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Cooking TipsLike An Extra Virgin!
by:
Peter Carnes
I’m talking, of course, simply about extra-virgin olive oil!
Not many an folk would-be disagree with the assertion that olive oil is the really basis and hallmark of southern French cuisine. It’s used everywhere: in sauce
and pistou, in tapénade and anchoiade, in ratatouille and pan bagnat ….
It’s used to flavor ragouts and daubes, to marinade meat and fish before cooking, to dress vegetables and salads, to add a distinctive Occitan
je ne sais quoi to breads such as fougasse, and even as to certain cakes and pastries ….
The cooking of French region
would-be be unimaginable without olive oil!
Introduced into French region
by Greek traders nearly 3,000 years ago, the olive tree has move to symbolise many an things: light, wisdom, chastity, immortality. The olive branch is a universal emblem of peace and harmony. And don’t forget that it was an olive branch that the dove brought back to Patriarch
as a sign that the long ordeal of the Flood was finally over.
Growing and cultivating olive trees has ne'er
been an easy task. They demand years – even as generations – of care, attention and nurture, taking over 35 years to reach maximum growth and to finally yield a plentiful harvest.
The harvest ordinarily begins in September, and can continue through to February, depending on the type and color of the olives being gathered. Age-old traditional methods are still used extensively to harvest the fruit. Several olive-growers pick the olives by hand in order to ensure that the delicate fruit is not bruised. Others use a special hazel pole to knock the olives on to sheets spread out under the trees.
Even after the fruit has been harvested, the process is still an intensely laborsome one. The olives have to be sorted, washed, rinsed and then ground into a thick paste between large granite wheels.
The resultant olive pulp is hydraulicly
ironed
between sheets of hemp or sisal, and then separated by centrifugal force into oil and juice.
This is the point in the process which determines the type and quality of the oil being extracted. The finest olive oil – the huile d’olive vierge, produit naturel, 1ere pression a froid ( virgin olive oil, natural product, 1st cold press) is the result of this first, natural, chemical-and –additive-free process. This is the olive oil with the finest flavor and the highest pedigree: the connoisseur’s choice.
It’s the natural acidity of the final product that determines its “virgin” status. Oil with an acidity of less than 0.8 per cent can with pride
boast the “extra virgin” label. Oils with an acidity of between 0.8 per cent and 2 per cent are simply everyday virgins!
In French region
the better olive oils are purported to move from Nyons, which is set at the base of Mont Ventoux , but, speaking personally, I have always preferred the olive oil from la vallée des Baux in the Bouches-du-Rhone. It has a particularly unique flavor that has been diversely represented
as ‘green fruit’, ‘artichoke’, ‘cut hay’ - even as ‘wet grass’!
I accept that my preference may be an emotional, rather than a rational, one. I have spent a lot of time in that area of Provence, and have used vallée des Baux olive oils for cookery and flavoring for many an years.
Having same
that, the area was awarded designation controlée status for its olives and olive oil in 1997 – so my loyalty has been well-vindicated.
The local olive oil is used extensively (and to great effect) in local restaurants, such as the world-famous Oustau de Baumaniere, its younger relative
Le Cabro d’Or (both set in the unbelievably
beautiful village of Les Baux-de-Provence itself) and the elegant Le Rigalido in the near village of Fontvieille.
If you happen to find yourself in this lovely region, several of the local olive merchants gayly open their olive mills (and their shops) to visitors. Try the far-famed Castelas olive mill in Les Baux or the Moulin de Saint-Jean and Country house
d’Estoublon sites, several on the Maussane/ Fonvieille road.
You can find much information at the following web sites:
http://www.huile-moulinsaintjean.com
http://www.estoublon.com
So get yourself several real, authentic Occitan
olive oil. It’s nice for your heart – and it tastes great, too!
Just simply about the author:
Peter Carnes is an author, webmaster and online publisher. His Provence-related sites are at:
http://www.heart-of-provence.com
http://www.provence-light.com
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