If you are fond of light, fresh, extra virgin Olive Oil, then this delightful first class Olive Oil from Sitia on the beautiful Greek island of Crete will appeal immensely. Its aromatic, fresh olive taste and velvety smooth texture make it a simply irresistible choice for dressing and cooking foods with.
How is it best used?
Our Sitia Extra Virgin Olive Oil is gentle in flavour and is therefore best paired with mild tasting foods. Drizzle on green salad leaves with our delicate Apple, Gooseberry or Lemon Vinegars for example. Dress freshly cooked fish with this oil after cooking and season with a small amount of salt and pepper. Use it to make real mayonnaise where you are looking to achieve a subtle flavour. This olive oil is unfiltered, giving it a magical velvety texture, so please be aware that some natural fibre will settle after time. This fibre can be used for adding a little extra flavour into your cooking, so please don't waste it!
How is this made?
There is always a good story behind the sourcing of our products, but the scale of effort required to acquire some of this fine Cretan Olive Oil is definitely worth telling. Our Sitia Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced near the village of Sitia, on the East of the Greek Island of Crete by the Swain family, namely Sonia and her Brother Edward.
Crete is known to many Greek island hopping travellers as a wonderful sunny holiday destination. However, less well known is that its climate is near perfect for the cultivation of some of the World's finest olives for the prodcution of olive oil. Cretan Olive Oil is produced in small quantities and is rare. We should know as it has taken us no less than 8 years to receive some for sale!
Sonia's background in horticulture and Edward's knowledge of Farming in Shropshire led them to purchase a small plot of arable land in Crete in 2009 with the intention of producing their own olive oil. Known by the Swain family as "The Field of the Running Horses," their olive grove is home to about 100 Koroneiki olive trees of about 14 years in age.
Sonia and Edward make a charming team and were instantly adopted by their neighbouring Crete Farmers for their enthusiasm and competence in managing their olive grove. Fuelled by a relentless passion to produce a first class olive oil Sonia and Edward's toils, which included picking each olive by hand to be pressed in the local Toplou mill, have succeeded in making their dream a reality.
The February 2013 pressing was their first main crop for sale, and despite numerous hiccups with couriers while attempting to deliver their oil to us in Scotland, it finally arrived safely. This of course is only just the start of what we hope will be a long and happy relationship with a few adventures on the way!