Product

I am glad to be able to introduce to you our Award winning extra virgin olive oil, gold medallist at the Japan olive oil championships 2016, our first competition.

Extra virgin olive oil

Tuscany is famous throughout Italy and the world as one of the best olive oil producing regions. Tuscan extra virgin oil is famous for its beautiful green colour, fruity aroma and taste, yet spicy hot after taste. Piccolo Campagna’s emerald green oil is mild and fruity with a delicate spicy after taste.

How our oil is different?

The reason our oil different is that our olive trees are completely surrounded by forest, meaning that any insects detrimental to the olives have their predators nearby keeping a natural balance. Our trees are on a north facing slope, known since roman times as the best slope for olives as south is for grapes. The slope itself is important as olives prefer dry roots and the water runs away better on the slope. The altitude is important as the Florence area suffers from high humidity in summer but at our 280m altitude, we don’t have a humidity problem, also we are not that high that the olives suffer in the cold of winter. Lastly we also farm sheep, during the spring, summer and autumn months the sheep graze under the olives depositing a steady supply of natural fertilizer. They turn the olive prunings in to fertilizer as well. In winter they are stalled for three months, producing a large amount of natural concentrated fertilizer which is used during flowering to produce bigger crops of better quality olives.

 

Picking

Picking is the most important part of the oil process, a mistake here can reduce the quality of the oil dramatically. In mass production farms where tree shakers are used the olives fall onto nets on the ground. During this process olives are damaged, damaged olives raise the acidity of the oil. Our olives are hand raked out of the tree into an above ground net resembling an upside down umbrella. As the fall onto a hanging net less damage is incurred and the oil acidity reduces. Picking commences at 8 am each day and by 8 pm that evening they have already been made into oil. This short turn around also helps lower the acidity.

Production (milling)

The milling process is also very important for good oil. In traditional method the olives were crushed by a donkey powered stone wheel in the open. You see some people saying that they are traditional and use this method but frankly, this method is outdated and bad for the oil quality. Just because its been done for generations doesn’t mean it’s the best method. Our olives are first washed, then sliced in a vacuum before going to the mixer. In the mixer which is a cooled vacuum, as air degrades olive oil, they are mixed into a fine paste, the consistency of toothpaste, before going to the press. In the press the oil is separated from the water and solids before going to the filter. The filter has a fine membrane that removes any residual fine particles. This allows for a beautiful clean green coloured oil that will last out of sunlight for 2 years. The storage of oil is also important as olive oil is degraded by sunlight and some materials such as plastic. Foil covered glass or stainless steel are the best option, so in our cellar the oil is transported and stored in food grade stainless steel tanks at around 19 degrees year round. For sale we use tin cans as the cost of foil covered glass or stainless steel is prohibitive to the buyer. Tin cans are the next best option from stainless steel.

Piccolo Campagna extra virgin oil

How do I use the oil?

If you purchase a 3 or 5lt can of oil we recommend you transfer a useable quantity to a light-proof container for ease of use and protection of the oil. The container should be tinted glass or stainless steel, clear glass can be wrapped in aluminium foil. This will preserve the freshness and flavour. Our oil is perfect for use in all dishes and as a dressing as is.

How much do I buy?

If you use about a teaspoon and a half a day, that would amount to 2.5 litres a year so if there were 2 of you a 5 litre can once a year would be enough. Remember olive oil is harvested once a year so when buying oil if you buy a litre every 2 months the 5th one you buy that year is the same as the first one, so if you buy 5 litres in December it will guarantee you have our oil all year. We normally sell out within a month or two of harvest. Harvest is from mid-October to early December and canning starts at the completion of the harvest.