Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva

Scala B9 with Marco

De Santis Olive Oil Factory

Fumone, Italy

Photo Credit: Abby Lopez

Italiano: Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva

English: Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Last weekend was the third food-oriented excursion my program hosted. The past two focused on wine, and cheese. For our last excursion, we ventured to the southern Italian town of Fumone, where we went to the The De Santis Olive Oil Factory, and learned about the Olive Oil making process! My entire apartment ventured on this excursion, which was a lot of fun. We call the photo above (with the Grandson of the owner, Marco), our "B9 Christmas Photo," since our apartment number is B9, and we consider ourselves a great little family. 

To properly identify the girls (from left to right):

Carissa (UCLA), Jessica (UCI), Danielle (UCSC), Abby (UCSC), Mac (UCSD), Kate (UCD), Terra (CAL) and I (UCSD).

View from the factory; Freshly Delivered Olives

After the two hour bus ride, we arrived simultaneously as people were dropping off fresh olives at the factory. The factory itself has a huge olive tree orchid, from which they supply most of their olives.

But the factory also allows locals  to bring their own supply of olives, in which the factory will make the olive oil and give the freshly made bottles back to the people who dropped them off. 

The Process

Like the majority of businesses in Italy, De Santis Olive Oil factory is family run. There are three generations of men running the business. We were given a tour by the grandson Marco, who was translated by the woman photographed above. He is only 23, but he explained the process with ease, and explained that he's been working at the factory ever since he was little. 

I was surprised to learn that bottling olive oil takes less than a day. After the olives are picked (as Marco is showing above), they must be made into oil that same exact day. The olives are first washed, than mashed to extract the oil. After mashing, we were brought into the factory where they showed the left over "paste," which is essentially all the rind. They allow the paste to sit in order to acquire as many extra droplets of oil as possible. Afterward the oil goes through a few machines to clear out any residual bits of skin or pit. When it's done, the oil is poured into the vat (photographed above), and then sealed into bottles. 

De Santis factory emphasizes that they make 100% natural olive oil. Meaning, all of the flavor we taste is from the olives, and no chemicals are added. The reason for the added name "Extra Virgin" is to classify the oil as being the highest, and natural, quality olive oil. The flavor is of the best quality, and definitely the most refined. If you ever take the time to look at the labels of olive oil, you'll notice they have different names. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the best because it is not a version of olive oil made in "bulk," and therefore was not neglected in the extraction process. 

Olive Oriented Snacks

Of course, we were provided an ample spread of toast with olive paste and olive oil drizzled all over them, accompanied by zucchini and eggplant. Also, there were plenty of green and black olives to go around (although, I probably ate at least an entire cups worth of olives to myself, they were just too good!).

My Purchases

The Olive Oil I tasted at De Santis was so good, that I couldn't help but purchase a couple of bottles. I've never tasted olive oil as fresh and flavorful as the one from De Santis, so my conclusion to purchase two was because I was worried I wouldn't find as great of a product back in Rome to bring home (these may be possible gifts...but for whom, I will not say!). People laughed at me as I cradled the two bottles, but I was quite a happy camper to finally come away from an excursion with the factory's product (Also, there was no mark-up!).

Views of Fumone: Me; Fumone; Alexis, Ali, Me, and Val

Afte learning about the Olive Oil making process, we ventured to the main part of Fumone. The Medieval downtown. We were given some free time to walk around. The views were unbelievable! I snapped some photographs with a few girls from my program. I have classes with the three photographed above. We're all from different schools, but it's great how we all manage to get along and share such amazing experiences together!

Tour through the Medieval Town

One of the Italian interns at my school, Elisebetta, is actually from Fumone. Her Dad came out to give us a tour of their town. We learned that Fumone, was one of the original Papal states, before Italy's unification. The Castello di Fumone is best known for housing the jail cell of Pope Celestine the V. He was imprisioned for stepping down from his papel throne. 

Although Fumone was pretty small, it was interesting to see such a historic city, as well as learn about where Elisabetta grew up (I see her everyday when I go to school, she like the other interns are fantastic resources for us American students).

La Trattoria 

After free time, we all sat down in a tavern-like Trattoria. I sat with Mac, Kate and Carissa. The four of us were excited for lunch, but were blown away by the number of courses provided. This lunch was a true Italian meal. It lasted about three hours and we had five different courses! We had an antipasti spread (which is always my favorite, consisting of formaggio and cold cuts), pasta with spicy tomato sauce, potato-bean soup, roasted chicken with potatoes and salad, and dessert with cookies and cake. We were absolutely stuffed by the time we (rolled) walked out of the restaurant. 

View from atop the Medieval Castle 

We were given a tour of Fumone's "Haunted Castle," after lunch. The castle wasn't of much interest to most of us. The views from atop of it were breathtaking though.

Overall, this excursion was simply lovely. It was pretty mellow, but it was a nice way to see another part of Italy that I wouldn't have been able to get to on my own schedule. These excursions are a fantastic way to explore the food-culture of Italy, as well as have the opportunity to get out of the city center. My Sociology Professor always emphasizes that the true Italian culture lies in the periphery, and after going on three excursions I definitely understand what he means.