Cutting wild olives

Moves closer to the harvest season.
It is time to prepare the plants to facilitate the harvest operations.
Armed with pruning shears, you will be required to cut the whole wild olive growing at the base of the
olive trees. Both because it would disturb  to spread out the tends during the harvest, and because these new seedlings that try to come up do nothing but consume nutrients from the plant that hosts them.
The wild olive in our groves grow because all of our olive trees are derived from wild olive trees that have been grafted decades ago by our grandparents.
This type of cultivation ensures a long life to plants (even centuries if not eradicated by man) and at the same time gives  greater strength and resistance to weathering and external attacks.

The price to pay for these benefits is that every year new shoots should be cut. Operation for which it takes on average about 15 minutes per plant and this weighs once again on the price of the final product.
The 'modern' plants  of intensive olive groves, which instead come from nurseries, do not have this problem, but at the same time they are also less noble and strong.
So, patience, better to work a few days more on each olive grove but have more robust plants and obtain a product more typical.
I'm going now that the plants are waiting for me;-)

We offer free accommodation in Sardinia, in a villa near the sea

The olive season 2013 is coming, missing little more than two months.

The summer season in the wonderful sea of Sardinia is at its best.

 Pistis beach
Phto Hari Seldon

Having to prepare in the short storage rooms and containers for the upcoming production of extravergin olive oil, and then wanting to take out the latest oil stocks of last season, we decided to offer an interesting combination of the taste of Sardinia to our customers .

The villa: between green and blue

We have a comfortable villa in the dunes of the Costa Verde, heritage, restored and renovated, of a grandfather who had his fold there, a few hundred meters from the beach. Immersed in the tranquility and in the scent of rosemary, cistus and lavender, with wide tree-lined courtyard, veranda facing the sea and all the services for at least 5 people (but also 7-8). Click for more photos

The view from the verandah ;-)

View casa Caterina - Sardegna in a larger map

In the immediate surroundings only a few farm, other isolated houses and the famous centuries-old

juniper that housed the Home of the poet . 3km to the north, the small but friendly fishing village of St. Anthony of Santadi (fraction of Arbus), 2 km to the south, the fun village of Tower of Corsairs (always fraction of Arbus) and within 10 -15km nature reserves (populated from the beautiful Sardinian deer), abandoned mines with their villages (Ingurtosu-Montevecchio) of the miners and their museums (with possibility of guided tours to archaeological industrial), and even larger and wild sand dunes in Europe , those of Piscinas, enchanting and famous.

Easily reachable, with all their cultural, culinary, craft, archaeological and mundane, even the surrounding villages: Arbus, Guspini, Gonnosfandiga .......
In short, the perfect place for a healthy vacation, relaxinglittle noisy but with many opportunities for recreation.

What is our proposal? Offer this possibility of invigorating and rejuvenating holiday, slow and immersed in the typical of Sardinia, with 7 days of FREE accommodation as a homage to those who purchase at least 100lt (also in small group purchase) of our extra virgin olive oil.
An oil of the highest quality and guaranteed: flipping through the pages of our site you will realize what kind of product we are talking about, to understand origin, type of work and take a look at the analysis carried out at an authorized laboratory.
And if you decide to take this opportunity, we will, at your request, to lead you both in the olive groves from which we get our noble virgin, as in the local of production, where we will explain all the manufacturing processes to guarantee total transparency, and to send you a bit of our passion for this product.
We also offer a minimum of logistical and practical support for the knowledge and enjoyment of the territory described above.
This offer is valid for the duration of the months of August and September.
Do not hesitate, organized a small group of purchase (We repeat that the house is fine for 5 people, but it is sufficient and has beds for 7-8 and if you want you can also fix the curtains in the large courtyard ..... ), but do not miss this rare opportunity to soak up the famous Sardinian hospitality and genuine.
For full details of the proposal please contact us without any commitment, we will be happy to answer all your questions: a.faber @ tiscali.it  

Oleocanthal, when the extra virgin "pinches"

One of the most frequently asked questions about the characteristics of our oil is: "Why is it so hot? Why it pinches me in the throat?"
It 's a question that arises usually those coming from areas where there is no culture of the olive, where the taste is dominated by oils of supermarkets or where the collection and production of extra virgin takes place when the olives are already too mature (to reach the maximum amount but with the detriment of quality) and have lost certain characteristics, beneficial and positive, those that make the oil hot.

Generally are people who live in the north: more you move away from areas of olive production, and more they think it strange that strong character of extra virgin. Basically consumers whose taste is not used to extra virgin olive of high quality.
Indeed, paradoxically, for many the spiciness is synonymous of product in some way not good!!!
Yeah, but because our virgin is so hot?
It is because it contains a high number of POLYPHENOLS, and in particular what makes it spicy is OLEOCANTHAL.

OLEOCANTHAL MOLECULE

OLEOCANTHAL was discovered by a team of American scientists in 2003. While doing research on high-quality extra-virgin, they noticed the presence of this particular molecule instead was not present, or the percentage was significantly lower, in oils of lower quality.

OLEOCANTHAL is the natural corresponding  of Ibuprofen, a synthetic compound that is the basis of the most famous and used anti-inflammatory and analgesic.

Such as ibuprofen also OLEOCANTHAL has these anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, benefits and healing, and with the advantage of being completely natural. And that's what makes us feel a sense of pinching when we eat a good extra virgin olive oil: this sensation is due to its action on the micro-cracks present in the mucous membranes of our mouth.
Practically the same feeling, albeit less intense and uncomfortable, we feel when disinfect such a wound: feel burning and tingling, this means that the medicine is doing its job and is having an effect ....

Of course it must be said that the percentage of this molecule in the oil is not as high as that of ibuprofen in drugs and therefore can not replace the use of it in case of medical treatment, but it is certain that daily use of extra virgin olive oil with this strong component significantly aid in the prevention of inflammation and ward off micro infections and unwanted bacteria.
Quantifying we can say that in 2-3 spoons of oil is present an amount of OLEOCANTHAL corresponding to about 10% of an average dose of ibuprofen present in anti-inflammatory drugs of most common use.

Moreover, recent studies have shown that this compound has an important law enforcement efforts in the prevention of dementia and Alzheimer's.

In short, we do not want to say that from now on we will cure with extra virgin olive oil, but this discovery is one more reason to prefer an oil of high quality, which guarantees a mild but constant daily preventive action more than other oils.

So, to conclude, hereafter when in sampling extra virgin olive oil and you will find it spicy and that will pinch you in throat, go easy that almost certainly will be an extra virgin quality, vintage year (because OLEOCANTHAL tends to decrease over time and after just one year is already not  noticeable) and from green olives freshly pressed.
Of course will probably cost you a little more, but remember that for a manufacturer choose to do this type of oil, results in a significant loss of quantity (up to 50%), especially because it has to be done when the olives are not yet ripe and therefore their quantitative yield is very poor.