Our olives take one: the busa

Actually, just one of the busa varieties: the busa femmina di Dignano, or female busa. Big, rounded and meaty, this olive variety is native from our very town of Dignano.

Her tree is like the oil she produces: benign, not much wild, and somewhat delicate. Anyway, I think it may be better to leave aside the agricultural details and pass on to what you might find more interesting: her oil.

It does not exceed in bitterness, spiciness or flavors, nor does it have an electric green colour like some of its peers, but is a perfect match for any kind of delicate dishes. It does not impone itself on the tastes, but rather accompany them and enhance them in a diminutive, understated way. In few words, if you need the double bass of the olive oils, with the busa you can't go wrong!

Gold for Cadenela, or otherwise said - ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

I thought about grouping all the results on various competitions in one single post, but my ego is recalcitrant to keep silent and quiet, hence - we've already won a gold medal, and got again listed in Monocultivar olive oil guide by Mr.Celletti!

Ok, for now this is it but we have more coming in the spring (of course I will not manage to keep quiet and let you know in no time).

Before I leave you, here's a screenshot of the chemical analysis of this year's oil - quite good given the annus horribilis we've endured.

All this is good and nice, you may say, but how does it taste? In comparison with the muted tastes of many Istrian oils of this 2013 harvest, the pungency is quite present, with low levels of bitterness, and mild grassy/fruity aromas. But forget words, come and try it by yourself!

Why (and which) olive oil is good for you

The fact that olive oil (the extra vergine, not the raffinated ones!) is, except from being tasty and improving your cuisine,  a fantastic source of healthy substances is quite known - what is not quite so known is that different varieties (cultivars) vastly vary in their properties.

Different shapes, different taste, but also different inherent qualities!

 I had the pleasure of attending recently to a lecture about such variances which is now available on the web (for the technically inclined readers, the link is at the bottom of this post). I'll try to sum up the study which I think highlights a number of facts the consumer should be aware of.

For starters, some of the most important healthy properties of the extra vergine are:
- the high level of unsaturated fatty acids (which are good for you because of their effects on LDL cholesterol, in primis)
- again, the high level of alpha tocopherol, or vitamin E (antioxidant par excellence)
- polyphenols (again, antioxydants and antiinflammatories)

Now, the study takes in consideration four diffent cultivars: one introduced (the Leccino), and three autochtonous cultivars (Buza, Bianchera and Rossignola). Why exactly those varieties? The Leccino because of its popularity as a variety, whilst the three locals are also well spread in the region amongst producers. The Leccino and the Buza give gentler oils (say a chardonnay), whilst the Bianchera and Rossignola are oils with a kick (syrah?) Oh, thanks for asking - all of them are well represented in our groves...

Now, what are the findings? Speaking of oleic acid, all the varieties had more than 75%, with a total of average 85% of unsaturated fatty acids, which is well above regulation requirements from health authorities to state the health benefits of its consumation.

And now the interesting bits: should you wish for a higher content of vitamin E, go for Leccino or Rossignola, with the Buza in a honorable and close third place. The Bianchera is well behind the first three, but still above health requirements for foods to be labelled as natural source of vitamin E.

Author: O.Koprivnjak et al, 2012

Our vitamin E winner - the Leccino!

 If polyphenols are what you are after, the Bianchera is the clear winner, with values well above the other contesters - notwithstanding this fact, all of them are again well above regulations requirements for being labelled as natural source of antioxydants. I'd like to give you a tip here: check whether the groves your olive oil comes from are irrigated, and if so there is no contest at all - the sometimes high polyphenols level in the other three varieties are almost certainly the consequence of a stressful, dry year.

Author: O.Koprivnjak et al, 2012

Kicking not only in taste, but in polyphenols too...

 So, next time you choose a single variety olive oil, you may want to think about the specific health benefits in addition to the diffent tastes they have!

Part of the data for this post was sourced from an article by O.Koprivnjak et al, "Characteristics of Nutritive Value of Virgin Olive Oils from Buža, Istarska bjelica, Leccino and Rosulja Cultivars", 2012, which can be found here.