Stay: the Mazzeis converted the borgo at Fonterutoli into a charming B&B proposition several years ago. The handful of rooms and apartments are elegant-trad, clean-lined and pretty. You’re perfectly situated to venture out and taste elsewhere in the area, and 20 minutes from Siena (the view of which, from the restaurant’s terrace, is straight out of a Lippi canvas). mazzei.it , from about €160 All extra virgin olive oil is made from cold-pressed olives, whereas regular olive oil will be a blend, combining processed oils in the mix. Extra virgin olive oil is therefore a healthier choice, retaining more of the natural antioxidants and vitamins that can be lost during processing. What makes the product even better is the location where it is produced, in Florence. The climate is extreme and the 741 acres owned by the Frescobaldi family are at high altitude, having three types of olives with a large amount of nutrients.

The Frescobaldi's have their mill at Camperiti, just down the road from their beautiful Castello di Nipozzano, and it is here that they press the olives: 70% Frantoio, 20% Moraiolo and 10% Leccino. It can change the food; for some foods, I would prefer something more gentle, more sweet, with others, something more grassy. The 2021 is still quite spicy.” Origin – Ideally you want to look for an olive oil that’s been grown, harvested and bottled in one area or a single country. This minimises the risk of getting an olive oil that’s had cheaper oils from other places added to it. For everyday cooking oil, this isn’t a big a concern but for virgin oils claiming to be of the best quality, it’s an important thing to look out for. Napa and Sonoma are California’s wine capitals. Not quite as many of the Golden State’s premier or boutique winemakers have a side gig in growing olives as in Tuscany (or Umbria, or Sicily); but in the absurdly postcard-pretty hills of western Sonoma, just above Marin County, you’ll find one of the places that played a role in putting the state on the international EVOO map. McEvoy Ranch estate-grows and cold-processes every last product they make, whether it eventually goes into a pretty bottle intended for your dining table, or one of the lip balms, face oils or hand soaps they’ve formulated as part of their Ode line of olive oil-based beauty and home products.

The best olive oil you can buy in 2023

Bottle – Exposure to light can speed-up the deterioration of cold-pressed olive oil. That’s why producers tend to distribute extra-virgin oils in dark-coloured or opaque bottles. This doesn’t mean you should avoid light-coloured bottles altogether, but it’s something to keep in mind if you plan on storing your oil for a prolonged period of time. How much should I spend on olive oil? For those who don’t know, this competition is held in the spring in New York and is the biggest and most important olive oil contest in the world. So important that the annual list of winners is considered by many as a benchmark for the best extra virgin olive oils of the year. Not all extra-virgin oils are created equal, though. The industry isn’t well regulated, meaning some oils are of a much higher standard than others and so it pays to shop around. The best EVOO oils are typically used for salad dressings and drizzling over finished dishes. How would Frescobaldi describe the style of Laudemio? Is it different than other Tuscan oils? Is there a Laudemio style or is it more than the individual producer? “There are differences among the individual producers,” he said, “just like you would have among the different Chianti Classico or Brunello di Montalcino. But overall, the idea is to have something authentic from our territory, where the notes are very grassy, with hints of artichoke, a bit green, not only the color, but also to the taste.

The whole “which Italian region makes the best olive oil?” debate is a bit loaded, along the lines of “which Serie A team is best?”: inevitably heated, and usually all about the birthplace. But lots of chefs and food pros seem to agree that Tuscan products are, on average, excellent, due to the combination of climate, terroir and the longstanding history of many of the estates. Not surprisingly, a lot of the top winemakers also produce excellent extra-virgin oil.A similar process takes places with olive oil, but olive oil is not a homogeneous liquid like water is. The difference is that olive oil is made of a few different molecules, called triglycerides, and each has its own freezing temperature. The freezing point of these different molecules ranges between 0ºC and 15ºC depending on the fatty acid composition. The colder the olive oil gets, the greater the number of molecules that will start solidifying. Cold temperatures is the reason some white crystals may appear in your bottle of olive oil, especially during winter months. Does that mean the olive oil is not good to use? Ours in particular, well it changes from year to year, our Laudemio is definitely balanced, with some spiciness and bitterness in the aromas. So I would say that our goal is to have something powerful but at the same time balanced, so that the aromas, the tastes, the spiciness and bitterness is fine tuned. Frescobaldi typically produces between 100,000 and 150,000 bottles a year, and the process is quite costly. “To make an olive oil as precious as Laudemio, you need one tree per bottle.” The main types you’ll see sold online and in supermarkets are extra-virgin – sometimes called EVOO, refined olive oil and flavoured or “infused” olive oil. In the whole process, only the oils selected by the producers receive the name of Laudemio, those that do not pass the rigorous analysis process do not have this label.

If you’re a long time olive oil user then it’s possible that at some point you’ve noticed white crystals in the olive oil you keep at home. But do you know what they are and why they are there? This exceptionally fruity and buttery Spanish extra-virgin olive oil is one of the freshest you can get. Made from olives cold-pressed on the first day of the harvest – when they’re at peak ripeness – it has all of the classic hallmarks of a champion unrefined EVOO. This olive oil is best enjoyed with salted, crusty bread or over a classic salad, and should be consumed as soon as possible to make the most of the delicate flavours. The name itself – Laudemio – has identified the best part of the harvest commonly reserved for the signore de la villa. While controversial European Union regulations affected the industry in 2012, the consortium has been operating under its own strictest quality guidelines since inception. It’s what allows it to produce over 72 tons of pure cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil annually from about 100,000 individually registered and monitored trees spread across nearly 6000 acres of exclusively designated land. Each bottle of Laudemio oil is tested by third party experts before it begins its globaljourneyto discerning consumers. “The Ferrari of olive oils.” This is how it is proudly known within the region.In a cool, dry place. Protected from light, heat sources and unpleasant odors. Once opened, minimize exposure to air. The answer to this question depends on a couple of factors: the type of oil you want and how often you plan on using your olive oil.