natives ORGANIC Olive Oil/Italy

Sun-ripened olives from Calabria are gently cold-centrifuged in the traditional way to produce our precious extra virgin olive oil. This high-quality olive oil has a full-bodied, fruity taste and is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids. The typical olive flavour goes well with a wide range of dishes and is a typical ingredient and a true classic of Mediterranean cuisine.

Olive oil in the kitchen

We recommend virgin olive oil for dishes such as pasta and pizza and, of course, for classic salad dressings. It goes well with dark balsamic vinegars. With its mild flavour, it also goes well with dips and spreads such as hummus. Virgin olive oil can be used for steaming and frying, but it should not be heated too much or for too long, as this will affect the flavour and create smoke in the pan. Our tip: Try the fine olive oil with a little salt and pepper as an aperitif or as a snack with a fresh baguette. We think our Italian olive oil, like salt and pepper, should be in every kitchen.

Olive harvest in Italy

Traditionally, the organic olive harvest festival takes place every year in October in Calabria. In October 2021, we were able to witness the harvesting of the olives and the artisanal processing of the olives into our organic olive oil. We have been sourcing olive oil for our own brand from the project in southern Italy for many years.

The perfect time for harvesting is determined by regular quality checks of the olives on the tree. When the olives have reached a certain size and have a plump, greenish to dark red flesh, they are ready for harvesting. The more sun the olives receive, the darker and riper they become. As they ripen, they take on a more spicy, tangy flavour, while green olives taste sour and fruity. The blend of olives processed at different stages of ripeness ultimately determines the flavour of the oil.

The olive trees are shaken by small tractors with a grapple arm so that the fruit falls into large chutes. Olives that are not ripe enough usually do not fall and can continue to grow. Trees that are difficult for tractors to reach or are too small are picked by hand with long poles. Workers place large nets under the trees to collect the olives. The olives are thoroughly cleaned with cold water just before they are processed into oil.

We cannot produce olive oil ourselves in our oil mill. One reason is that the olives have to be processed quickly after harvesting. The small fruits contain a lot of moisture and there is a risk of mould if they are stored for a long time. Farmers in Italy make a point of processing their olives into oil within 12 hours of harvesting. Transporting the olives to the Weser Hills would not be possible in such a short time. Furthermore, olive oils are not cold pressed, but cold centrifuged. We can only process dry nuts, kernels and seeds in our oil presses - not oils made from fruit flesh. This is why we source all our olive oils from trusted farmers and producers, such as the producer family in Calabria.

Buying good olive oil

dressings. It pairs perfectly with dark balsamic vinegars. The oil's mild flavour also makes it a good choice for dips and spreads such as hummus. Virgin olive oil can be used for steaming and frying, but it should not be heated too much or for too long, as this will affect the flavour and create smoke in the pan. Our tip: Try the fine olive oil with a little salt and pepper as an aperitif or as a snack with a fresh baguette. We think our Italian olive oil, like salt and pepper, should be in every kitchen. By the way, our Italian organic extra virgin olive oil was rated "good" in the latest Stiftung Warentest olive oil test.

Olive oil for skin and hair

Virgin olive oil, with its mild fragrance, is also very popular as a skin and hair care oil. It can be used on its own as a rich moisturiser, or mixed into your daily moisturiser for face and body. A hair treatment with virgin olive oil is particularly nourishing for hair: depending on the length of your hair, simply apply 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to towel-dried hair and leave on for a few hours or overnight. Then wash with a mild shampoo.

Olive harvesting using the Safe Bird method

At Ölmühle Solling we can assure you that all the olive oils in our range are made from olives harvested using the Safe Bird method.

Why does a particular harvesting method pose a risk to songbirds? Farmers in the Mediterranean start harvesting their olives in October. In intensive farming on large plantations, certain harvesting machines are sometimes used to harvest the olives to save on the cost of harvesters. The olives are shaken from the trees at night, and instead of being collected by hand with nets, they are sucked up by large machines. By harvesting at night, the farmers also hope to improve the shelf life of the olives. This is because olives harvested during the day are heated by sunlight and need to be processed more quickly after harvesting. The problem is that night harvesting takes place in the dark. At this time, many songbirds are resting in the trees. Due to the loud noise of the harvesters in the dark, most of the birds remain disoriented in the trees in search of shelter. This leads to the birds being sucked in and killed. This would be different if the machines were used during the day, when the birds are not disoriented and can leave the trees. Fortunately, this method of harvesting is being used less and less as large international olive oil companies are being petitioned to ban the harvesting method of sucking olives from the trees at night.

We assure you that the olives for our olive oils are only harvested during the day, without the use of suction cups and with absolute respect for the animals and the environment.

Note: Protect from light and heat