Olive Oil the Italian Way

Olive Oil the basis for all Italian food

In Puglia I learned how to taste olive oil, how to cook a Mediterranean diet for health and long life

The Taurino Olive Farm, located in Squinzano, has been a family operation since 1942 and is now managed by  Donato and Rosaria Taurino.   Their state of the art pressing and bottling facility can be seen on my blog on how to taste olive oil:   http://bit.ly/14osDbr   

Yle with Yltour.com took me to visit the Taurino farm on my last trip to Puglia.   As you turn into the road that leads to the main building, there are endless rows of olive trees, 60,000 +- I was told latter!  Some of the trees dated back hundreds of years.  


When you read advertisements for property in Italy you often see that the property includes vines (wine) and olive trees.    Olive oil is a staple in the Italian diet and having your own supply of olives 

Valentino is a wealth of information on Olive Oil.  I had no idea before we met that tasting olive oil was a skill and not the process of putting bread into a dish of oil!     The Taurino Farm has just launch the Oliva line of extra virgin olive oil and it is available for purchase and shipment to you.  (detail inquiries directly to Taurino's) 

Italy: my 1,000 year old OLIVE TREE is getting cut!

HOW TO TRIM A 1,000 YEAR OLD OLIVE TREE


A few months ago I adopted a 1,000 year old olive tree on the Taurino's olive farm in Puglia Italy, in memory of a first generation Italian, my father.

I will be visiting 'my tree' for the first time later this year but . Dr Valentino Valzano keeps me informed about what my tree is 'doing'.    All the trees are just awaking from a winter nap.  The sun is warming the Salento soil in Puglia.

And it is time to prune 60,000 olive trees!


Valentino writes:

    . In the coming  days we will start with the Pruning Operations;

This operation does not take much time, but it is fundamental for the final quality (of the oil)   We try to have trees in a good healthy status. We are pruning the old trees in order to also  facilitate the harvesting operations.     We use elevators, as you can see in the picture.

OBJECTIVES of the pruning operations
In mature trees, pruning is mainly required to renew the fruiting surface of the tree and achieve high yields, maintain vegetative growth of fruiting shoots, maintain the skeleton structure, contain tree size, favor light penetration and air circulation inside the canopy, permit control of pests and diseases, prevent aging of the canopy, and eliminate dead wood. Under certain circumstances, pruning can be required to alleviate the effect of abiotic stress, to re-form the canopy after damage by frosts and pests, to rejuvenate old or abandoned trees, and to adapt an obsolete training system to mechanical harvesting. In modern olive growing, the training system should permit easy movement of machinery in the orchard; little attention needs to be paid to specific tree shapes.

TIME OF PRUNING

Pruning should be performed between the end of winter and flowering and because of  this we prune in January, February, and March.

Cutting stimulates metabolism and growth, which makes the plant tissue more susceptible to plant injury.         In mild climates, with no spring frosts, pruning can be started in winter. Pruning before bud break is risky in cold climates, however, because of the high probability of frost that may damage the remaining tissue and delay wound repair.

An advantage of pruning after bud break is that even the inexperienced grower is able to assess the number of flowers and the potential crop removed by pruning, whereas flower buds cannot be distinguished macroscopically from vegetative buds at or before bud break.

1,000 year old olive tree at Taurino's farm

 Taurino's olive tree farm in Puglia, Italy  selected a

1,000 + year old tree for their first 'adopt an

        Olive Tree program  and I am the 'parent'!    

What was life like on the olive farm when my tree was planted 1,000 years ago?     Probably my tree started life as a graft.    Within 6 years this tree would start to produce olives and  supply the family with the oil  they would use for the entire year.

Over the coming year I will update you on  what is happening at Taurino's  olive farm:     new tress leaving

the 'nursery',  pruning the trees (see part two of this blog),  organic fertilization, olives starting to form on the branches and finally the harvest.

You can also adopt a tree in Italy.   Adopt in the memory of a family member, to commemorate an event, birthday or a loved one.    Your adoption is for one year.   In addition to your 'adoption certificate' you receive a photo of your tree and updates over the year as your tree is cared for.

See part 2 of this blog to learn about pruning an olive tree. There are 60,000 trees at Taurinos so this may take some time....

Adopt your tree today.   What a great gift for you nonna or nonno, a lovely way to remember a loved one, a memorial for an Italian ancestor or to become connected with your Italian heritage.

Every tree will be pruned in particular way, in order to have the best quality oil.
Every adopted tree will be registered and every customer will receive one time a year 3 liters of EVOO oil.
Customers who adopt a tree, may  visit the farm during the harvesting period and enjoy the
rural experience, sampling  typical foods in the store.

Every month, customers will receive a newsletter with a description of what activities are happening at Taurino's olive farm.


Only $130.00 per year.

Payment by pay pal at donato.taurino@libero.it.   

Taurinos fine olive oils

Tasting of oils and other Taurino products

Learning to taste olive oil!

Taurino's Olive Farm

I have been to oil tastings before where great bread is cut into small pieces and you dip it into the saucer of oil.   Nothing to it, si?  
After visiting Azienda Agricola Taurino and meeting Donato Taurino and Valentino Valzano I have a NEW appreciation for the benefits, properties and true beauty of Olive oil.


As you drive the few miles (11 km) north from Lecce, the land becomes green with trees and as you approach the olive 'farm' the trees stand end to end for miles.   More than 60,000 olive trees sway in the winter wind today.  They are storing their energy for the wonderful oil they will produce next year.

The hectors and hectors of olive trees, a sea of green

olives are picked in the traditional way, shaken from the tree and  carried into the pressing facility

sorted, washed

olives go into the pressing machines

Oil can have a yellow or green tint

Oil is stored in the lower level at the correct temperature in HUGE vats.   It is pumped to the room where each bottle of oil is filled by HAND t insure complete quality.