Olive oil sources in the South

[Jonathan Day]

We've finally run through our stores of olive oil, including the generous gifts that friends had brought, from Italy, Spain and Turkey. It is time to restock. We'll be in the South in a week's time.

We started out buying from Alziari, in Nice; the quality was consistent, and buying in bulk, in the shop, meant that the prices were reasonable. Alziari's oil has a pleasant buttery taste, but it's a bit boring. There's an oil cooperative at Opio, and their product isn't bad, but the quality/price ratio wasn't great. A few years ago we discovered Alain Baussy, whose olives grow at Spéracédes but who has an outlet in Le Cannet; he also sells at local markets. This oil has a nice clean taste, but with flavour. That's what I am looking for: oil that tastes of the fruit, but without a muddied character. Of course it needs to be just at the right level of freshness: some of the oils in the shops are either over the hill (rancid) or too young, with an unpleasant peppery burn.

I'm very happy with Baussy's product but also interested in other recommendations. For example, has anyone tried the Moulin Sainte-Anne in Grasse, or the Moulin à huile Lottier in Menton?

[menton1]

Jonathan, I don't know if you get this far, but west of Avignon is Nyons, the absolute capital of olive oil production in France. Here you will find a couple of dozen mills from small to large, with the oil in bottles or also en vrac. Some of the places also do related items, like tapenade and/or soap. But if you are a purist there will be plenty of small, family run old "moulins". A pleasant town as well (Nyons). The OT wil have lots of info on names and addresses.

I believe the coast will be mad next weekend for the Monaco Grand Prix. I like to stay at least 100 kilometers away when that is on.

P.S. I love the new doggie in your avatar-- what's his/her name? Very cute! (Does the dog go with you to France?) Allez sain et sauf.... Menton1.

[Jonathan Day]

Thanks, Menton1 -- I know Nyons and have bought oil and olives there several times. This time I'd prefer not to travel that far West, so I'm interested in the area between, say, St Trop and Menton. Were we staying over Friday, I would go over to Ventimiglia for the market there.

We're based in Mougins, far enough removed from the coast that events like the Grand Prix or even the Film Festival aren't particularly disruptive.

The dog is "Milo", 8 month old cocker spaniel. He will go with us to France in August, when we are driving. This is a short trip, by plane.

[cigalechanta]

My favorite is from the Moulin Jean-Marie Cornille in Maussane.

Mon through Saturday 8am to 12 noon and 2pm to 6pm.

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[Bux]

Johnathan, do you think the peppery burn is from youth? I think it may be from the variety of olives used. We have a favorite Sicilian producer whose oils we get here in NY. They offer a few single olive varieties and at least one blend. I like the single variety oils. Two of them are similar, both are fruity, but one is slightly fruitier than the other and the other has a decidedly hotter pepper finish to the taste. I don't find it unpleasant at all and actually prefer it for some foods. In any event, I don't think age is the sole factor, if it's a factor.

I appreciate your search for variety. As with wines, I prefer to go through a variety of oils during the year, although we return to favorites as the new oils start to come in at the end of the year. Have you thought of getting recommendations from restaurants in the area? Are they generally involved enough in choosing their oils?

[bleudauvergne]

Hi Jonothan, I wish I could help you, but the olive oil thing is rather touchy with my in-laws. They all have these mysterious sources and come out with unmarked bottles for us every year. When I had the audacity to ask where it came from they simply changed the subject. Their lips are sealed.

[Jonathan Day]

Have you thought of getting recommendations from restaurants in the area? Are they generally involved enough in choosing their oils?

I've discussed olive oil with a number of chefs in the area. Jacques Chibois is very serious about olive oil -- it appears in lots of his dishes, including a frozen treatment -- and he sponsors an annual olive oil festival. La Merenda, in Nice, is located next door to an olive oil shop, and people from the shop bring oil to your table to taste, as you are waiting for lunch to be served.

[artisanbaker]

sold on nyons personally

[Margaret Pilgrim]

While Nyons is an olive center, it is definitely northeast of Avignon, not west. Are we thinking of another town or area?

As Bux suggests, pepper or fruit or floral or bland flavors are the result of the olive variety more likely than the age or even the press.

[Jonathan Day]

Not to quibble about this: the initial flavours are definitely a result of the olive, as Margaret says. But peppery flavours, especially, can diminish with age -- I'm speaking of months, not years here. For the most part age is not a good thing with olive oils. But I have tasted several where 6 months' aging results in a marked improvement, a smoothing and rounding of the flavour.

As it happens we went back to Baussy for a large bidon of their ordinary oil, which comes from Spéracèdes. But they now have a small property near Les Baux, and the cuvée speciale oil from there was aptly named. We brought some of that back for finishing dishes.