Liquid Gold, Delivered to Your Doorstep
According to the Old Testament, after forty days and forty nights of floods, Noah sent a dove from his ark in search of land. When the dove returned bearing an olive branch in her beak, Noah knew that the worst was over. Hope was, quite literally, on the horizon.
Fast-forward a few millennia to springtime in New York City, which wasn’t really very spring-y at all. Yeah, I know that “April showers bring May flowers,” but after days upon days of torrential downpours, I was starting to feel a bit like Noah myself. Then, just as I’d begun to despair that I’d never see dry land again, my very own olive branch arrived at my home in Brooklyn. Except it wasn’t an olive branch, nor was it delivered by a dove. No, my harbinger of clear skies and warm weather came via UPS in the form of extra virgin olive oil from Nudo Italia.
I first found out about Nudo when my now-husband and I got engaged. One day, out of the blue, we received a certificate in the mail congratulating us on our recent adoption…of an olive tree. As we surveyed the accompanying literature, we realized that we’d just received the coolest engagement present imaginable (for a pair of inveterate lovers of food and Italy, that is).
Here’s how it works: for around $109 USD, you can adopt an olive tree for one year, complete with an official adoption certificate. You’ll receive detailed information about the grove where your tree is located, as well as information about the age and olive variety of your tree itself. Over the course of the year,you’ll receive two shipments of oil from your tree and its neighboring trees.
Spring brings a package of all your tree’s extra virgin olive oil. Then, in the fall,a few tins of infused extra virgin olive oils arrive; the flavors include lemon,chili,garlic, and many different herbs. All of the oil is first cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil, which means its acidity is less than 0.8%. More to the point, this oiltastes really, really good. It’s no wonder Homer called olive oil “liquid gold.”
The folks at Nudo know that artisanal olive oil producers are struggling. Put simply, it’s expensive to produce high-quality olive oil by traditional means, and small-scale farmers have a very difficult time turning a profit. Compounding the issue, mass-produced olive oil is cheap and poorly regulated, so consumers are often confused and misled as to what constitutes high-quality olive oil. Nudo’s mission, then, is to “find olive producers who are passionate about making the best olive oil, pay them a fair price and help customers internationally learn to appreciate the value and joys of the best olive oil.”
Ancient and sacred, the humble olive has long been a symbol of peace and hope. I can certainly attest to the power of the olive to restore faith; I felt an infusion of optimism when my olive oil arrived last week. It’s nice to know that,by adopting an olive tree through Nudo, we can help keep traditional, artisanal olive farmers in business. Now, that’s what I call “extending the olive branch.”
Link: http://www.nudo-italia.com
-Hilary Gardner
