Liquid Gold This picture was taken last November 2019 in Greece at the harvesting mill for Chris & Olive. Their EVOO is bright, it is fresh and it is balanced. It remains at the top of my favorites. www.chrisetolive.fr
When purchasing your extra virgin olive oil make sure there is a harvest date on the label. I rarely will consume oil that doesn’t have a harvest date listed on the label, somewhere. Much the same as the importance of knowing your food source, unless I know the producer, where the olives came from, how they were treated and when they were harvested I won’t purchase a random bottle of olive oil. Its not enough to follow information such as “best sold by” or “botted on” and don’t be fooled by a pretty label, an attractive bottle or advertising.
One thing to keep in mind is that olive oil is not wine. It does not get better with age. It is highly perishable and when not handled correctly it will break down and turn rancid over time. This often can begin in the mistreatment of olives during the harvest and milling process.
When possible, it is a really good idea to smell your olive oil first. When paying attention your very first smell will be very telling. With just a little bit of practice you can quickly smell a rancid oil. Much the same as when you smell an old bag of potato chips gone bad. It is very obvious when an oil is old, especially when comparing it to a fresh and delicious extra virgin olive oil.
Have fun with it! Over time you can build a reference library in your mind for fresh olive oil by paying attention to the specific smells of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs, even fresh cut grass. Each olive variety and its cultivar, meaning growing conditions, has its own characteristics. Paying extra close attention to the different smells and flavors in your food can build your sensory library for picking out specific characteristics in an extra virgin olive oil. With a little practice it can be really fun.
She had a successful career in journalism but her past was calling her. As a little girl, Ioanna spent her summers running through her grandparents olive groves. It was there that she learned the depth of love and respect that her grandparents had for their olive trees.
We visited their family home, taking in the beautiful energy filled with days gone by and pictures of her loved ones, past and present. Ioanna was standing by the very small window over the kitchen sink, when she shared her grandmother’s philosophy with us. The view out of the window was over looking the Gulf of Corinth, stunningly blue waters that took my breath. On the other side of their home were groves upon groves of olive trees that covered the hilly terrain. The back drop was the spectacular mountains that had been shaped over thousands of years. Growing up her grandmother would always remind her that although our eyes want to look at the sea, it’s the mountains that give us our magic. I will never forget these words or the touching emotion in Ioanna’s voice when she shared her story with us.
It’s magical! Unless you have had the privilege of walking through a well loved olive grove, it is hard to describe that magic that I felt. For starters, olive trees act as a carbon to purify the air we breathe. So it is a given that you are breathing in high quality fresh air when in the presence of a grove. In the case of My Precious Olive Tree the visual landscape is magnificent. Absolutely a feast for the eyes! The stillness relaxes you as if you were in a beautiful spa environment. Ioanna’s gentle ways with her warm smile and kind heart while sharing her history and life long love for these olive trees makes you feel as if you are with family. I don’t know by describing this experience if I can do it justice but once you taste this extra virgin olive oil, you will have a better understanding of what happens prior to it ever going into a bottle for your kitchen.
Fast forward, Ioanna traded in her celebrity to raise her children and take over her grandparent’s olive groves. In a very short few years she is seeing top awards from around the world. This is so important to a producer, as it exposes their extra virgin olive oil to a world that might otherwise never know about their efforts to create one of the best on the market. She has faced more of her share of diversity. Not only the typical farmer’s hardships that are out of her control, she has also dealt with the resistance of not doing it the way it’s been done for thousands of years. Those local farmers that have given her such little respect are now starting to take notice and express their curiosity in how she is producing such an amazing product. Ioanna is a great example of consistency, patience, and determination. Qualities no doubt she learned from her grandparents.
Ioanna with her Precious Olive Trees
There is so much pride surrounding this thriving company. From the people that work in the fields who are treated like family, to Ioanna’s actual family, there is endless love for these precious olive trees.
The men in the field take care that these olive trees are handled with the utmost care. When we were visiting recently, for their harvest, I watched one of them working while standing on one foot so not to step on the fallen olives. An image I will never forget.
Jimmie is like a brother to Ioanna. He’s been with her family for almost a lifetime.
You will
often hear Ioanna, the founder of My Precious Olive Tree, say that olive
oil runs in their blood. Below is a little snipet about this precious family
and their olive trees. It was taken directly from their website:
“We live in Greece, we take care of our olive trees on our own. We love what we do and our aim is to share it with you.Four generations of farmers, residents of a wonderful village of the Peloponnese called Ampelos. They all lived for almost a century, and were strong and healthy until the end of their life. Being a farmer is hard work. But none of them chose to do it in order to make their living; they did it because they believed this was the way to ensure a long and healthy life. They all loved mother earth, and felt grateful to feed themselves and their families with the goods it produced, while olive oil always had the most prominent place in their diet.”
I encourage you to visit their website! Where you can adopt a tree that is living in this beautiful grove and receive the freshest and most delicious award winning extra virgin olive oil. https://mypreciousolivetree.com/
Now you can adopt a tree and receive this amazing EVOO
Did you know that you can enjoy an exceptional Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Greece by ordering it on Amazon? It’s true and Thea Olive Oil has made this possible. This is a wonderful extra virgin olive oil that can be used for cooking and as a finishing to enhance your dish. It’s a light to medium intensity, and oh so fresh! It goes well with fruits, vegetables, poultry, fish and some cheeses. I use it in and on many desserts as well.
During our recent trip to Greece for their olive oil harvest season we had the pleasure of having dinner with part of the Thea family.
My son, Joseph on the left and I’m in between Vasilis and Eliana
Their olives are Koroneiki variety from Kalamata, Peloponnese, Greece. While some producers use machines to capture their olives, to ensure that there is minimal damage to the fruit, the Thea family handpicks their olives. Always with the utmost care for the land where the olives grow as well. Their olive oil is a monovarietal which is made from 100% Koroneiki olives. The Koroneiki olive is considered the “queen of olives” in Greece. Its native to the Peloponnese region of southern Greece.
Koroneiki VarietyThea Extra Virgin Olive Oil
And while we are enjoying our Thea Extra Virgin Olive Oil, like so many across the Northern Hemisphere, Elias Militsis is pruning his grove for healthy olives next year.
Passed down through the generations
Elias Militsis has been harvesting for as long as he can remember. The olive groves in Kalamata, Greece were passed down to him from his grandfather, and each year he tends to them and harvests the olives with his family. The work involved is strenuous as traditional methods are used without big machinery, and the terrain is rocky. Besides harvesting the olives, pruning and watering the trees during the year are important to prepare for the next years harvest. The olive harvesting has always been a way of life, and the olive oil produced has been used for family cooking needs for the rest of the year. Until recently, when his son, Vasilis and daughter-in-law, Eliana decided to botte the olive oil and share it with the world, labeled Thea Olive Oil… and we are so happy that they did! I’m never without it in my kitchen. You can find their delicious Extra Virgin Olive Oil at https://www.amazon.com
It was our very first harvest day in Greece, located near Kalamata. Kostas Liris, an agronomist and a leader in is his field, was working with a family of olive oil producers and invited us to experience what a harvest looked like. The day turned out to be much more than just a harvest.
Kostas always focussed on task at hand
My son, Joseph and I met Kostas at our hotel and jumped into his car. On our way, we stopped at a small local shop that had meat displayed in the window. Joseph quickly followed Kostas to experience first hand whatever was about to happen. When they returned Kostas explained that he had picked up some already prepare lamb to have for lunch. Joseph had a very big smile on his face and off we went.
But first there was work to be done! We arrived at a home with fields of olive trees and we were greeted by Olivé, with a very warm welcome. Olivé is one of the two brothers who gave up a career in finance to pursue his dream for his family with simpler days amongst the olive trees. Chris, Olive’s brother wasn’t there this day. Olive took us to the back of the house where family and friends were hard at work.
Koroneiki variety
When you find a producer such as this family, there is a great respect for how olives and the trees they grow on are treated. We wanted to learn and while there we wanted to help. Joseph and I quickly jumped in and started following the rest, while trying to stay out of the way. This is a critical time during the process because once the olives are removed from the trees they must arrive at the mill within a few short hours. Olives are highly perishable and will start to ferment quickly, which will then reflect in the taste of the oil.
Carefully removing olives so not to injure them
A life now filled with the unknowns, hard work, coupled with excitement, joy and pure beauty all wrapped into a day, a month, and years of work. To be a small olive oil producer means you are putting your heart and soul into something that you love deeply. It’s anything but boring and sure to be exceptionally beautiful. A life that his children can grow up in while experiencing the gifts of cultivating a slower life, surrounded by close family and friends.
A way of life passed down through the generations 2020 is sure to be a pleasure
While visiting Greece for first time in many years, with my son to experience the olive harvest, we met such amazing people and tasted several outstanding early harvest olive oils.
It’s a family affair. Traditionally many olive groves are past down through the generations and we were there to experience the pride of their hard work. It’s a year of farming with all of the risks that nature has to offer, ending with celebratory hearts. It was hard to find anyone from Greece that didn’t have olive trees! They are everywhere and precious to everyone.
While most harvests in Greece end in December, the award winning Extra Virgin Olive Oils were being harvested in early November. This is to capture the olives while still green. Olives, from an early harvest will yield much less oil, but with exceptional flavor, more polyphenols and amazing antioxidants. For this reason, olive oil is really the only oil that you can actually taste just how healthy it truly is.
