Organic Olive Oil from Le Marche.
Olive Oil is one of the great pleasures in life and we at Livinginlemarche are passionate about the fine Organic and Biodynamic Extra Virgin Olive oils that are produced in our region. Over time we aim to promote many of the better small producers from both Central and Southern Le Marche and their excellent Organic Extra Virgin Olive oils.
History of Olive Oil
Olive oil has been produced from prehistory in the Mediterranean and was used by the Greeks, Egyptians and later the Romans. It's use permeates the culture of this area and the production and use of Olive oil has now spread throughout the world and to places as diverse as Australia and California.
The Olive tree is a very longeval plant of ancient Asian origin and can live to several hundred years in the right environments. The tree can grow up to a height of 20 metres and is often twisted and has a cracked bark. The leaves are a beautiful pale green and the plant is evergreen and only looses many of it's leaves when subjected to extremely low temperatures. But Olive trees do need to grow in areas which experience both hot dry weather for most of the year, but also the trees need to experience frosts to produce flowers and therefore olives for the following years crop.
Le Marche Extra Virgin Olive Oil
There are many types of Olives grown throughout the world and in our region of southern Le Marche the Sargano olive is widely planted. The olives are harvested when they turn purple and the Sargano olive is widely blended with oils from other olives such as Leccino, Moraiolo and Frantoio. The Leccino and the Frantoio olive varieties are the base of nearly all the oils produced in Le Marche and these are often combined with other less well known varieties. In other areas of Le Marche we find Carboncella in the Ascoli Zone, Raggia and Rosciola in the province of Ancona and also varieties such as Pendolino, Moraiolo and Maurino.
In the Le Marche Olive oils one finds that a typically light and sweet taste prevails. The oils are fruity and slightly spicy but the taste and aroma is pleasantly balanced. As Le Marche becomes more and more popular for holidays and for second homes, the Olive oils are increasingly gaining in popularity both in Italy and in the UK.
The Olive oils we will be hightlighting are all high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oils and all are produced organically and a few biodynamically. Olives are grown all over the Le Marche region in both small and large Olive groves, and most are grown by small producers who normally only distribute their produce in their local area. Some of these small producers are now managing to export small quantities to other parts of the European mainland and even to the UK. We at Livinginlemarche started to import small quantities of high quality organic olive oils from three producers in early 2009 after the harvest in November 2008.
Le Marche is blessed with many fine small Olive Oil producers and we believe we have chosen the best small producers in southern Le Marche to supply our Olive Oil. Most of the groves are situated in the Ascoli Piceno province in the south of Le Marche. We are passionate about Organic Extra virgin olive oils from Le Marche and also in helping the small organic producers reach a larger market outside their region.
Livinginlemarche started importing Olive oil in 2009 from two small producers of Organic olive oil and also from a small producer of Biodynamic Olive oil, including the Sargano variety into the UK in small quantities. These olive oils were from the olive harvests of late 2008, which was a very good year in both quantity and quality for olive oils from Italy. One Olive oil is from a producer in the Monterubbiano area, and one from a producer in the Ripatransone area and one from the Ascoli Piceno area of southern Le Marche. In 2010 we will also be importing olive oil from the central Le Marche region, just north of Ancona and inland from the resort of Senigallia. Monovarietal olive oils featuring both the Carbonella and Raggia olive types are found in this area of Le Marche and we hope to be able to supply customers and clients with both varieties in 2010.
We will be happy to supply full details of availability and prices should you contact us and can courier or post orders throughout the UK. For anyone interested to learn more about olives and oils, I would highly recommend reading a wonderful book by Mort Rosenblum and it is essential reading if you would like to learn in more detail about their history and cultivation. It is titled, "Olives, The Life and Lore of a noble fruit". It traces the history and also the cultures that have grown up around the olive and is a true appreciation of this wonderful fruit.
Olivaverde
Olivaverde is now up and running and we hope to be adding to the variety of organic olive oils that we already sell in the UK in the new year 2010. We have come across some fantastic organic olive oils in 2009 and really want a wider public to be able to try and appreciate these wonderful fruity olive oils. Our aim is to sell six or eight organic olive oils from the Le Marche region and only sourced from small sole producers with guaranteed provenance. In late 2010 we are planning to add a few organic oils from Umbria, Calabria and Puglia where we have made many friends who produce the most wonderful organic olive oils which really have to be tasted to appreciate them fully.
Also we will be selling in a few chosen outlets a few wonderful rare pastas and as well as pasta from Le Marche we hope to have some pasta from the lesser known regions of Calabria and Basilicata in the south of Italy. These pasta are produced in very small quantities and the recipes date back centuries, so please do look out for further news on out blog and Latest news section.
Contact Dermott Sales today if you would like to have more details on the organic olive oils that we offer and prices, and also to be put on our mailing list.
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