Italian Extra Virgin Oil

Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is your secret to improve every dish!

Olive oil is used all around the world, but the production is normally associated with Mediterranean countries. Italy is especially well-known for the production of a superior olive oil: the extra virgin olive oil.

Olives grow naturally throughout the Mediterranean Basin. In Italy, the fruit grows widely across fields of luscious trees. The Apuglia region accounts for 45% of the total olive production, with competitors in Calabria, Sicily, Campania, Lazio, Tuscany, and Sardinia.

The oil is gained through a very simple process of pressing the olives. From this process, a fat is released which is the oil in its simplest form. From this point, it is possible to infuse the oils for cooking or keep them as natural. The oil can be used in many different ways such as cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps.

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Discover Italian Extra Virgin Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is obtained by pressing healthy and fresh olives, which have to be picked at the correct degree of ripeness. In fact it could be described as “fruit juice” because it is extracted simply by crushing or juicing the fruit and then centrifuging and separating the resulting fat.

Extra virgin olive oil is recommended to everyone throughout their lives and for a number of reasons. It aids digestion, the assimilation of minerals and vitamins, is rich in antioxidants, to slow cellular aging, while also being a high energy supply. Extra virgin olive oil has extraordinary nutritional and health benefits, discovered by scientific research, but also clear for any consumer.

The Consortiums of Extra Virgin Oil

Many Consortiums have been founded to protect each stage of the oil’s production: the olive cultivation, the extraction, the oil mill, and also the storage.

When olive oil is produced it begins an irreversible process of deterioration. This natural process reduces its nutritional properties as well as its aromas and flavors. The entire contents may change which is why it is very important to ensure storage is monitored as well as the production stages, to prevent this from happening.

Each consortium promotes and supports research initiatives and projects to increase the quality of their extra virgin olive oil.

From 1997 the extra virgin oil of the “Consorzio di Tutela Olio Extravergine di Oliva Laghi Lombardi” has the PDO denomination. This consortium is divided into two areas: “Sebino”, which includes the provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, and “Lario” with the provinces of Como and Lecco.

The “Consorzio per la Tutela dell’Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva D.O.P. Riviera Ligure” (PDO Riviera Ligure Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Protection Consortium) was established In 2001. With the goal of protecting, promoting and monitoring Ligurian olive oil in its three geographical indications of origin: Riviera dei Fiori, Riviera del Ponente Savonese, and Riviera di Levante.

In 2001 “Consorzio extravergine di qualità” was also founded. A consortium that aims to demonstrate and promote the culture and the quality of extra virgin olive oil, from the olive growers and olive oil producers to the bottlers and distributors.

As we already said, the quality of the extra virgin olive oil goes along the entire production chain, that’s why it is very important to have a close cooperation between producers, bottlers, distributors, and retailers.

In 2002 the “Consorzio Olio di Seggiano” was founded to protect the production of extra virgin oil. This type of oil is made with olives that grow in secular trees on the slopes of Monte Amiata, in Tuscany, up to 600 meters above sea level. The taste and aroma of this oil can be obtained only on the mountain.

“Consorzio di Tutela olio extravergine di olive Garda DOP”, “Consortium Garda DOP Olive Oil” was founded in 2004, with the participation of producers and operators of the industry of three regions, Lombardy, Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto and four provinces: Brescia, Mantua, Trento, and Verona.

“Consorzio D.O.P. Monti Iblei” was created with the aim to protect the quality of the extra virgin olive oil from the southeast area of Sicily, in the provinces of Ragusa, Siracusa, and Catania

The “Consorzio di Tutela olio extravergine di olive DOP Sardegna” exists to protect every stage of the production of extra virgin oil on the island of Sardinia.

“Tuscan extra virgin olive oil IGP” offers maximum certainty in terms of authenticity. The Consortium ensures each bottle with his signature, verifying the entire chain of production, strictly made in Tuscany, from the plant to the packaging.

Furthermore, the oil is also subjected to chemical and sensory tests (tasting by commissions recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture) to check its compliance with the disciplinary measures. The result is an oil 100% from Tuscany. Tuscan Oil IGP also means typicality and a strong link with the territory, certified by the Community trade mark IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) and by strict production regulations.

This is why this best extra virgin olive oil falls in full among typical Tuscan food which is loved all over the world. Tuscan extra virgin olive oil IGP: a typical Tuscan food of excellence.

High quality from field to table

Olive oil or Extra Virgin oil?

Too often in the ordinary everyday language, we speak of olive oil improperly, and we consider it the best oil on the market because of the natural quality of the fruit (the olive). This is a big mistake: the common olive oil offers really very little.
The common olive oil, instead of the extra virgin olive oil, is obtained by blending refined olive oils and it has lost all of the nutritional and organoleptic characteristics which are typical of an extra virgin olive oil. So if you want a real high-level quality oil check the label carefully!

High-Quality Decalogue

The soul of high quality Italian extra virgin olive oil is a comprehensive manual that gathers together over 100 indications and practices and that is conveniently summarised in a short manual of excellence defined by
CEQ Italia (Consorzio Extravergine di Qualità)

1. Integrated pest and weed control, to minimize the use of pesticides and herbicides
2. Controlled grassing techniques, to limit consumption of water resources and soil erosion
3. Rational fertilization bearing in mind the protection of groundwater resources
4. The use of electric forklifts to prevent the pollution and contamination of raw materials
5. The use of inert gas technology in oil storage to slow the aging process
6. Keeping the product in away from direct light and at controlled temperatures at all stages to reduce the rate of oxidation
7. Shorter use-by dates, together with instructions for the consumer to ensure the correct choice and storage of the product
8. Stringent chemical and sensory parameters to ensure higher nutritional and health-giving properties
9. The exclusive use of Italian olive varieties
10. A ban on the practice of refilling bottles and oil cruets in restaurants

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