On the Search for Sicilian Olive Oil

During her time in Sicily, Carine was on the hunt for first-rate local produce, but found it was more difficult than she had initially suspected. With little to no Italian, and their Air BnB host being their only point of contact, Carine and her family set out to forage for themselves and were lucky enough to come across Oro del Castello.

After hopelessly scouring the supermarket shelves for locally-produced olive oil, Carine – with husband and daughter in tow – decided to try driving through the area their host had vaguely designated as “the place where they make olive oil”. Miraculously, she spotted a small sign out of the corner of her eye and, after following it, they found themselves at a tiny olive oil farm, in the middle of nowhere in rural Sicily.

The first people they saw when they arrived were a couple who – thankfully – spoke both English and Italian, and who kindly agreed to play translator for the afternoon. They lived a few towns over, and came to the farm a couple of times a year to stock up on olive oil, saying it was such good quality that it is hard to find anything equally good closer to home. A strong start!

The farm is owned – and exclusively run – Antonino Cannata and his wife, a couple in their 80s. Their award-winning olive oil is the result of a lifetime of passion and hard work – a fine legacy if only it could be kept up. The couple has no children, and in Sicily times are hard for the independent local producer, with the government pushing for imported olive oil to take its place on the supermarket shelves. “In the supermarket, they had olive oil coming from everywhere in Italy, but not from Sicily, and they were brands you can buy here, like Bertolli!”

Carine was shocked, but the couple told her it had been like this for some time. “He mentioned that they put signs up so many times to show where to find them and the sign would always be removed.” Sicilian olive oil may be excellent quality, but it is expensive in a time where Sicilian unemployment is skyrocketing, and North African olive oil is cheaper than ever.

 

Agriculture has been the cornerstone of Sicily’s economy for centuries, but nowadays young people are turning away from this unglamorous way of life, and farms such as this are becoming increasingly rare. This, for Carine, is one of the reasons why it is so important to support local producers while you are travelling, rather than rely upon what is familiar and easy to come by.

“Although their oil is a bit expensive, we bought lots! It’s definitely a good oil and was still a really good price for what we got - about 8 euros for a bottle”. The opportunity to see the cellars where the oil is made, to taste it fresh out of the press, and to learn about the story behind it was invaluable, she continues. “They are proud of their product, they know what they’re doing, and they are hard workers, you can tell. It’s not an easy task, especially for people of their age. But they enjoy what they do, they’re very humble, and they were so welcoming. I couldn’t believe actually that we were so lucky to find a place like that.”

The oil from Oro del Castello is extra virgin certified, the olives grown right there and pressed within 24 hours of picking. And whatever the effect of the government crackdown, their oil has received considerable acclaim over the years. Fancy supporting this dying industry and trying it for yourself? Well Oro del Castello say they will ship internationally, so head to their website to learn more (you can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.)

Do Something Good in 2016

Welcome to 2016! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, full of food and family and friends. But, after all that decadence and all that receiving, we thought it was time to give a little back, so this month we’re focussing on eco-friendly food and eating sustainably. To kick us off, we chatted to Carine about what eco-friendly food meant to her, and why it is important.

What is “eco-friendly food” or sustainable food exactly?

For me, eco-friendly food, or sustainable food, means eating food that is grown locally, using a sustainable agriculture and also eating food seasonally. Eating seasonal vegetables which are locally produced and organic puts you right at the heart of the movement.

Is this something you’ve always been interested in? How did you get into it?

That is an interesting question. I come from a part of the world where organic and sustainable food is a way of living and this was something that I, somewhat wrongfully, took for granted for a number of years. But I have always been fascinated by the process of growing my own vegetables or having my own coops – eggs, fresh meat, etc…. You see, back when I was living in Cameroun, locally-produced food was easy and much cheaper than imported food. And, more importantly, it constituted the staple and cultural belief of locals like me. Market stalls, which might be called “farmer’s markets” in the UK, were open daily.

That said, at age 9-10, I wasn’t so thrilled to be asked to wake up early in the morning to stroll through the local market stalls or being asked to go and look for that special farmer located at that special corner because that farmer always had the freshest vegetables in the market (according to my relatives).

Even though I was a city girl from Yaoundé (the capital of Cameroun), I always preferred spending time in the countryside with my cousins. I felt joyful whenever we could cook our meal made from home-grown vegetables. I was always so jealous that, not only was there a family allotment, but each and every one of my cousins had their own small allotments and learnt to cultivate greens from as young as 5. I was always super excited when we visited, wanting to run in the fields, and get a bucket to scoop out my own prawns or fish from the river (Yes you heard me, this was how easy it was to get prawns - as long as you had the right technique…) and cook my own vegetables. In fairness, that excitement seemed pretty crazy to my relatives as this was their daily routine, so they didn’t see anything exciting about having to harvest yet another root vegetable.

Just speaking about this now has got me really excited all over again! Really, eating sustainably has always been a passion, even before I could say my first word.

What do you do currently to eat and cook sustainably?

There are two things that are truly dear to me - being able to grow my own vegetables, and trying as much as possible to limit my food waste. Again, this is largely due to my background. Although I lived most of my life in Europe, those early years spent in Africa have taught me to respect what you put on your plates, on so many levels.

My 2014 New Year’s Resolution was to get myself an allotment, after having done all sorts of growing experiments from my tiny back yard in Brixton. Now, most allotment-seekers knows that this is near impossible if you live in London. I, therefore, started to look for alternative options, so I was thrilled to find myself a back garden to grow my vegetables through landshare.net. 

My 2016 New Year’s Resolution is to create a network of local farmers with surplus crops – food which I would like to use for my “Ugly Veg”-themed supper clubs throughout next year. As I am also a keen forager, this surplus food, along with the fruits of my foraging, will help invent the most creative, healthy, yummy, and eco-friendly meals. And I am officially calling out to anyone who can help me achieve this.

How can we all be a little more eco-friendly with our food? Give us your top tips.

1) Grow your own. There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing a simple grain transform into something you can safely eat. The best is knowing that you made it happen. Eating locally can help you trace and trust what you eat but growing as much veg as you can, even from your kitchen window, is a great step forward.

2) Eat locally and in season. This is food at its best.

3) Forage, forage, forage. There is no shame in it! It is super-healthy, fun and eco-friendly - as long you bear in mind an element of sustainability when harvesting your findings!

4) Turn your back on mass-produced ready meals. Cook more yourself and share your food! Don’t leave it to other people. The sharing economy has made it fun, and so much easier, to share your experience and skills, and there are plenty of platforms out there which can help you achieve just that.