Our Oil meets the chef Domenico Cilenti

Put an end of fall Sunday, a beautiful and unusual setting – given the season – and an exceptional “table companion”. This is how any Sunday is dressed in magic and becomes unique.

The absolute protagonist of this Sunday is Puglia with its excellences.

The incomparable and unusual setting is a Peschici bathed by a thick and thin autumn rain, deserted and silent as we are not used to seeing it in the summer, when its narrow streets teem with people and tourists. In one of these alleys is an all-Peschician excellence, the restaurant La Porta di Basso of chef Domenico Cilenti, where culture, tradition and innovation meet.

The raw materials are treated with dedication and profound respect by the hands of chef Cilenti. The same delicacy is reserved for them, which is appropriate for a fragile and precious knick-knack. They come out of the dishes that tell in all their linearity the love for this land and the care for quality.

Right inside these dishes, our “table mate” is the first place to go, on the tables of Puglia, our evo oil from Peranzana.

Just at the Porta di Basso there was a tasting of Apulian extra virgin olive oil, specifically Peranzana and Rotondella, within which the tasting techniques were explained at a preliminary stage and what are the qualifying elements for an early age.

The tasting has had among its protagonists the blend of Peranzana and Rotondella, our 1885, and the monocultivar of Peranzana, our Casino Mezzanola.

These are two native cultivars, and very important for each other, although the origin of Peranzana is the subject of very exciting historical discussions.

La Peranzana is present in the territory of the high Tavoliere, in the countryside of Torremaggiore, San Severo and San Paolo Civitate, certainly from the late 1700s to the beginning of the 19th century; there are those who, on the other hand, believe that it has been present since around 300. It is a cultivar of Provençal origin, although currently in Provence there is no trace.

The Peranzana is not self-pollinating, so it needs just for pollination purposes, of the cultivar of Rotondella, in fact it is almost impossible to find an olive grove of Peranzana, where there is not even a Rotondella tree.

The blend has a sweeter taste, compared to Peranzana in purity, given by the characteristics of Rotondella that mitigate the notes of spicy, bitter and fruity and make our oil perfect for all palates.

The differences between Peranzana and Rotondella are manifold:

1. Shape and size: the Peranzana is larger and with an elongated shape, the Rotonda is very small and round
2. Pulp ratio: in the Peranzana there is a more balanced relationship between the pulp and the hazel, while the Rotondella has much less pulp compared to the core;
3. Organoleptic characteristics: bitter, spicy and fruity with an important herbaceous aftertaste for Peranzana, while the blend has an overall taste sweeter;
4. Oil yield: Peranzana has a noticeable low yield that varies between 12% and 14%, while Rotondella easily reaches 15% 16%
5. Maturation: The Peranzana matures very slowly. Usually the harvest starts at the end of October, but it is possible to find green or slightly yellow olives also in December. The Rotondella instead begins to mature as early as the end of October but it can be found very easily in about 15/20 days.

The history of these excellences tells the excellence of an entire territory, the Alto Tavoliere di Puglia, where the wealth of biodiversity has allowed the rooting of two precious and indispensable cultivars for each other, favored by a mild microclimate and dry that allows them to express themselves at their best and to give us extraordinary products, which can also be declined in a different way.

The Peranzana in fact, is a very ductile olive, which lends itself, when harvested and processed according to different timings and procedures, to be enjoyed as a table olive in brine or seasoned with spices such as oregano or fennel seed.

Our “table companion”, the evo oil from Peranzana, can be transformed into an excellent companion, to be enjoyed in total naturalness.