree shake, while the labourers are hitting the branches with big sticks. The harvest is finished after a few minutes, the net is removed from the tree and is closed forming a temporary container for the olives. Then, the closed net is raised above a container into which the olives are let fall by opening the net. When the container is full, it gets transported to the olive oil mill where the contents is emptied into two big aereated plastic cases in order to impede fermentation of the olives.

    Production of olive oil
    Since the olive harvest is highly mechanized, the olives are harvested together with leaves and parts of the twigs. Naturally, the last ones have to be removed. First, the harvest is poured into a container with a hole at its base. Then, the hole is opened and everything falls down on a conveyor belt where it’s transported to a machine which blows away the twigs and the leaves, while leaving the olives intact. Then, the olives are compressed and transformed into a paste. The paste is then transferred to big containers where it is stirred and made more solid. Then, the paste is led to a centrifuge which separates water and oil from the paste. In addition, the centrifuge will deposit a residue which is used as fertilizer for the trees. That is, the olive trees will receive the nutrients contained in the olives.

    The rest of the paste ends up as olive oil and constitutes maximum 20% of the original mass of the olives.

    The oils and their characteristics
    This farm produces the following 5 types of olive oil:

    • the monovariety of Leccino
    • the monovariety of Frantoio
    • the monovariety of Ascolo (origin: Ascoli Piceno)
      the variety FS17 (created by means of liberal pollination of Frantoio at the Institute of Olivoculture in Perugia)
    • a blend

    The wanted characteristics of olive oil include:

    • fruity
    • piquant
    • bitter

    The unwanted characteristics of olive oil include:

    • rancidness caused by contact with oxygen.
    • avvinato (no translation yet) caused by excessive fermentation.
    • riscaldo (no translation yet) caused by an advanced degree of lactic fermentation.

    The qualities of olive oil are:

    • extra virgin
    • virgin
    • lampante (not for human consumption)

    Treatment of the olive trees
    The pruning of the olive trees consists of removing some of the branches of the tree in order to force the nutrients to reach the new olives.

    Olive oil tasting
    Before tasting of olive oil, the oil has to be heated to about 28°C in order to make it emit all its aroma.

    Other information
    The extension of the farm is 20 hectares where 1 hectare is being used for solar panels.

    Other products
    The company is also selling chocolate and a cake called panettone, products which are made by local producers using extra virgin oil from del Carmine instead of vegetable fats or butter.

    The olive oil is also used for beauty products like face creams and soaps for showering.

    The restaurant

    There is also a small restaurant  located next to the house with the olive press. Paying a modest sum, we were treated with a nice selection of their olive oils together with a delicious dinner.