Harvesting Olive Oil in Tuscany
By Courtney Walsh,
Italians live longer than most people. They also consume huge amounts of olive oil — a staple of the Mediterranean diet.
Most Italians are convinced that the two are related. Indeed the ancient Romans so revered olive oil they once used it for currency.
Nowadays Italian olive oil is sold throughout the world. But even if it has “extra vergine” (extra-virgin) and DOP on the label, signifying that the oil is from the first pressing of Italian olives, the quality varies greatly.
Earlier this week we had a chance to talk with some farmers in Southern Tuscany. They believe their oil is special, not only because of the copious use of “organic” fertilizer (ie dung) but also because of the way the olives are harvested.
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Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 1:49 pm under
