They call it "Green Gold", Made in Italy Excellence, always recognized as the renowned symbol of Puglia; undisputed king of the Italian tables and not only ... Well then, no more talk and let's start dealing with the topic you came here for: Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Now close your eyes and try to think...
Could you ever imagine a world without Oil? Hey come on, don't stop thinking about it only as a condiment and/or ingredient (although actually the culinary world without Olive Oil would be a bit “unsappable"), try to expand your mind... don't you think of anything else? Well, then you're in the right place!
In this blog we will face together, step by step, through articles, interviews and authentic pieces of history, the curiosities that see the Olive Oil as the main actor, from its origins, to the novelties of the moment. You will be surprised by the uniqueness of this product, how it affects our daily lives and how much there is to discover and learn... I mean, I decided to write a blog on it!
But let's start with order ...
INDEX
THE ORIGINS OF OLIVE OIL
Since it is an essential element in everyday life, I believe that few have wondered when the link between man and oil was actually born. This is because it seems that green gold has always been around and that it has been given to us almost from above, like a godsend... because after all how do you do without it? And actually we're not all wrong to think so. Therefore, let's see together what the origins of olive oil are.
The oil, and specifically the olive oil, already leaves its first traces in manuscripts of the fifth millennium BC that testify to its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean area, precisely in the Israeli area. Then, the Greeks experimented with the first oil production techniques inside the oil mills, spreading the cultivation of the olive trees throughout Magna Graecia. What about Western Europe? The Romans thought of it, who, with the expansion of their empire, spread the culture of oil to France, Spain and Italy, where then the olive plant found fertile ground so as to become the flagship of the agriculture world.
ITALIAN EXCURSUS
The first appearance of oil in Italy dates back to the eighth century BC, the period of Greek colonization in Southern Italy. Precisely in the South, thanks to the favorable climate, the olive tree became an essential plant for agriculture, a reason for great growth and economic evolution of the country. With the expansion of the Roman Empire, as mentioned above, oil acquired more and more great commercial power, so that the first official figures of sellers were born. The growth of the ‘oil market’, if I may dare to call referring to that time, stopped with the barbarian invasions, immediately after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Italian excursus evolves during the Middle Ages, when oil found in Convents and Monasteries its best friends who gave a decisive turn to the resumption of the of green gold trade and cultivation, then completely relaunched by the Venetian, Florentine and Genoese merchants, who made it famous in Northern Europe, thus becoming Italian excellence.
OLIVE OIL IN PUGLIA
As we have seen, the origins of oil are really ancient, but what are the first traces of olive oil in Puglia?
According to Greek mythology, it was the goddess Athena who planted the first olive tree in Apulian land, then becoming a sacred plant for the Greek population, so much so that anyone who tried to eradicate one was even sent into exile. The first real cultivation of olive groves in Puglia, however, dates back to the Neolithic period (5000 BC), as remains of olive kernels were found in the area of Torre Canne. After that, with the expansion of the Roman Empire, the cultivation and production of oil were spread throughout the Italic peninsula, allowing Apulian olive growing to emerge and develop more and more, becoming a prosperous economic source for the country. After the medieval period, the Venetian navigators in the first place and then also the Tuscan, Genoese, English and Germans gave a great boost to the marketing of oil all over the world, up to Russia, so much so that the ports of Taranto, Brindisi, Otranto and Gallipoli became milestones for the unloading and loading of oil by sea. It is said that in 1559 the Spanish viceroy Parafran De Rivera gave the order to build the road that connects Naples to Puglia built, with branches to Calabria and Abruzzo, precisely to allow a faster and more comfortable way to transport green gold. Unfortunately, due to the worsening of climatic conditions, in addition to a great economic crisis that struck Southern Italy, the 1600s was a not very prosperous century for the cultivation and trade of olive oil. The end of this crisis came at the end of the seventeenth century, when even the most wooded areas were transformed into beautiful plots of land, so as to make the cultivation of the beautiful olive tree more productive.
Today the olives production in Puglia is around 6 million quintals, while that of olive oil is about 900 thousand quintals, representing 27% of Italian production (source data Istat 2021). Puglia is also known as the land of centuries-old and millennial olive trees. In fact, in the area circumscribed by the beautiful cities of Ostuni, Fasano, Monopoli and Carovigno, there is the so-called ‘livion plant’, where it is possible to admire trees with more than 3000 years old, dating back to the time of the ancient Messapi. ... But Puglia is a long land, as they say, and there are different curiosities related to Apulian oil and the various existing types. For this reason, we postpone this in-depth study to the next posts... Stay tuned!
CURIOSITY IN HISTORY
Did you know that...?
Oil has not always been the only condiment used at the table. A bit like today there are those who prefer to use butter in the kitchen, during the fourteenth century two real schools of thought developed: Northern Europe sided for animal fat, given the great development of pork farming, the South proudly carried on the reasons why olive oil was irreplaceable at the table and in the kitchen.
The conception of olive branches as a symbol of peace in the Christian religious sphere has its deepest roots in a Greek myth.
In fact, according to Greek mythology, Zeus proposed a challenge to the gods in order to determine the sovereignty of Athens and Attica: whoever brought the most useful gift would have become the deserving sovereign. At the end, there were only two competitors left: Athena with the olive tree and Poseidon with a white horse. Zeus rewarded Athena who, with that olive branch, wanted to represent peace, unlike Poseidon whose horse recalled war. Here is how oil is born as a divine fruit, a symbol of welcome and brotherhood, a manifesto of the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, as the Old Testament tells and as Christianity remembers today during Palm Sunday.
The Greeks used olive oil not only in the kitchen and in the food field, but turned it into a precious moisturizing ointment for the skin and to keep the body in perfect shape. It is no coincidence, on the other hand, if even today the oil is used as the main element of some dermatological creams and treatments, and not only ... but we will talk about this later in the next posts!
In addition to the Greek world, the ancient Romans also told legends and myths around the figure of oil. In fact, according to Roman mythology, the introduction of olive oil in Italy is to be attributed to Hercules. The goddess Minerva, later, taught humans the art of cultivating the olive tree and the processes of extracting green gold.
The first to categorize olive oil according to the characteristics of the olives from which it derives were the Romans, who identified 5 types:
1. Oleum ex albis ulivis (o Oleum omphacium): Obtained from the pressing of green olives and considered to be of the best quality; 2. Oleum viride: Obtained from olives in a slightly more advanced state of ripening; 3. Oleum maturum: Obtained with ripe olives; 4. Oleum decaducum: Obtained from the olive tree fallen to the earth; 5. Oleum cibarium: Obtained from the withered olives
The importance of oil, the art of its realization and the different uses of green gold are decanted in many texts by great Roman poets, first of all, Plinio il Vecchio who in his “Naturalis historia” wrote: "There are two liquids that are particularly pleasing to the human body: the wine inside and the oil on the outside. Both are excellent natural products, but oil is absolutely necessary, and man was not wrong to devote his efforts to getting it". Plinio spent much of his time observing the harvesting and milling of the olives at the press and always remembered the old order given to the harvesters: “Be careful not to peel and do not to clump the olives” highlighting the suffering of the tree during the process of bacchiing.
In addition to the use of oil in the culinary and aesthetic fields, the Romans also used it as a fuel for lighting, giving life to the so-called oil lamp or ‘lucerna’. The light was emitted thanks to the ignition of a wick (woven wire of textile fiber) immersed in the oil.
THE GEM OF THE POST: SPRITZ WITH OR WITHOUT OLIVE?
Well readers, we have reached the end of the first real article on this blog and, as usual, I leave you with a treat, or a little curiosity that will satisfy you like a sweet at the end of a meal. The olive, you know, is often put into cocktails, not only as an element of decoration, but also for the pleasant combination that the aromaticity of the same creates, enhancing the taste of the cocktail in the best possible way. The invention of the green olive in cocktails is due to the 32nd president of the United States Roosvelt who put it in the Martini, creating the “Dirty Martini” revisiting the recipe for “Martini Dry”, in which the olive was served separately. But what I had never seen was the olive in the spritz... The first time I needed the spritz with a brine olive inside was during my stay in Veneto, and I must say that it left me pleasantly surprised. At that moment, therefore, my curiosity was born: What is the real original recipe? The spritz with or without olive?
Spritz derives from ‘spraying’ (spritzen) and refers to when the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which dominated Veneto in the early 1800s, sprayed the white wine with sparkling water to make it less strong. In the original recipe, the bitter note of the Select is added to the prosecco and sparkling water or Seltz, and then conclude with the inevitable green olive and, only if desired, the addition of a slice of orange. Then, over time, the variants were added to the Aperol or Campari instead of Select. And who would have ever said that the essential element to add to the spritz is the olive and not the common slice of orange? So much so that in the Campari Spritz variant, the classic recipe wants olive and a slice of lemon!