Food & Wine

Olive Oil
Olive oil is probably the most important ingredient in the cuisine of Salento and also in Mediterranean cooking.  Olive oil has been more than just food for the Mediterraneans: it has been medicinal, mystical, magical, an endless source of fascination and wonder and a fountain of great wealth and power.

The flavour, color and fragrance of olive oils can vary dramatically depending on different factors, such as growing region, type of olive and the crop's condition.

All olive oils are graded according to the degree of their acidity. The most prestigious of which are cold-pressed; a chemical-free process that involves pressure alone, which produces a natural level of low acidity.

Extra virgin olive oil, the cold-pressed result of the first pressing of the olives, is only 1 percent acid. It is considered the finest and fruitiest of the olive oils and is therefore also the most expensive.

Extra virgin olive oil can range from a crystalline champagne color to greenish-golden to bright green.  In general, the deeper the color, the more intense the olive flavour.

After extra virgin, olive oils are classified in order of ascending acidity. Virgin olive oil is also a first-press oil, with a slightly higher level of acidity of between 1 and 3 percent.

Fino olive oil is a blend of extra virgin and virgin oils (fino is Italian for "fine").

Products labeled simply olive oil (once called pure olive oil) contain a combination of refined olive oil and virgin or extra virgin oil.