Brisighella, an ancient medieval village, chief town of the Valley ‘Valle del Lamone’, is located on the first massifs of the Apennines of Tuscany and Romagna, on the panoramic road which leads from the Romagna Region to Florence. The thousands years old cultivation of olive at Brisighella, on the lands exposed to the sun and protected from cold winds, makes this area a land which offers a ‘special’ oil. The prevailing variety that is grown here is the 'Nostrana di Brisighella’.
Six Brisighella Oils
- Olio extra vergine d’oliva Pieve Tho: it boasts chemical characteristics which guarantee excellent standards, mainly thanks to the integrity of the fruits and processing carried out within a few days after gathering. It is characterized by a high content in oleic acid, with a very low acidity. Its aroma is intense and green fruity, with fragrance of fresh grass and vegetables. Its flavour is full, clean, with a slightly sweet note, with a spicy aftertaste. It is recommended with raw and cooked vegetables as well as with legumes, in particular cauliflower, beans, and chickpeas.
- Olio extra vergine Brisighella DOP: its aroma is intense but delicate, with notes which remind green small artichoke and freshly cut grass. Its taste is fluid, with sweet notes, and at the same time bitter and spicy, in a balanced and harmonious measure. This oil is excellent with such fishes as mullet and turbot. In order to enhance at its best its unique taste, chefs emulsify it cold, with cooking liquid of fish, meat, and game.
- Cru Brisighello: it is the result of an ‘extreme’ selection of Brisighella olives variety, extracted cold only by dripping. Its yield is very low, as it is a partial extraction, and does not exceed 12%. The result consists in a greater flavour, but also a particular delicacy. Because of these characteristics, it is considered the best Italian olive oil for cooking fish. The local growers are so proud of it that they produce it in ml 750 packages only, with the registered trademark ‘Brisighello’.
- Orfanello: it is produced from olives of the variety 'Orfana', so called because of its rare but constant presence in the olive groves of Brisighella lands. This variety is little productive, but the growers struggle to preserve it, because it produces a fragrant and delicate oil, which distinguishes itself for its less intense flavour, which however retains a freshness that makes it an excellent product for all raw preparations. It is an excellent seasoning for salads. It is produced in ml 500 packages only.
- Brisighello Dop Biologico: it is characterized by a persistent aromatic intensity, which makes it excellent in the preparation and seasoning of first courses and sauces.
- Nobil Drupa: it is an oil selected by the Cooperative of local farmers and comes from the autochthonous variety Ghiacciola. Its aroma is very intense, with hints of mint and tomato leaf. Depending on the vintage, its flavour is intense, with more or less marked spicy and bitter notes. As it happens for all Brisighella oils, it is characterized by a very low acidity. In cooking, the ideal combination of this oil is with artichokes and boiled vegetables. It is excellent with baked fish of Mediterranean cuisine, such as gilthead with citrus. For consumers who appreciate strong and intense flavours, it is an irreplaceable ingredient of rustic courses, such as pecorino and broad beans, or raw vegetables as starters.
The numbers of Brisighella oil
More than 300 growers, for about 100,000 olive trees, covering an area of about 300 hectares. The annual production ranges between a minimum of a few tens of quintals, in the most unfavourable vintages, and a maximum of about a thousand quintals. The producers association ‘La Cooperativa Agricola Brisighellese’, founded in 1972, gathers 90% of the producers in this area and takes care of numbering the bottles, ensuring their quality.
