loveSicily

Iblean olive oil

On the way from the airport to Modica, driving on the motorway that passes through fields and reaches the outskirts of various towns, the perfumes of the Iblean Hills in October takes your breath away. It is not a very pleasant smell I must admit, but it defines the season. It is the strong smell of fresh olives just crushed to make olive oil in the local frantoi. Various families own fields of olive trees, which they diligently take care of. Around this time they collect the olives and take them to the olive press and once the olives are turned into oil, the family members share the final product and give or sell the rest to friends. My
family has bought olive oil from the same family of friends for many years. However, our supply is now in danger since their kids are adults, got married, multiplied and now there is the problem of whether their olive oil would be enough to satisfy their own need and that of friends as well. Luckily we are still part of the close group who managed to get hold of their fantastic golden/green "extra extra virgin olive oil". Not that is the supply ever runs out we should panic that is. The Sicilian land produces one of the best Italian olive oil and Fregintini and Chiaramonte, which are the cradles of oil production in the province, are both close by. Just need to get friendly with another olive field owning family, that's all :-) Or we could just buy it from the more `official' producers.




Olive Tree


The "extra-virgin" olive oil produced in the Ibleans is certified by the Monti Iblei "DOP" label (denominazione di origine protetta). The olive oil of Ragusa is distinguished by a particularly fruity taste, which varies from Giarratana to Modica to lead to a common but distinctive flavour according to the exact location. The most common varieties of olives are the "tonda iblea", the "moresca", "biancolilla" and "verdese", with the picking typically done by hand and the extraction process carefully controlled to guarantee results.

Written on
October 14, 2004
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