If Olive Oil consumption made you Mediterranean, we'd get a passport. Or so we thought, until we learned that in the US we're just drinking "lamp oil" even when we buy expensive stuff from Whole Foods...gasp!
***BREAK** - showing the scene from where I finished up this blog post and published. Sitting at a cafe in Poljva.
***BACK TO POST***
Olive Oil Museum
We'd read about the Olive Oil Museum on Brač and had to stop by. It's one of ten producers from the 18th century still making olive oil today. It was an eye opening experience for our crew of Olive Oil lovers. We learned about what it takes to make true extra virgin olive oil. We learned the ins and out, similar to our Balsamic Vinegar education a few weeks back in Modena, Italy.
Martina
We were greeted by Martina, our guide. Once again, being here in the off season allowed us a very personal and 1x1 experience we otherwise wouldn't be getting. Her passion for the process was infectious. We learned a ton of interesting facts:
There are 1 million olive trees on Brač.
Croatia exports virtually no olive oil, as it is almost 100% consumed by Croatians.
Brač is full of limestone, which absorbs rainwater. The result is no lakes or rivers on the island, making olive trees one of the few plants that can survive.
For the same reason above, without water, the islands cannot support large animals such as cattle or pigs.
Because of the rocky terrain on Brač, olives can only be picked by hand as machines won't cut muster.
90% of Extra Virgin olive oil in US grocery stores are fake. She did say that at Whole Foods it's better, only 50% fake.
Extra Virgin must be pressed the day it is picked. This is the major reason why production costs are high to produce real extra virgin olive oil.
The younger the olives (greener), the more health benefits they have.
Tips for Spotting Legit (Non-Fake) EVOO
There is a 'grassy smell' to the oil. Note - this can be faked through some tricks.
Paradoxically, it should not taste oily, but flavorful.
It will scratch the back of your throat after swallowing it, often making you cough when drinking it straight. It's the nutritious polyphenols that cause this reaction. This is foolproof and can not be faked.
Martina recommended buying California Olive Ranch brand in the USA. They have recently been winning world competitions against the Europeans...to the shock of many.
There is no certification process for olive oil, but when buying if you look for those oils that have won awards, it's much more likely that you're getting the real thing.
The Traditional Way
Martina stepped us through the process for producing extra virgin. It was eye opening and a testament to mastery of it as a craft. The amount of grit, precision and labor it takes to produce quality olive oil is impressive. It also carried into a history lesson of how Croatian stored and transported their oil in yesteryear. Here's a walk through of what we learned...
Olive Picking
Olives are picked starting in mid-October.
They are only considered extra virgin when:
olives are green when picked
picked directly off the tree
they are pressed the same day they are picked
Martina mentioned that in majority of large scale production, they wait until the olives fall off the tree and then press them. When this happens, the olive loses much of its nutrients and the result it "lamp oil." In large production, they will take this oil, add a 'touch' of extra virgin along with some colorings, chemicals, slap a nice label on it an call it extra-virgin.
Crushing the Olives
Olives are placed in the large bucket on the back side of the crushing wheel. There is hole at the bottom the olives drop out of to be crushed between the stone. In the old days, this process was done with people only, no animals. The major reason being that animals' poop and pee would contaminate the oil. A paste like substance is created during this process.
Hemp Baskets
After the olives are crushed into the paste like substance, the mush is placed into hemp baskets. The oil naturally soaks into the hemp, the pulp is removed and then the oil is squeezed out of the hemp. The hemp absorbs so much olive oil; they add sea water to help extract fullest extent of oil as possible from the hemp.
Transporting Olive Oil
The old way they transported olive oil was via a full sheep skin - think an old school camel back. Locals would transport their olive oil back home in one of these. Paige decided that she wanted one for her backpack next year at school ;)
Storing Olive Oil
Each home had a stone container to hold their fresh olive oil. It was covered with a sealed top to keep fresh and it was ladled out as needed.
Time to Taste!
Didn't have to say it twice for this crew, we head upstairs to taste the goods. It was absolutely DELICIOUS and we finished the entire bottle on our table!
Meal Replacement
Martina mentioned that many Croatians drink a shot glass of extra virgin each day for health reasons. In fact, often when they don't have time for a meal, they'll simply take a drink of olive oil.
Lastly...The stone roof on the museum was recently restored in traditional Brač method. Martina shared that they only found two people who would do it - an 80 year old and a 90 year old! They went with the 80 year old, who along with his 63 year old son built the new room that weighs 4 tons!
Being a crew that is obsessed with our food, we came away with an appreciation for the authentic. While we won't be able to buy Croatian olive oil back home, we'll certainly have our antenna up to make sure there's a good chance we are!
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