Labels ahoy

As out bottles are a beautiful, they are a bleeding awkward shape for fixing a sticky label to. The solution came from Amys dad- we are tying a label to the neck of the bottle. This does mean hours of scouring card though - todays job. So far- I still have 10 fingers.

Infront is the tester bottle, none of the sticky labels work properly 

 Amy labelling Lancasters bottles

Grimsargh Market - 22nd December 2012

Our second market will be in the village of Grimsargh- just around the corner from Amys mums!
The farmers market will take place in the village hall and features food and gifts ideally suited to xmas foodies. The market also features someone selling olives and feta- which should fit in wel with us.

see http://www.gvca.co.uk/farmers-markets/

Lancaster Market - 20th December 2012

Our first market will be in Lancaster. We will be sharing a stal lwith our sister in law Angela who has been making home made jams and chutneys. Lancaster's traditional Charter Market is hosting a festive Christmas Market in the courtyard of the magnificent Lancaster Castle on Thursday, December 20. Use of the castle for a Christmas Market is by kind consent of the Duchy of Lancaster. From 12pm until 9pm, everyone is invited to step back in time through the historic John O'Gaunt Gate and discover what lies beyond the castle walls whilst enjoying some last minute shopping in a fantastic setting. More at http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/news/2012/dec/3455christmasatthecastle/

Storage of Olive Oil

Always store olive oil in a cool ( under 70 degrees Farenheit or less), dark place. Heat and light causes rapid oxidation, which makes the oil turn rancid. Storing in a dark place is important because exposure to light starts a process of breaking down the nutrients in the oil. Note the dark green bottle used by Sabina Olive oil - you might find an oil in a clear bottle that looks nice, but the oil will break down and spoil quickly by exposure to light through the clear glass. Don't keep olive oil above the stove or oven. Also, do not refrigerate olive oil. Refrigeration does not harm the olive oil, but it will solidify and be unusable until brought back to room temperature.When properly stored, real extra virgin olive oil can last two to three years. Note that because of processing, most of the olive oil (even extra virgin) that you find in your supermarket has a shelf life of only a few months. A good rule of thumb is to purchase oil in small bottles and consume it within a year of purchase; this will also ensure getting the best flavor, and which is why we have chosen 250ml bottles

Great video showing what we do (but in skiathos)!

Second Frantorio

Found it!
This place squashes its olives with huge stones - perfect!
There is again no heat involved, and the olive oil that is pressed in slightly green in colour due to the earlyness of the picking. 5 guys are working (or mostly sitting around) in the mill, and we are trying to negotiate a reasonable price for our first batch of oil.
There are vans pulling up outside frequently to drop off thier oil- some want to keep the oil (in fact most do), but some sell the oil to the farm, this beng the oil we are set to buy. This is the reason ths quality of oil is so rare to find not only in the UK, but the USA, or anywhere olive oil isn't produced.

Bottles

After a week of deliberation we have plumped for these beauts: thanks to Andy for the pic!

Rolandos Farms

We have found a second olive place through our first olive farm owner- Luigi. Although we got paid next to nothing at Luigis, we got some free oil, some wine and enough money to pay for flights back to the UK, so its not all bad. Rolando makes and sells porchetta - and apparently gets 3000 euros a pig- although I find this hard to believe- its only roast pork sandwiches!

Some views of Rolandos trees

Some of the trees are hanging over the main road, so Amy is having to negotiate traffic whilst I am wearing my having jacket courtesy Amys dad Ernie. Some trees are hanging over a garage, some are surrounded by vegetables or nettles, but thankfully the fnal batch of trees are on nice flat land that have been recently mowed. We are not 100% certain that we are meant to be picking these olives, but are avoiding any possible eyes or just smiling politely as if we are sure we are allowed to be here.
Anyway its beautiful scenery, as some of the shots below show

Except the crane in the background- a beautiful scene

Visit to the first frantorio

We have just been to our first frantorio- the olives pressing mill. There are little trucks passing us all the time carrying olives from their own places. Luigi is going to the Selci one- which looks very good, but there the olives are modern hydraulic pressing- and we are after a more traditional technique, whether ths effects the flavour we are not sure (both ways are cold-presssing- heat removes flavour but squeezes out more oil).

Luigis Farm

This is proving more difficult than imagined! The land we are picking is horrendous- very steep, and covered with building materials- we occasionally have to jump out of the way because a bulding block is heading our way!
We are a team of 4 picking with olive combs and nets and stakes to prevent the olives running down the hill. The quantity seems to be good, although it vares widely from tree to tree- some have thousands of olives, some just a few, and there are around 200 trees to pick. We began on the most awkward tree- being instructed by a very elderly woman (Luigis mother) in Italian, I was tying the ladder to the tree with string on her instruction.

Paolo making picking olives look easy

Arrival in Italy

We have arrived back in Italy after a month or so out of the country. We are staying in Lazio, and are tomorrow picking olives at a local olive grove. The landscape is beautiful, there are mountains and olive groves scattered everywhere- litterally almost every bit of green is occupied by olive trees in either peoples gardens or peoples own groves or professional sellers. The olives are a whole mix of colours, sizes and ripenesses.

The local trees, just round the corner from where we are staying