Last call for fresh olive oil

This is your last chance to place an order for fresh olive oil. We will be sending Francesco the final numbers on Saturday. We hope to receive our shipment in early February. Secure your supply of oil and enjoy this delicious experience.

Happy Holidays

Many happy wishes for the holidays. I hope you are all enjoying cooking your holiday meals with Amelia Oil!

Origins

Do you really know where that olive oil is from? It may say product of Italy, but many big olive oil companies purchase cheaper oil throughout the Mediterranean (Spain, Greece and North Africa) and sell it as Italian. How can they get away with this? Well, because they are mixing and blending it in Italy, which makes it technically a product of Italy.

Amelia Oil is 100% extra virgin olive oil from the town of Amelia in Umbria. We know the farmers and the miller, so we can guarantee the origin of our oil.

For more on the dubious origins of some Italian olive oils, take a look at this enlightening article from the New York Times

What makes an oil extra virgin?

Who came up with this silly classification in the first place? No, it does not have to do with the olives' moral integrity, but it does take into consideration other virtues. What sets extra virgins apart from other types olive oil is mainly their low acidity (0.8% oleic acid or less). Amelia Oil was closer to 0.4% last year. Extra virgin olive oil is obtained from olives and it is not chemically altered in any way. Low acidity is what makes extra virgin olive oil so palatable and it should never taste greasy or bitter. Acidity this low can only be obtained from the first pressing of the olives. Other grades of olive oil can be chemically altered using solvents and may be obtained from the second pressing of the pits and pulp.

For more on the different classifications of olive oil grades, take a look at the Olive Oil Source site.

Next, I will try to dispel some of the myths about cold pressing and filtering.

Great Response

After Tyler's article about Amelia Oil came out in the North Shore News this week, we have had a lot of calls and orders. Thank you! We are still taking orders for our 2007 shipment of fresh extra virgin olive oil from Umbria but I will giving Francesco the final numbers after Christmas so he can start putting the order together and get it shipped off.

I talked to Francesco the other day and he is really excited about this year's harvest. It is one of the best in a long time. Don't miss out! Order your oil ASAP. You can order on-line at www.ameliaoil.com.

Amelia Oil in the news

We are in the news! Have a look at this lovely article about Amelia Oil in the North Shore News.


Following up on my last post about organic certification and legislation concerning olive oil, I just read a great article (call to arms) written by Carlo Petrini, founder and President of the Slow Food movement, about the need to review legislation pertaining to olive oil. It's time to rethink who the laws are protecting and bring them in line with consumer demands for transparency and authenticity.

Photo by Mike Wakefield.

Organic Olive Oil ?

A lot of people ask us if our olive oil is organic. Yes, it is. However, this takes some explaining because there is no organic certification on the bottle. Francesco asked me if we wanted the organic certification and we had a long talk about it. For small farmers like the Suatonis, this means a big expense and a lot of red tape. After a long discussion, we decided that getting the certification would only raise the price of the olive oil without bringing any additional value.

Having worked with Francesco Suatoni for a number of years pressing olives at his mill, I knew he wasn't using pesticides and that his production and cultivation methods were as traditional and 'clean' as they get in Italy. In addition, Amelia is well above sea level and because of the altitude (400 m) the olive trees are less susceptible to pests and disease.

In Italy, there are many organic certification methods which can be costly and have questionable standards. There has been little effort to create a standardised system and these programmes tend to favour big agri-businesses, who can afford to invest in what turns out to be largely a marketing gimmick. As this report from Agri-Food services Canada states, there are 9 Italian regulatory organisations!

There may not be a seal of organic certification on our bottles but we can vouch for the organic nature of our product.

More kudos for extra virgin olive oil

I keep telling everyone it is the fat of Gods! Yes, olive oil tastes good and its good for you. It almost seems too good to be true, but it's not. I came across this recent article from the National Post that supports my theory.