Why are our olive oils different?
You may already know that olive oils have different taste intensities. There are in fact two main categories of extra virgin olive oils depending on the ripeness of the olives upon harvest: "green fruitiness" and "ripe fruitiness" oils. The first are obtained from olives that are still green or "turning colour", picked at the beginning of the harvest season (end September to early November in the Northern hemisphere), while "ripe fruitiness" oil is produced from olives that are mostly already purple, if not black, harvested in November-December, or later.
Green fruitiness or ripe fruitiness?
As a finishing touch, green fruitiness oils can add a decisive flavour to all kinds of dishes, including pasta, soups, salads, tartare, or even fresh cheese and grilled meats. In a forthcoming article, we will outline the main principles that can help select a green fruitiness oil for a specific food pairing.
Conversely, ripe fruitiness olive oils have a mild taste, with little or no bitterness and pungency. If they are also filtered, these are generally recommended for cooking or frying, which in any case would cause the green fruitiness oils to lose most of their aromas. The price of this category of oil should also be lower, since ripe olives contain 20-30% more oil than green olives (1). However, ripe fruitiness oils have a shorter shelf life because they contain less polyphenols (which protect the oil from oxidation).
Our organic green fruitiness extra virgin olive oils
Our online shop offers almost exclusively green fruitiness organic extra virgin olive oils from small producers, which you would have difficulty finding in supermarkets and even in specialist gourmet shops. Why have we made this choice?
It's good for your health: although the fatty acid composition of olive oil is better for your health (especially for cholesterol) regardless of the ripeness of the olives, green fruitiness oils are much richer in polyphenols (2), these natural antioxidants that offer well-documented health benefits. And this is even more true when they are organic (3): in the absence of chemical treatments, the olives develop more polyphenols to resist the greater stress they undergo.
It tastes good: produced by experienced craftsmen, green fruitiness oils fully express the aromas of the olive. They offer a particularly wide range of taste profiles, which vary according to the olive cultivar and the terroir. Many starred chefs are now featuring them on their menus (4) in the same way they feature great wines!
It's good for the environment: as we explained in a recent post, traditional olive groves cultivated organically have multiple positive effects on the environment, notably on soil quality, water retention, biodiversity, carbon capture and fire-fighting.
References
(1) Eric Ariel Ben David, “Influence of time of harvest and maturity index on olive oil yield and quality”, 2011
(2) Vasilisa Pedan, Martin Popp, Sascha Rohn, Matthias Nyfeler, and Annette Bongartz, “Characterization of Phenolic Compounds and Their Contribution to Sensory Properties of Olive Oil”, 2019
(3) Anallely López-Yerena, Julián Lozano-Castellón, Alexandra Olmo-Cunillera, et al. “Effects of Organic and Conventional Growing Systems on the Phenolic Profile of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil”, 2019
(4) Carole Hallac, “A New York Expert on Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, the Italian Elixir for a Healthy Life”, La Cucina Italiana, 10/01/2020