LOCATION AND CLIMATE

 

As you might expect, olives grown in cooler areas where there is more moisture (rainfall and dew) exhibit leaner, more restrained characteristics.  This doesn’t however mean that great oil can now be made in Iceland – you need a minimum amount of sunshine to make your Extra Virgin Olive Oil taste remarkable, similarly to tomatoes or stone fruit.

Olive trees are sensitive to winter freeze (the Casaliva cultivar is more resistant to cold, hence being grown in the Garda region).  It is also easier to farm organically where the climate is more stable and less chemical sprays are required to keep the trees healthy.

OLIVE MATURITY

 

Here’s the thing – all olives are green.  When they become fully mature, they turn black.
Olive maturity at the time of harvest is a major factor in flavour and quality: olives harvested earlier (green olives) feature more bitter, grassy characteristics, with lower yields and with the highest anti-oxidant content.  The oil is a much more intense green colour and has a longer shelf-life.  In terms of production, milling can take longer with green olives (a longer malaxation - the action of slowly churning milled olives to release droplets of oil - is needed and can be more complicated) but the results are far superior!  Don’t choose olive oil from over mature fruit: it lacks all the potential goodness and flavour.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN GROVE AND MILL

 

People who care passionately about what they make and follow it personally every day have the capacity to create products with far higher quality, with integrity, and that taste of where they come from.  They are also able to do this by caring for the environment they inhabit.

FRANTOIO DI RIVA BOX

This box contains 6 bottles of extra virgin olive oil made exclusively by Frantoio di Riva from groves on the banks of lake Garda.

Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO green label x 3 bottles (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO organic white label x 1 bottle (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO blue label x 1 bottle (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, ULIVA Garda Trentino DOP x 1 bottle (50cl)

May 14, 2018 In Recipes, Spring
SPRING | SUMMER | AUTUMN | WINTER

Dill Mayonnaise

Frantoi Cutrera, Primo

An extremely simple but well made mayonnaise can make all the difference to your dish, especially if it’s made with incredibly good Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  It works well with many different fish dishes, including crab.

Ingredients

1 large free-range egg yolk

½ tbsp. honey

½ tbsp. dijon mustard

1 tsp fine sea salt

about 450ml extra virgin olive oil, we use Frantoi Cutrera Primo for this one

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

20 grams of chopped dill

Which EVOO to use?

Primo from Frantoi Cutrera in Italy is a fabulous choice for this type of dish as you have quite bold flavours in the other ingredients.  Made of monocultivar Tonda Iblea it features a distinctive scent of tomato leaf and freshly mown grass, which is an uplifting addition to dill and beetroot.

Method

1.     Using a stick blender, combine the egg yolk, honey, mustard and salt.

2.     Whisk on full speed for 30 seconds until smooth.  Then keeping the blender on, begin to add the oil very slowly.  After adding a third of the oil, add the vinegar and then continue with the rest of the oil.

3.      Just before serving add the freshly chopped dill and stir through.