Amelia Oil Blog

When we first started this business in 2006 and received our first batch of oil from the folks in Amelia in January, we realized immediately how lucky we were to be tasting a fresh product which most people in North America will never experience. The new oil is intense tasting and bursting with flavour. You can really pick up the grassy, fruity flavours and peppery finish, in a good year. By “good year” I’m referring to the fact that we have come to recognize that each year presents it’s own unique flavours in the olive oil. Much like wine, olive oil is influenced by the weather and precipitation during the growing season. Some years have been hot and dry, especially 2008. The oil that year had a much more buttery taste and although smooth, I felt it lacking the usual punch of say the 2007 oil. Some of our customers preferred this oil, but many agreed they liked the greener taste of previous oils. The last few years have been pretty  consistent and favourable weather wise, resulting in very good oil.  One thing Francesco’s Dad, Vincenze told us, was that they are now harvesting the oil much earlier than they did 15-20 years ago. This is thought to be brought about by climate change, as the summers are hotter and the olives are ripening sooner. They used to harvest in December and now they start picking the end of Oct. and November.

I like to think of the arrival of the new oil  as a celebration equivalent, to the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. (probably tastier) This year when you get your new oil why not plan your own little celebration. My suggestion would be to have a few friends over and make a little bruschetta. You can just grill some good crusty slices of bread and rub a clove of garlic across it when hot and then drizzle the new oil on top. If you want to get jazzy you can come up with all sorts of interesting toppings but plain is probably the best way to taste the oil. Tomatoes aren’t in season and the ones you get are often lacking in flavour this time of year so why not try something different, perhaps a little proscutto and a shaving of good parmesean? Here is a favorite combo of mine that hints of spring to come.

Sweet Pea Bruschetta with Mint and Pecorino

Take about 10 oz. of frozen organic peas, defrost to room temp and pat dry.

Combine peas, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper in food processor. Puree till smooth and bright.

Spoon on to toasted baguette slices and top with ribbons of fresh mint leaves and a shaving of Pecorino Romano cheese.

Easy Peasy!

Have a few friends over when the new Amelia Oil arrives, crack open a little Prosecco, serve up some bruscetta and have your own little Olio Nuovo Celebration.

We were excited to be part of the Okanagan Feast of Field of Fields event this year. This is the annual fundraiser for Farm Folk City Folk.

http://www.feastoffields.com/

We shared a booth with our friends Cam and Dana, the wonderful chefs who run Joy Road Catering. http://www.joyroadcatering.com/ We were also joined by, Tim from Sweet Pit Heirloom Tomatoes.

Dana’s artisan sourdough bread was grilled on site and topped with Tim’s colourful tomatoes and fresh basil with a liberal drizzle of Amelia Oil.- heaven !

Joy Road Catering, are the people who do the fabulous wine maker’s dinners at God’s Mountain. Dana makes some of the most delicious artisanal loaves of bread you will ever taste and they feature Amelia Oil to dip it in. They have introduced Amelia Oil to many of our good customers.

Feast of Fields features numerous chefs, vintners and local producers, showcasing the best local ingredients.

Their web site says to think of it as a roaming 25 course wine pairing and tasting menu on a gorgeous farm. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the Okanagan. It was delicious!

Put this one on the to do list for next year.



Heirloom Tomatoes and Amelia Oil

Rebecca and Dana at Feast of Fields

Yes, it is about time! Amelia Oil will soon be offering the best and freshest EVOO from Umbria in the United States.

I moved to San Francisco from Vancouver last year and I am finally getting organized to start selling and shipping Amelia Oil. Amelia Oil in America should be up and running by mid-May and we hope to receive our first shipment in June. Rebecca, my mother, will continue running Amelia Oil in Canada. All we can say is that Francesco, our farmer, is thrilled that we will be bringing his olive oil to more people throughout North America.

Keep your eyes on this blog and the Amelia Oil site for more details as we prepare to launch!

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Buon anno! We’d like to wish all our customers the very best for a happy and inspired new year. We appreciate your business very much and the support you have given us. Through olive oil, we have met so many interesting people who share our passion for food and Italy. Many of you we now count as friends. It’s been so much fun.

When I refer to, “we” I am speaking of myself, and my daughter Rachel. Together, we started this business in 2006 to bring fresh olive oil with character and flavor to Vancouver and beyond.

I have some news on that front: Rachel married Doug Cook on December 29 in Elk, California. Yes, Elk! They will live in San Francisco, a great foodie city. Doug, a wine enthusiast, is known for his Able Grape web site, a search engine for wine lovers. They hope to expand Amelia Oil into the Bay area. Stay tuned for more news from Amelia Oil’s San Francisco branch.

More good news: the new 2010 olive oil from Amelia is on the boat and scheduled to arrive at the end of January. We had hoped it might arrive sooner but snow en route to the docks slowed the process. It’s hard to imagine snow in Italy but this has been a very cold winter in Europe.

This year we have added a 3-litre tin format as well as a little 250 ml mini tin. As usual we bring in extra oil, so if you didn’t get around to placing an order there should still be oil available. We’ll update you by e-mail when it arrives.

We encourage our customers to think ahead to how much olive oil they need for the year and to pick it up when it arrives in January. The idea is to use the oil within the calendar year. That is the Italian way. However, most of us aren’t very Italian and we figure it out as we go along and buy our olive oil as we need it.

A number of our customers have run out of our oil and substituted various grocery store olive oils for the Amelia Oil. I am pleased to say they told us they noticed big difference and commented that it just didn’t do the trick. There is no substitute for top-quality fresh olive oil.

We look forward to sharing with you some of the best olive oil in Italy. We have to also thank Francesco Suatoni, our friend, farmer and miller, and his family for continuing to produce delicious EVOO.

Best wishes for 2010. Auguri!