Bolder Olive Oil from Tuscany
Famous for its wines, Tuscany also produces high quality Olive Oils. In Tuscany, the olives are hand-picked while still attached to the branches of the tree and before reaching complete ripeness. This process, know as "brucatura," usually lasts from mid-November to mid-December. Tuscan oil has a distinct green color and a fruity flavor with hints of aromatic herbs. It is exquisite drizzled on pasta, vegetables, meats, fish or simply on toasted bread.
Olive oil has been produced throughout the Mediterranean for several millennia and has potential to grow in other parts of the world as current efforts have shown in Australia, South Africa, California and South America. But, without question, food critics, chefs and connoisseurs tend to agree that some of the most flavorful and highest quality oils come from the region of Tuscany in Italy. Tuscany itself produces numerous regional oils, each with unique characteristics and levels of quality.
In general, olive oils in Tuscany can be divided between the naturally piccanti (spicy) oils and dolce (sweet) oils. These differences are the result of several factors: the variety of olive that make up the oil, the altitude, and time of harvest. The quality of the particular oil, whether piccanti or dolce, is the result of the care taken in the production. For the highest quality oils the olives are harvested by hand in late October and early November, taken to mill ideally within 24 hours of the harvest, cold pressed in clean sanitary conditions, and not blended with other grades of oil.
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