Olive oil in the Marche region

Le Marche is a predominantly rural region. Although climatic conditions do not meet ideal requirements for growing olive trees because of the possible dreaded winter frosts, the history of fruitful cultivation of this plant dates back to Roman times.

A seguito della conquista del territorio del Piceno, e con la creazione di importanti colonie quali Pesaro, Jesi, Fermo, Senigallia (una volta conosciuta come Sena Gallica) e Osimo, Gaio Flaminio fece costruire una tratta della notoria via Flaminia per collegare Roma  a Rimini. Le terre circostanti la strada, che comprendevano i territori del piceno, vennero concesse ai contadini indigeni per la coltivazione degli alberi centenari, non causando pochi malcontenti degli alleati italici dei romani. Si crearono così le condizioni per dare visibilità alla zona grazie anche ai traffici commerciali praticati per quella via.

Una forte battuta d’arresto si ebbe con la caduta dell’Impero Romano e l’avvento delle popolazioni barbariche, quando per sfuggire agli attacchi le case agricole vennero abbandonate e presto il suolo si trasformò da fonte di ricchezza e qualità di prodotto a territorio boschivo abbandonato a sé stesso.

It was not until the Middle Ages, thanks to the established presence of the Church State in the northern front of the Region, and the lifestyle of the Benedictine monks of "ora et labora," that those essential ingredients for the restoration of soil well-being and tree care were reconstituted.

Va sottolineato che, nonostante la successione di insediamenti, ormai tutti i popoli che presiedevano la zona dell’attuale Italia avevano riconosciuto l’importante valore dell’olio: ad uso alimentare, per i più, liturgico, farmaceutico e anche come forma di scambio per il pagamento di pedaggi. Ricordiamo che il “riparico” (pedaggio di 25 libbre di olio per approdare sul Po) veniva vinto dagli olii provenienti dalle Marche. Diverse fonti attestano come il prezzo di questi ultimi era valutato marcatamente più alto rispetto a quelli provenienti da altre zone della penisola. 

METHOD OF OBTAINING

The production of extra virgin olive oil PGI from the Marche region follows a specification that describes the technical characteristics for obtaining the certification, attestation of high product quality.

The olives must be collect no later than December 15, left to air in suitable boxes; in fact, the use of jute bags is prohibited. They can be harvested by hand (brucatura) or by mechanical systems that keep the qualities of the fruit intact.

The further processing should take place as soon as possible, but no later than two days after harvesting, including a stop at the mill.

For the production of PGI oil, olives must be defoliated and washed before the milling stage. It is emphasized that "the extraction of extra virgin olive oil must take place by mechanical and physical processes suitable to ensure that oils are obtained without any alteration of the qualitative characteristics present in the fruit."

The oil should be processed at a temperature The oil should be processed at a temperature not exceeding 30°C, and stored in stainless steel, glass, or suitable temperature storage containers between 10°C and 18°C. The maximum yield is set at 20 percent. L'last step before packaging is decanting and filtration to remove any processing residues.

THE ASSAY.

Oil is classified according to certain peculiarities found as a result of a tasting process called "panel testing." There are four components that interact to determine what kind of product we are dealing with, and they are the visual one, to assess appearance and color, gustatory to know the flavor, olfactory related to odors and tactile, for texture and fluidity. The combinations of the latter form the final "flavor."