Each year my family works through about four gallons of extra virgin olive oil. I love its flavor, and its aroma as it hits the pan. I use it in salad dressings like Kefir Ranch Dressing and Kombucha Vinaigrette, in baking as for these Olive Oil and Wine Cookies, and in light cooking. The process of turning bitter olives into fragrant and beautiful olive oil fascinates me, and though I've visited olive groves before, I never saw a pressing - following olive oil production from grove to bottle.
So I recently invited myself to Jovial Foods' first olive oil pressing of the year. They've supported my work and I've been a customer of theirs for a number of years, so I was elated when they said "Yes" to my request. I bought a ticket, hopped on a plane and had the opportunity to see just exactly how traditional, heirloom quality extra virgin olive oil is made, and I couldn't wait to share that with you.
Visiting Jovial's olive oil production is a lesson in history, in the preservation of traditional foodways, and a celebration of the traditional foods that have nourished generations, and it all begins in the beautiful hills that surround Verona in northern Italy.
