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)

September 30, 2018 In EVOO, Health

The Major Benefits of Olive Oil vs Coconut Oil

You may have seen some coverage in the media about the adverse properties of Coconut oil, which is pretty hard to digest if you’ve been using it relatively abundantly in your lives.   So, we’ve summarised the main reasons to switch it out of your life in favour of Olive oil (and we don’t even mention the flavour)

  1. Extra virgin olive oil out performs coconut oil in terms of lowering cholesterol and risk of heart disease.  It has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Read more about this here
  2. EVOO stabilises blood clotting, blood sugar and insulin levels.  Read more how it can benefit those with type 1 diabetes here.
  3. EVOO is based predominantly on heart healthy monosaturated fat vs almost 90% saturated fat in coconut oil.
  4. The best EVOO contains 160 times more vitamin E and 120 times more vitamin K than coconut oil. Vitamin E is a valuable antioxidant that helps protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals (the compounds that form when we convert food in to energy).  It is great for your skin, digestion, vision, reproduction and brain.Vitamin K plays an important role in blood clotting, bone metabolism and regulating blood calcium levels.  It’s such a pleasure to be able to raise your intake of these two important vitamins via food rather than with a tablet.
  5. EVOO has a more complex set of polyphenols (36 different types) vs 6 in coconut oil but also a far higher concentration.  Read more about polyphenols
  6. Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a smoke point of 207°C vs 176°C for coconut oil.  This just means if you cook on a gas stove in particular, you can worry less about burning your ingredients.  Read more about the smoke points of various oils