How it is grown and its organoleptic characteristics
Because Sicilian oil is the best
The olive tree is one of the fruit species cultivated for the longest time in the Mediterranean basin, native to the Middle East, it was introduced and domesticated around 3500 BC
If we look carefully at the olive tree we notice how, deservedly, this is the symbol of the Mediterranean environment, since it adapts perfectly to the temperate climate and the calcareous soils typical of rocky areas, that is, where fertile and permeable.
The olive groves have a somewhat anarchic structure that mainly reflects the nature of the land chosen for planting, mainly hilly and mountainous areas. The cultural environment in which the olive tree can flourish coincides, even historically, with the Mediterranean countries, being in principle between the 30th and 45th parallel, with some exceptions that are recorded above all in Italy and Africa northern, where these latitudes are sometimes exceeded by virtue of particular microclimatic conditions, favored by the presence of large water basins.
Sicily, located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, is the natural cradle for the cultivation of olive trees. In fact, the Sicilian cultivation of the olive tree has very ancient, millenary roots. It seems that it was the Phoenicians and the Mycenaeans who imposed this plant on the island, originating from the regions north-east of the Caspian Sea. Its history has had alternating phases: the Romans encouraged this production, while the Arabs did the opposite; a new positive phase took place under the Norman domination of the island while a new period of obscurantism took place under the Spanish one and then experienced a real phase of revenge under the Bourbons.
Sicily has a great variability of pedoclimatic environments which, combined with the great variety of genotypes from other Mediterranean countries, have generated a great genotypic variety that characterizes the Sicilian autochthonous varietal panorama. Sicilian extra virgin olive oil counts among its main characteristics the ability to enclose the diversity that derives from the specific production area but also a certain unity thanks to some common characteristics such as perfume.
Sicilian oil stands out above all for its high quality which is most appreciated when tasted and it is no coincidence that many Sicilian productions are awarded with the protected designation of origin (PDO). This term is a synonym of quality guarantee sanctioned by the European Community and indicates a product with specific characteristics derived from a precise geographical environment and from detailed and fixed natural and human factors specified by a particular regulation. In Sicily various productions are thus distinguished:
the DOP olive oil of the Iblei Mountains from the provinces of Syracuse, Ragusa and Catania; it stands out because it is medium fruity and because it is a fragrant oil with a slight spicy hint;
Dop Val Demone del Messinese oil which stands out as a sweet and medium-fruity oil;
Valli Trapanesi Dop oil is a very "strong" oil, that is, it has a more decisive fruitiness, it is bitter and spicy;
Dop Monte Etna oil has qualities that place it as an intermediate variant between Messina and Iblean productions;
Valle del Belice Dop oil is characterized by its more intense fruitiness and aromas;
Val di Mazara Dop oil stands out, however, because it has a delicate fruitiness and because it has a stronger herbaceous scent.
Among the factors that determine the quality level of an oil, certainly the first place belongs to the cultural environment (pedoclimatic conditions). In fact, the thermal needs of the oil (need for light and heat in summer, limits of intensity and duration of low temperatures in winter, as well as the speed and extent of thermal excursions) are of particular importance: the plant tolerates temperatures below 10 ° in the flowering phase (mignolatura), at 15 ° during the setting (the moment when the fruit begins to form), at 20 ° during the development phase of the fruit up to veraison (the change in color of the fruits which, at the beginning of ripening, they begin to darken), at 15 ° in the transition from full veraison to ripeness.
A good oil, with a low content of oleic acid, needs to be produced from the pressing of healthy olives, that is, harvested from the tree, properly piled, pressed within 24 hours of harvesting and above all not spiked by the oil fly. In fact, in some years the oil fly can negatively affect both the quantity (it can devour up to 25% of the olive pulp) and the quality, increasing the acidity of the oil and giving unpleasant flavors. For its reproduction, the oil fly needs environments with high humidity and temperatures below 20/25 ° in the summer months. So Sicily in general and the hills of the hinterland in particular, not offering the olive fly these favorable climatic conditions, allow the production of an oil with a low content of oleic acid. To conclude, we can certainly say that the secret of the goodness of Sicilian oil is contained within Sicily itself: the cultural environment. Then follows the olive variety (cultivar). The Sicily of olive oils is mainly based on 8 indigenous varieties of ancient cultivation, most of which have their own vocation area, in which they are able to produce the highest yields and the best quality oils. The so-called minor varieties, grown in restricted areas, play a fundamental role in the composition of natural blends of oils. The singularity, the value and the typicality of the oils of some production areas is due precisely to the contribution of these almost forgotten cultivars.
Source: www.olioprezioso.com
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