How to know you’re buying real olive oil
There’s fake olive oil?
YES!
I got to spend a few days in Toscana/Umbria Italy, the mecca of olive oil, making pasta, drinking (real) olive oil, and learning about their farming practices. I got to walk through rows and rows of olive trees on an organic family farm called Il Fontanaro where they don’t use any chemicals in their farming (because that would be unethical). So of course my first question was- how do you keep the critters away?
Truth is, there aren’t many critters out in the hills of Umbria and when it comes to insects, they hang a solution on a branch of the tree which will deter or kill any kind of mite or fly without harming the fruit! So here was my next question- In America, “the powers at be” say that part of the reason for spraying the food with toxic chemicals is so that we will have enough to feed the population. Before I could finish, the owner of the Umbrian estate had much to say on debunking that statement. She says there is a way to farm sustainably and that not having enough food to feed a population is not of concern to Italian farmers or government. They’ve been doing it for decades and are doing just fine. Really makes you think with all of the advances America has made, the way we feed a population is extremely behind and misguided. Not only does the U.S have the highest chronic disease rates in the WORLD but the USDA and FDA continue to approve fake foods, dyes, chemicals, emulsifiers, and fillers many of which have been directly linked to chronic disease like cancers and ASD. Do you see the cycle?
Okay, this post was not meant to go into all of that, just thought it was important to correlate :) HERE are the top 3 things to look for when purchasing olive oil:
Dark Glass Bottle Or Can
Plastic bottle or one that is translucent is a NO GO because of oxidation. Once the oil is exposed to light or heat, it will become rancid faster.
An Address On The Bottle That You Can Trace Back To A Farm
Most olive oils you purchase at the grocery will say “product of Italy” or “product of EU”. THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT’S FROM ITALY! All it means is that it was bottled in Italy or the EU, the contents inside the bottle could (and most likely are) a mix of different oils from different regions. You want to look for an address on the bottle to a farm that is traceable. In the photos below, the first photo has an address while the next 2 just say “Country of origin ES TN IT” or “product of Italy”.
Organic Filtered Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Filtering the olive oil is a process that removes any debris and hard to ingest particles to make it as pure and smooth as possible!
This is real Italian olive oil that I was able to purchase directly from the farm, however shipping from Umbia is not cheap! So the next time you go to grab some EVOO at the store remember this post!
xx, Steph
