The price per liter of a 5 liters can is € 15,00. In Italy, we send in 2 business days with GLS at the cost of € 10.00, € 13.00 or € 17.00 respectively packs of 2, 4 or 8 cans. Cost for cash on delivery: € 6,00. The prices are VAT included. If you would like a quote for your Country write us!
The organic extra virgin olive oil Casale il picchio – certified from the start – is produced by our 15 hectares of olive groves in the hills of Lake Trasimeno, about 450 m. above sea level and is the perfect combination of top-quality varieties of Dolce Agogia, Moraiolo, Leccino and Frantoio. We get the so-called “new oil” already in mid-October. The early harvest than the traditional start time (November) is also one of the reasons why our oil keeps for a long time its organoleptic properties. In fact, the oil obtained from olives harvested at early maturation is richer in antioxidants, which increase its stability for storage. Also, crush olives at green drupe – because not all the olives have reached yet fully maturing – means to infuse in the oil a large amount of polyphenols and the highest concentration of healthy antioxidants such as vitamin E, the main cause of “spicy”, in this way also getting an oil whose organoleptic characteristics of fruit and bitter. All attributes of our oil, as determined by the COI – International Olive Oil Council – are among the five positive attributes of extra virgin olive oil: bitter, sweet, fruity, spicy and herbaceous. This is due also to the fact that we have a fair number of plants of Moraiolo, which is a cultivar that yields an intensely flavored and spicy. In fact, the intensity of “spicy” essentially depends by cultivar, from the time of harvest, extraction system and the manner of storing oil. The color is bright green and mainly depends on cultivar, ripeness and extraction process.
Hand me the extra virgin!
The extra virgin olive oil is an higher category oil obtained directly from olives and exclusively by mechanical processes. It’s an olive juice! It is very important to distinguish it from olive oil, which is an oil made or from oil inedible (adjusted with chemical processes) or production waste, that is extracted from the marc (which is the residue that remains after the pressing) with solvents such as cyclohexane, an oil-based, in large-scale mining: the actual refineries. The same goes for any type of vegetable oil. The oil with excellent characteristics and especially extracted only by a mechanical and not chemical processes, it is therefore only the extra-virgin olive oil.
We do not think just be nice to our car! We think rather to a more important machine: the human body! Therefore it is essential to say: hand me the extra virgin!
Why extra virgin oil is good
The extra virgin olive oil protects the heart and arteries, slowing the aging brain, preventing atherosclerosis, heart attack, kidney failure, lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase “good” one (HDL), called “arterial street sweeper” protected from monounsaturated fatty acids which is rich oil. About the digestive system, improve the functionality in the stomach, intestine and liver. Prevents the onset of tumors and the deterioration of cells. With Vitamin E has antioxidant action, reducing the signs of aging.
The oil, in addition, thanks to its fatty acid composition, is similar to breast milk, and has always been recommended in the weaning of children and in old age is useful because it promotes the absorption of calcium and mineralization, preventing osteoporosis.
The extra virgin olive oil is the most digestible of all, thanks to its high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids, above all oleic acid, which is useful for a better functioning of the hepato-biliary functions. An oil that tastes as good as olive oil, also makes food more appetizing, and then, urging more gastric juices, making them more digestible.
Olive oil is one of the best for frying, though certainly more expensive. In fact, resistant to high temperatures without burning and then without producing toxic compounds. Advertising insists on frying oils of seeds that would ensure a “light” frying, but that did not touch with reality.
Extra virgin olive oil is produced by only using mechanical techniques that do not cause any deterioration of the oil.
The extraction process involves the following steps:
Weeding and washing
the weeding and washing of the olives removes any external impurities (earth, stones, twigs and leaves).
Crushing
the pressing is done with millstones, crushers or hammers. generally, the olives are crushed whole, without stoning. by this stage, the peel, pulp and the core are reduced to a paste.
Kneading
this is a gentle, continuous and prolonged mixing of the paste to make it uniform and to facilitate the separation of the oil. kneading is a mechanised process.
Separating the marc from the oil must
this phase includes the separation of the solid part, called pomace, containing most of the dry material (skin, pulp, seeds and pieces of stone), from the liquid, called wort, consisting of oil and water. we can do this in a traditional press, into which is placed a layer of dough of about 1-2 inches thick, stacked in a steel tube to form a central cylinder or tower. the pressure causes the release of the liquids while the residue remains trapped in strainer. the water and the oil are then collected in a tank. recently, the process of separation of the paste, oil and water is by way of centrifugation. in this system, the dough is injected into a horizontal decanter. the process separates the three components are separated immediately. the oil and water are collected leaving the residue behind.
Final separation of oil
the last phase of the cycle, is completed with the final separation of the oil. regardless of the extraction method used, the must obtained is treated through a centrifuge, which rotates at 6000-7000 rpm, separating the oil and water.
the oil should be stored in warehouses and maintained at an almost constant temperature of around 13-14 °c, which prevent the oxidizing effect of air and light.
The chemical composition of extra virgin olive oil
of all the vegetable oils, extra virgin olive oil is contains the least polyunsaturated fatty acids, being made up of three-quarters of monounsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic acid. the lack of polyunsaturated fatty acids makes the olive oil very suitable for cooking.
in fact, polyunsaturated fatty acids are oxidized very easily when heated, turning into peroxides, which are toxic at high concentration (more than 20 mg/kg), for the human body. extra virgin olive oil is therefore preferable to seed oils.
extra virgin oil contains no cholesterol, and as such has beneficial dietetic qualities. the presence also of a certain amount of polyphenols protects it from oxidation. it contains chlorophyll, carotenoids, (vitamin e, fat-soluble vitamins (a, d, k) and phospholipids, very important components that aid the digestion of fats and helps to dissolve cholesterol in the arteries.