ASCOLANO EVOO
Ascolano Extra Virgin Olive Oil is hands-down, my most popular EVOO ever. The reason for this – the flavor. It’s amazingly unique with its peach and tropical flavors. I’m asked all the time if those are its natural flavors, and of course they are! It’s like a really nice high-end bottle of Zinfandel – full of rich fruit components and jammy.
Ascolano is a Tuscan variety, which we grow in Tehama County. Most Ascolano are planted in Northern California, above Sacramento. There are also large plantings in Central California by Lindsay, where there is a large amounts of olives planted for table olives. The Ascolano was originally planted for table olives in California, however the processors found that its fruit bruised too easily, so they stopped buying it, leaving many growers looking for a home for their Ascolano olives. In 2005 I started to crush Ascolano olives for oil. I was one of the first to crush table olives at that time, and it quickly became a favorite of mine (and others, including the judges!), winning more awards than any other olive I have ever bottled.
Last year in 2018, our Ascolano won two very big awards: Best Of Show at the Napa Olive Oil Competition, and Best Of Class at one of the largest olive oil competitions in the world, the Los Angeles Int’l Olive Oil competition with over 460 entries!
The Flavor & Aroma will blow your mind with tropical & fruity notes like mango, pineapple, apricot, peach, and then there is a touch of green herbaceousnous on the end (some will describe this as tomato leaf flavors). The flavor of this variety is far more unique than most olive oils produced anywhere in the world, very distinctive due to its rich stone fruit flavors. It also has one of the biggest noses you'll ever experience with an olive oil, it has aromas that are floral in characteristic, sweet and fruity with tropical notes that really shine through.
MORE DETAILS
100% Certified "Extra Virgin" - Certified by the California Olive Oil Council (COOC)
California Grown - Hand Harvest in California - Mid November
Lab Test Data:
Polyphenol count = 273
FFA = 0.19
Peroxide = 2.79
Delta K = -0.003
DAG = 94.1
PPP = 1.2
HOW WE LIKE TO USE IT
My family practical guzzles this oil, we use it on everything, here are a few of our favorites:
- Salad dressing with our Lemon Balsamic
- Dipping bread with a little of the Traditional Balsamic and pink sea salt in the bottom
- Over pasta with sea salt
- Over caprese salad (one of my favorites)
- In bruschetta
- Drizzled over vanilla ice cream with a pinch of pink sea salt