A GUEST POST! TINA AND THE NEW OIL

A lot of blogs feature guest bloggers from time to time, and today I'm joining the club!  Our friend Tina, who's from Seattle, but whose heart is torn between Argentina and Italy, writes about her passion for olive oil.  Tina has recently returned 'home' to Italy and is currently based in Perugia.  Here's what she has to say about olive oil: 

New Olive Oil in Italy

One of my favorite things about living in Italy is that I am close to the source of my favorite food: olive oil. If you follow expat bloggers in Italy on a regular basis, then you've probably been reading a lot about this year’s new olive oil. Autumn has arrived, and it's the time of year when olives are harvested and pressed into gorgeous green oil, and towns all over hold various festivals as an excuse to partake of this heavenly substance.

This may not seem like a big deal to some, but to me it is very important. After spending all that time in Argentina where the olive oil lacked the flavor I was looking for, I’m in paradise right now.

Recently I went with a friend to “Festivol” in Trevi, which celebrated this year’s new olive oil from producers in the area. The area around Trevi is said to have the best olive oil, so I feel fortunate to live within a reasonable distance.

The rain was coming down in sheets the day we went, so we didn't do much exploring outside. Luckily a lot of tastings were set up indoors. I happily flitted from table to table, enjoying the green spiciness of Trevi's olive oil with toasted pieces of bread. I was impressed with how green some of the oils were - to the point of being electric. It’s really too bad it was raining, as I'm sure there would have been a lot of interesting tastings set up outdoors too.

After we’d had enough, and after stuffing ourselves with roasted chestnuts, we paid a visit to Trampetti, an olive oil producer quite well-known in Seattle, my hometown. I just had to go straight to the source - especially considering how expensive their oil can be when you're buying it in the United States, imported. We were greeted warmly by Federico, who showed us around the frantoio and let us taste some exquisite oil. I couldn’t let myself leave without buying a bottle. Good stuff.

My local supermarket is now filled with new olive oil. Giant bottles, small bottles. Everybody is buying olive oil – and if they’re not buying it, it’s because they have olive trees or friends with olive trees. At couple of restaurants I've been to lately, I've seen a bottle of new olive oil on every table. Recently, a friend gave me two bottles of new olive oil from another local producer as a gift. Olive oil everywhere!

I feel so fortunate to live so close to the source. No matter how much you appreciate a particular product, as soon as you see for yourself where it comes from and how it is made, your appreciation only grows. And in my case, it has turned into an addiction.

-Tina Ferrari is a translator, writer and tango dancer based in Perugia, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net, where you can buy affordable prepaid phone cards for calling Italy, as well as on her own blog, TINA TANGOS. Comments are always welcome!