The oil that came home
This month, 1.2 tonnes of olive oil arrived at Georges Mediterranean from Greece. It came from a small family grove near the village where the Vardis family has its roots, the same village.
Early picking improves the oil
The olives are picked in October, earlier than most growers would choose to harvest. At that point the fruit is still green, the oil content is lower, and the yield per tonne of olives is significantly less than a late harvest would produce. For commercial producers that makes early harvest unattractive. For the Vardis family grove, it is the point.
Harvesting early is what gives this oil its character. The polyphenol concentration, the compounds responsible for the distinctive peppery finish and the oil’s antioxidant properties, is at its highest before the fruit fully ripens. The EU permits a health claim on olive oil with polyphenol levels above 250mg/kg. Early harvest cold-pressed oils like this one typically sit between 400 and 800mg/kg.
The grove is un-irrigated. The trees draw only what the land gives them naturally, which puts them under a degree of stress that concentrates the flavour and the polyphenols further and reduces the yield again. The oil is cold pressed, certified organic and low in oxidisation, which means what you taste is as close as possible to what came off the fruit.
A good early harvest oil has bitterness, pepper and grassiness with a finish that lingers. It changes what you taste when you dip bread into it, and what happens to a simple dish of haloumi or grilled fish when it is finished with a generous pour.
It is on your table at Georges now. Come and find out.
Georges Mediterranean is on the Wharf 3, King Street Wharf, near Barangaroo and part of Darling Harbour. Join us for lunch, breakfast and dinner.
