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)

Frantoi - Olive Oil history
September 6, 2018 In EVOO, Health

Olive Oil, an ancient medicine

Olive oil was used by the Ancient Greeks in an incredible variety of ways according to Tom Mueller, who wrote the fascinating book Extra Virginity. It was used as food, fuel, a skin lotion, a contraceptive, detergent, a preservative, pesticide, perfume, adornment, a cure for heart ailments, to relieve stomach aches and against hair loss, flatulence and excessive perspiration. Amazing!!

 

Pliny recorded that green olives and their oil are good for the stomach and in particular against seasickness. He stated that when mixed with wine, green olives can cure mouth and ear infections. Above all, Pliny mentions that the oil should be young, delicate and scented when used for medicinal purposes.

 

From a UK perspective, until just a few decades ago the only way to get hold of Olive Oil in Britain was at the Pharmacy, where it was available on prescription as Olive Oil B.P. (British Pharmacopoeia). This particular oil had passed the tests for purity specified in the British Pharmacopeoia such as specific gravity, refractive index, acid value, saponification value and iodine values all within a specified range. It had to pass further tests for absence of adulterants such as cottonseed, arachis and sesame oils. It’s incredible to see how our habits have changed so dramatically in just one generation.

 

Olive oil consists of glycerides, the fatty acid constituents that are chiefly oleic acid. It has proven properties as a demulcent (relieving inflammation or irritation, especially related to mucous) and is mildly laxative. Since the 20thC it has been prescribed in doses of 15–30ml, three times a day with meals in the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers in order to decrease the secretion of gastric juice. 
In the form of an emulsion it has been prescribed as part of a nitrogen-free diet during the treatment of renal failure.

It can be applied to the skin to remove incrustations in eczema and psoriasis.

It is used as a lubricant in massage.

It can also be used to soften ear wax.

 

For further information about specific health benefits of Olive Oil, please go to health.