TOP-NOTCH OLIVE OIL



TOP-NOTCH OLIVE OIL

    Abruzzo is a land where the olive-tree flourishes, giving us a pure olive oil which is among the very best.

    The average annual yield is around 26,000,000 kilos of olive oil, 80% of which is pure oil coming from the first pressing of the olives. Due to the outstanding features of its oil, Abruzzo is considered a leading producer in Italy, in terms of quality.

    The fortune of having a fine olive production is due to the mild climate, the varieties of olives grown (such as Dritta, Toccolana, Gentile di Chieti ), the hand-picking of the fruit and the skillful pressing methods. How do you choose a good olive oil? First of all, take a look at the label. Apart from the "best before" date and the name of the bottler, a reliable firm will also tell you where the oil was made and give the address of its producer. But the real test of an oil's quality is to smell its fragrance and taste a little drop of it; follow your nose and trust your tastebuds.

    To guarantee the quality of olive oils, the E.U. has introduced a “panel test”, in which a panel of oil-tasting experts are asked to assess the features of olive oils and record their findings on a special answer-sheet. The oils are then classified according to a quality controlled scale. As a further guarantee of the quality of their product, olive growers in the province of Pescara have been granted a "D.o.p." (Denominazione di origine protetta) label by the E.U. This refers to a high-standard of olive oil whose origin and authenticity are checked before it is marketed.

    The initials are now appearing on the labels of "Aprutino Pescarese" olive oil. Oils produced in the area of Chieti have the "Colline teatine" D.o.p. on their labels, while the province of Teramo is due to receive its D.o.p. recognition, "Pretuziano".

    Olive oil, along with pasta and tomatoes, is one of the ingredients which makes Mediterranean cuisine so great. It gives that special touch to the Mediterranean diet which has been so successful in the U.S.A. High-class restaurants now provide an "oil trolley" where different varieties of olive oil can be selected to go with different types of dish. This is an example which could well be followed in the home, using, for instance, a tangy, fruity oil to dress salads and garlic bread, or a milder, blander one to enhance more delicate dishes, such as fish, or light sauces.

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Spelt

    

This cereal appears to be the first one regularly adapted by mankind for nourishment.

    There is historical evidence that this cereal was already known and appreciated by the Egyptians, the Etrurians and the Romans, who used to grind it to get flour and used it to prepare soups, meals and bread.

    The rediscovery in this period of the cereal (triticum dicoccon) is tied to its perfect integration in a well-balanced and healthy diet, but also depends on its genuine nature and its special characteristics, as it can be served with either strong flavoured food or rustic dishes.

    In Abruzzo, the area where spelt is cultivated(150 hectares) is actually the internal hilly area and the mountains surrounding Chieti, L'Aquila and Teramo. Its cultivation is closely connected to the local population's traditional cuisine. It is used for the preparation of soups, "polenta", pasta and bread. Since ancient times, men have attributed "beneficial powers” to spelt which are confirmed by modern science.

    Its high fibre content is very important to a healthy and well-balanced diet. The starch in its particular structure is digested much more slowly, and so is appropriate for hyperglicemy diseases.

Tomatoes

Oil, pasta, tomatoes: Abruzzo does not betray its centuries-old tradition, which made these three products leading ingredients in the mediterranean diet.

    Besides oil and pasta, then, there are tomatoes: Abruzzo produces about 800.000 kilos of them a year, in an area of 1.600 hectares .

    They are particularly concentrated in the Chieti and Sangro valley areas, there is a processing plant which preserves about 80.000 kilos of this product per year.

Saffron

Saffron has been used in food for 3,500 years. The cultivation of this fine spice began in Asia Minor, because of its medicinal characteristics.

    In the book "La materia medica" by Pedanio Discoride (I century B.C.) in fact, saffron is described as being a good remedy for drunkeness, menstrual pains, and stomachache, for soothing inflammation, and, moreover, as having aphrodisiac properties. These were enough reasons for the increasing use of the spice "Crocus sativus", which is the dried and ground part of the plant, called "stimma”, all over the mediterranean area after the Arab invasion of Spain in 961 B.C.

    From Sicily, where the Arabs imported it, between the 8th and 9th century, saffron cultivation spread throughout Calabria, Umbria, Tuscany and Abruzzo. Thanks to the extensive area for cultivation and the increasing markets, Tuscany and Abruzzo soon became the two major producers.

    A botanist from Siena, Pietrandrea Mattioli,(1500-1577), says in his book "Cornmentari al Discoride" that in Tuscany saffron cultivation was abandoned once it was discovered that a better quality was being produced near L'Aquila, as proven by the great amount of business carried out between L'Aquila and Venice. There is also the story which relates how very impressed Marco Polo was with the quality of saffron from Abruzzo.

    Now, many centuries later, saffron from Aquila is still first in the world and, though its cultivation is limited to 8 hectares on the Navelli plain (each year production is 80 kilos), its use has increased. Excellent on food, especially on pasta and rice, it also has a unique taste and gives the food a nice yellow colour. It is also being used for its analgesic, sedative and antispasmodic qualities.

Honey

 In order to get just one kilo of honey you need three to five million flowers plus the work of a thousand bees.

    Abruzzo, thanks to its mountainous territory, is able to produce not only very large amounts of honey but also several different brands.

    Flowering plants, such as eucalyptus, acacia, citrus, sulla, sain foin and sunflowers, besides the high rnountain species, called "millefiori", allow very rich production; there are 25.000 bee-hives in Abruzzo and 450 honey producers, meaning, therefore, that it is virgin honey, not processed with chemicals but just as the bees make it.

    A valuable treasure, considering the properties of honey which, unlike sugar (a sweetener with energetic properties), make it a truly nourishing food; its components, glucose and fructose, spare the body the effort of assimilation.

    Honey is a natural antibiotic, rich in mineral salts and proteins, vitamins and essential aminoacids.

    Consuming honey also strengthens our immune defenses and, depending on the type of honey (chestnut, eucalyptus, sulla, or acacia), helps the respiratory tract, the circulatory system, diuresis and the intestine, not to mention the properties of its derivative products royal jelly, pollen and propoli, all substances which contain multiple honey properties.

|Sugar coated candies |

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     In the 14th century giving a box of "confetti" as a gift in Sulmona meant giving a little treasure.

    They were made of the most precious ingredients of the time, spices and sugar. Although today "confetti" are served only on special occasion, such as weddings and christenings, in the old days it was almost routine for rich guests to receive "confetti" at the end of a meal.

    Direct descendants of candied fruits, these sugar coated candies have become synonimous of Sulmona, which has become the undisputed home of this Abruzzo speciality.

    They may be smooth, polished, filled with chocolate, almond or nuts, coloured or plain white, and they may be spiced with cinnamon or clove-oil: they are the pride of Sulmona, where production started in the 15th century.

    Since then, this peculiar recipe which has never found its equal, has given Sulmona increasing international fame.

| Wines |

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Apart from producing the nine “LGT” wines(typical geoghraphic indication), Abruzzo also produces three “DOC” (controlled origin denomination). These wines are Montepulciano, Trebbiano and Controguerra.

Montepulciano: cultivation, as with that of the Trebbiano, requires a location that is less than 600 metres above sea-level. The wine itself is an intense ruby-red. It is full-bodied, dry and savoury, and it ages extremely well. It accompanies meat dishes best and is excellent for those more substantial meals. It has an alcoholic content of 11,5%minimum and recent studies have confirmed that, when drunk in moderation, it helps to protect the blood vessels from arteriosclerosis, thanks to the presence of “reservatolo”, a molecule that inhibits cholesterol oxidization.

By using the same Montepulciano grapes but with a different wine-making technique, the Cerasuolo can be made: this dry, fruity wine is cherry-red in colour and is best enjoyed with the region’s cheeses.

Our Trebbiano is straw-yellow in colour and has a pleasant but delicate fruity aroma. It is dry in taste and this wine, expecially when drunk chilled, goes well with all fish dishes, in particular those cooked according to abruzzese tradition. Its alcohol content, like that of Montepulciano, is 11,5% minimum.

Controguerra is the most recent doc brand (1996). Its grapes, unlike those the two other docs, are grown in an area limited to only five towns in the province of Teramo. There are two ways in which this wine can be produced, resulting in either a red wine (a deep ruby-red, dry in taste and perfect for any italian dish) or a white wine (a straw-yellow, dry, sparkling wine, the perfect accompliment to any fish dish).

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