Olive Harvest in Southern Tuscany

The Fall is harvest time for olives in Southern Tuscany. Late October through November is the prime time for the harvest, when the olives transition from green to a purple-black color. This indicates optimal ripeness for producing oil.

Nature has a say in the yield and quality of the crop. Fall is the rainy season in Southern Tuscany. Too much rain, however, can reduce the yield and the quality of the olive oil. In particular, heavy rainfall increases the water content in the olive fruit, but not the oil content. Therefore, while the olives might be heavier, milling costs increase due to the high water content. Heavy rainfall can also cause olive oil to taste bitter instead of fruity and fresh. So, a little rainfall is good, but too much is not.

Olives almost ready for harvest in the garden at Cas’ Anita

When the harvest begins, it’s an all-engaging enterprise in the community. People call in sick for work; children don’t show up at school. Timing is everything, so folks are obsessed with the harvest. Life seems to come to a halt, until decaliters of freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil are brought home from the local frantoio (a commercial olive processing plant), most of which are run as cooperatives.

Raking the trees with a vibrating rakes, causing the olives to drop onto nets draped on the ground, where they are collected

The majority of cultivated olives worldwide belong to a single species — Olea europaea. Some say that there are as many as 119 different cultivars of Olea europaea in Tuscany. Notable Tuscan cultivars include Pendolino, Maurino, Leccio del Corno, Frantoio, Leccino and Moraiolo. In Southern Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Amiata around Seggiano you can find the relatively small, and highly-prized Olivastra Seggianese, particularly rich in antioxidant polyphenols. You might enjoy a visit to the very unique olive oil museum of Le Radici di Seggiano Foundation in Seggiano.

Freshly harvested olives at Cas’ Anita

Once you have had fresh extra-virgin olive oil, properly containerized and stored, you won’t settle for the olive oil on the grocery store shelves. In fact, you might ask: Is that so-called olive oil on the grocery store shelves really olive oil at all? It’s hard to believe, considering that a single mature tree, on average, only yields about 3.5 liters of oil. It would take a lot of trees to stock all of the grocery store shelves in the world. One quart of extra virgin olive oil requires approximately 11 pounds of olives (and, even more, if there has been a lot of rain).

Olives (yes, including a few leaves) being conveyed to a press and eventually to a centrifuge at Rocchi Mario Frantoio Oleario in Batignano (GR)

So, once you understand the oil-making process — and have experienced the taste — of freshly-pressed extra virgin olive oil, it’s hard not to become an oil “snob.” Always try to use olive oil within one year of the harvest date. Good producers of olive oil publish the harvest date on the back label of the bottle. So, the next time some snooty waiter at a fine Italian restaurant places an out-dated bottle of olive oil on your table, immediately pick it up, turn it around, look at the date, sneer with great disdain, and ask him if he has something a little fresher.

The delectable result — liquid gold — at Rocchi Mario Frantoio Oleario in Batignano (GR)

Now that we know how it’s harvested and made, let’s try a little olive oil. The simplest and best way to enjoy fresh olive oil is to lightly toast a slice of rustic crusty bread on an open fire, drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle a little salt to taste and serve. Of course, you can add very thinly sliced (or diced) fresh garlic on top, but try not to overpower the taste of the oil. Better yet, if you want to enjoy the taste of fresh garlic, rub the garlic on the toasted bread, like sandpaper, before drizzling with olive oil. That’s the classic method. Some Italians enjoy freshly-made and cooked pasta (tagliolini, for example) drizzled with olive oil and nothing else. Another classic dish is pasta olio aglio (oil and garlic). Lightly sauté the oil (you don’t want to overcook the oil for this dish), with a generous portion of fresh minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Add some salt to taste. Toss in some al dente cappellini or thin spaghetti, stir with a wooden spoon, remove from the heat and add a handful of freshly chopped parsley and grated cheese (parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano, as you prefer), stirring until well mixed. Because of its rich and tangy taste, this pasta dish goes well with a glass of a robust, corposo chianti.