OIL EVO TAGGIASCA

Olive oil has always been present on the tables of Italians and it is the base of many recipes of the culinary tradition of the peninsula, it has always been one of the cornerstones of the Mediterranean diet.

As you can well imagine oil, liquid extracted from the pressing of the olive, is native to the lands washed by the Mediterranean Sea, where the mild and breezy climate is perfect for the cultivation of olive trees.

Its origins are lost in the mists of time, in fact it seems that already in 4000 BC oil and its use was widely spread in the Middle East (Armenia and Palestine) where, besides being used for food, it was also used as a medicinal ointment, as a cosmetic for skin care or to power lamps. It was also widely used in Mesopotamia, as it is witnessed by the famous Code of Hammurabi.

The real expansion and fortune of this product, however, comes with the Greeks who also have the merit of having favored its production and commercialization in the whole Mediterranean area.

Oil and olive trees in fact enjoyed great consideration in Greece, as it is the plant sacred to the goddess Athena, protector of the homonymous polis and by extension of the whole Attic peninsula. According to some myths of the time in fact it was the same goddess, who contended the hegemony of Attic with the god Poseidon, to give the lush plant to Greece, as a symbol and wish for eternal peace and prosperity, opposed to the gift of the god of the sea a white horse symbol of supremacy in war, the citizens obviously chose the olive tree and consecrate their city to the goddess, that from that day, in her honor will be called Athens.

Oil was a foundation in the life of Greeks, an athlete who attended the gymnasium in a year could consume at least 60 liters of oil, between body care and personal hygiene (30 liters), nutrition and medical use, religious rituals and as fuel for lamps.

Precisely for this reason the oil was also among the prizes that athletes could win the Panathenaic, in fact, in addition to the traditional gold and silver medals to the winners were delivered precious and large amphorae decorated with black figures, for a quantity that could reach 2000 liters.

Thanks to the advent of the Roman Empire, the cultivation of this plant spread in all their territories and especially in the Italian peninsula, where it expanded more and more until it consecrated Italy, in 1400 in the middle of renaissance, as the largest producer of olive oil in the world.

The great spreading of olive trees is thanks to Benedictine and Cistercian monks, who cultivated it in the gardens of their abbeys. We owe to the monks, those of San Colombano of the monastery of Lerino, one of the most appreciated qualities of olive in the production of oil and typical of western Liguria, the Taggiasca olive. 

This variety, allows to obtain an excellent oil with a fruity flavor, but always delicate. Fundamental, however, to obtain a good extra virgin olive oil, are not only the quality olives, but also the stages of processing. In fact it is important that the pressing of the fruit is done cold, without exceeding the temperature of 27 degrees. Even the wording extra virgin is important if you want to taste a genuine product that preserves intact all the properties of the olive without altering them with other additives.