When it comes to olive oil I still only have one aim: that it tastes good. Not that it tastes like it’s from Tuscany, Italy or that it’s delicate and tastes of olives like it’s from Provence, France—no, it simply has to taste like what it is and taste like where it’s from. We call that terroir in the food/wine world and it basically means things taste like where they’re from; the soil, the wind, the rain, the bugs and the wildflowers that grow nearby…all of those variables add up to make something taste like a place, right down to the salinity of the air that blows in off the sea.
A simple goal would (one would imagine) lead to success more often than not, especially when you’re talking about a place like Greece—which proudly boasts of being the inventors of olive oil in the world. You’d think it would be easy to find great tasting olive oil in the “land of olives” but after thirty years in this business I’m here to tell you it’s harder than it seems. Heck, it’s harder than it ought to be if you ask me!
If you recall back in the early 2000s, Greece was in financial trouble. Something like 25% of the workforce was looking for work and leaving the country. After a couple years of instability they figured it all out, but it took some doing and during that time folks started returning to the land. It seemed like everyone in Greece had their own olive trees, all they had to do was pay someone to harvest, press, and bottle them for export…simple enough, right? Well, the troubles hardly led to a boon in olive oil exports, but there have been a handful of small time operators who are doing things with intention and purpose. I think that’s the best way I can describe the folks behind “Psyche” olive oil: they’re doing this on purpose.
For one thing there’s the packaging which doesn’t excatly have shelf-appeal, as they say in the marketing world. But it’s functional. It packs flat, blocks all light from damaging or oxidizing the oil inside, and the spout at the end keeps any air from entering the package. It’s easy to use and takes the best care of the oil inside. So it might be utilitarian, but it’s very good at what it does. It saves space, it’s sustainable, it’s better for the oil and better the environment leaving behind a smaller carbon footprint than glass for instance. And it does a great job of keeping the oil inside as fresh tasting as when it was pressed.
It’s made from 100% Koronecki olives (the major olive of Greece) that are all hand harvested within 24 hours of being pressed. You might hear those sorts of stats a lot when it comes to olive oil: how did they pick the olives and how long did they sit around until they were pressed for oil? Once olives have been picked from the trees, they begin to break down (oxidize). You don’t want the olives to be too mushy or getting rancid when you press them because those off flavors could ruin the whole lot. In order to avoid even the threat of the oil going rancid, most folks will harvest the olives when most of them are still immature and on the trees. The more gentle they are when they harvest the olives (by hand is best, but there are also mechanical means) the less chance that the olives will be bruised in the process and bruising leads to rancidity (everything leads to rancidity!). So you have to harvest quickly, gently, and all at once without letting it be damaged by heat or sun or oxygen or all of the above!
This oil is peppery, it’s grassy, it’s bold. It’s great for summer salads and stands up to summer grilling. It’s an excellent oil in an easy to use package and I hope it becomes a favorite of yours in the same way I’ve come to really enjoy using it in my own kitchen.