Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a way of life
Lisa and I had a great lunch today with the guys from Les Moulins Mahjoub over at Provisions International, in White River Junction, Vermont–right down the road from the Market. Mr. Mahjoub, a delightfully humble man, spoke in his charming broken English all about their slow food philosophy. He was in town because Provisions carries much of the Mahjoub product line–Cous Cous, condiments and extra virgin olive oils. In particular, Mr. Mahjoub the owner, spoke of something I had never given much thought to before–that the process of making olive oil via the extra virgin, first cold press method, is really more a way of life, not just a process of making olive oil.
At first, I did not understand; his broken French/Arabic/English–he’s from Tunisia–can be difficult to understand. But through his exuberance and hand gestures–plus some help from his small audience–his thesis became very clear.
The Mahjoub family produces olive oil in small batches in methods that date back hundreds of years. First they blend 3 maturity stages of olives–ripe, medium and green. Second they harvest all olives by hand. Third, they are maniacal about the time from harvest to crushing. Same day from harvest to crush is their mantra. Fourth, they crush the olives very slowly but quickly take the crushed olives and press them. We’re talking minutes here–like 20 minutes of crush time. Then finally, the cold pressing of the crushed olives on the very first press. All of their exported oil is first pressed oil.
Mr. Mahjoub’s key point was that these five steps are more than just the foundation for making outstanding olive oil. Passionately, he pointed out that they are also the critical steps for the production of great tasting artisan food all over the world. Concepts like hand harvesting, making items in small batches, shortening the time from field to market–all concepts of making great olive oil–are components of making outstanding baked goods, jarred condiments and so forth, all over the world.
And paramount too, Mr. Mahjoub pointed out, are things like the land–where the product is grown, the variety of the crop grown and it’s heirloom quality; the maker–the small farmer or artisan paying attention to details; the process–crushing olives with ancient stones for instance rather than modern money saving techniques that ruin the flavor or the nutritional value; the retailers and distributors–involving ethical, passionate, service oriented people to help bring these items to market; and finally the customer whose instance on high quality and support of small batch, artisan products is critical for the ultimate survival of this what some people call the slow food movement.
Transfer many of these concept to modern everyday life–slowing down, taking one’s time, paying attention to quality instead of quantity, concerning oneself with learning and education, shopping local, looking for organic products…and you can see why Mr. Mahoub is so passionate about often saying olive oil and the process they use–extra virgin (no chemicals–all organic), first cold press–is more than just a process for food production. It’s a process of life.
Frankly, it’s a philosophy that everyone here at the Farmers’ Market embraces everyday. FYI…Check out this great video on the Mahjoub family and how they make their extra virgin olive oil.
Patrick