When it comes to olive oil, freshness matters.
You can see it. You can smell it. And you most definitely can taste the freshness that comes with high-quality olive oil. And with Fustini’s SELECT extra virgin olive oil, you can get some of the freshest olive oil in the world.
What makes Fustini’s Southern Hemisphere SELECT Fresh Crush olive oil so special?
Here, we answer your questions about what the arrival of the newest SELECT extra virgin olive oils means for your tastebuds.
Origin of Southern Hemisphere Olive Oil
First off, let’s discover where this fresh oil comes from.
Why Does Origin Matter?
And why does knowing where these olives come from matter in the first place? Well, what matters most is the care that the olives are grown with. The expertise of when and how the olives are selected for harvest and milled into oil also makes a big difference.
The key here is in being a first harvest. This means that they are early in the crop and produce high-quality olive oil. In fact, the oil that comes from these first harvest fruit is only a 12 percent yield. That means this type of oil can be quite rare. And in order to ensure that quality, Fustini’s works with experienced and professional producers to get only the best extra virgin olive oil.
Location
This particular oil, as its name implies, comes from the southern hemisphere region of the world. In 2021, we released three distinct single-varietal SELECT olive oils from Chile and Peru. Other countries and regions that tend to be big players in the olive oil game also include Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. This southern hemisphere harvest also makes this olive oil very rare. In fact, only 3 percent of the world’s olive oil comes from the southern hemisphere.
Timing
As with many other ingredients and food products, freshness makes a huge difference. With these southern hemisphere oils, the timing of harvest to milling to receiving on our shelves is most important. In fact, southern hemisphere oil at Fustini’s has a harvest-to-shelf journey that lasts just three to four months. With travel restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we leveraged our long-time relationship with olive oil expert Paul Vossen. With his experience and knowledge of all aspects of the olive oil process, he was able to select the growers and mills to produce this amazing extra virgin olive oil we are bringing in. Due to the low volume of oil, it’s also rare to be able to have this kind of short timeline with southern hemisphere oil.
Know Where Your Oil Comes From
At Fustini’s, we’re dedicated to providing confidence, trust, and expertise in every pour of extra virgin olive oil. When you go to the grocery store for olive oil, who knows when the olives were harvested and how they were milled and stored. With these southern hemisphere oils, there’s care and intention in every step, from the growing process to the milling to bringing it to your kitchen.
Tasting The Oil’s Freshness
Whether or not you’ve had a lot of experience in tasting olive oil, you can taste freshness—or the lack of it—immediately.
With the Southern Hemisphere Fresh Crush SELECT Olive Oil, you can taste its freshness immediately.
In assessing the flavor and freshness of the olive oil, there are several measurements used. Olives are ranked on a maturity index that scores the olives from early harvest bright green to late harvest brown and purple. This maturity level dictates how much oil can be extracted, among the other water and solid particles that come through in the milling process. When you mill green olives, you don’t yield as much oil. However, that oil you do get has exceedingly high levels of nutritional value and flavor. This elevated level of both flavor and health benefits make this oil truly unique and valuable in any type of diet.
While this Southern Hemisphere Fresh Crush Olive Oil doesn’t last on our shelves for very long, we bring in fresh crushes fairly regularly. In wintertime, for example, we’ll bring in olive oil from the northern hemispheres, which carries with it its own characteristics and flavors.
Ready to give it a taste? Check out our SELECT olive oils online or in-store.