The olive oil in Puglia was harvested late last fall and bottled around November. I’ve been waiting patiently to order my extra virgin olive oil from Puglia because it tastes different than any olive oil I’ve tasted in the States (except for my friend’s olive oil from Casa Piena in Yountville – HANDS DOWN the best olive oil I’ve tasted in the United States!). I also believe Puglia’s ‘extra virgin’ is the real deal (see my post It’s all About Olive Oil in Puglia). I knew I wanted to purchase two brands this year: Masseria Salamina and Masseria San Dominico – both of which I visited during last year’s trip to Puglia. Not only did I enjoy their taste, but I like knowing the farms and owners personally.
While I was waiting patiently, my new friend Ilaria Tosato from Villa Pinciana sent me some of her extra virgin olive oil and another olive oil from Frantoio Terre di Capalbio – both from Tuscany. What a treat! I’ve generally found Tuscan olive oils to be lighter in taste so I actually prefer olive oils from Puglia – but I am curious about the ones she sent me.
Filipo from Masseria Salamina taught me that you should open one container of olive oil at a time and use it within 3-6 months so it’s fresh. So I’m waiting to try my friend’s oils once I’ve finished the one I’d already opened. I’ve stored my unopened tins in the wine cellar to keep them nice and cool.
I contacted Masseria San Domenico and easily ordered 12 bottles of their oil. Two adorable boxes of 12 1 liter tins of their oil arrived relatively quickly and effortlessly.
I’ve reached out to Masseria Salamina but have had difficulty reaching them. Supposedly they have sent some oil to me, but as of this post I have not received it. I need to reach back out to them… I am actually most anxious to receive their olive oil because I spent so much time with Filipo and I feel most connected to their masseria. He and his sister couldn’t have been more hospitable as they showed us around their family’s farm, which is been in the family for 200 years.
Desperate for my Puglia olive oil allotment for the year, and afraid I would miss out, I went online to search for other organic 1 liter tins of olive oil from Puglia. I found a company called Artisans of Taste, whose proprietor is an interesting woman named Cinzia Rascazzo, a food & olive oil expert and wine sommelier. After several emails with her, I ended up buying 12 1 liter tins of her Stile Mediterraneo organic extra virgin olive oil. As is typical with other companies/masserias, they offer more than one variety of olive oil. It’s difficult to choose which one to order since you can’t taste test them but I ended up choosing 10 tins of ‘GREEN’ and 2 tins of ‘EQUILIBRIUM’.
I may have made a mistake ordering so many of the ‘GREEN’ ones because they taste just like the name implies. I think my palate prefers a less green taste. But it’s fun to experiment!
Stay tuned for my favorite olive oil once I’ve tried them all. One thing is for sure: I will definitely do this again next year. It’s FUN – and healthy!
