Today, Manicaretti brings you four of these unique oils, produced by Lino and Francesco Ricci. Each Agrumato comes packaged in an elegant bottle with images of Renaissance paintings on the labels.
In Abruzzo, on the Adriatic Sea, at the end of each harvest, farmers create a special oil for their family and friends. In their "frantoio" (olive mill) on the farm, the farmers crush and press small amounts of hand-harvested olives with fresh citrus fruit to create oils such as Agrumato. Agrume means "citrus".
The crisp freshness of Agrumato is achieved by the whole-fruit crushing process, which cannot be duplicated by the more common infusion method of other citrus flavored oils. By crushing the olives with the citrus, the purity of each fruit flavor is maintained. The resulting oil is an exquisitely versatile condiment.
Aprutium:
This delightful Abruzzese oil comes from the classic olive varieties of the region of Aprutium, the original Latin name for Abruzzo. The olives are grown in the foothills between the Adriatic Sea and inland mountains, then harvested and crushed by traditional methods. Packaged in sleek, decorative bottles topped with gold foil and matching ribbon.
- Region: Abruzzo
- Olive varieties: Gentile, Leccino Cornaiola, Dritta, Cucca
- Filtered
- Description: Yellow gold, transparent, with a warm olive aroma. Delicate, sweet and fruity. Light in viscosity, refined and sophisticated mouth-feel. Harmonious; a joyful oil that expresses its elegance at every sensory level.
250 ml or 500 ml (16.9 oz)
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Getsemani:
The most prized of Esperidia's Grand Cru oils, Getsemani is made exclusively from a single olive variety: the Olivastro. All modern olive trees descend from this ancient olive, originally called Oleastro. A thousand-year-old tree still stands near Jerusalem. In Abruzzo, a few rare Olivastro trees, hundreds of years old, still bear fruit. Small olives, large trees, and limited quantities make for a challenging harvest. These olives produce little oil, but what they do yield is extraordinary.
- Region: Lanciano, Abruzzo
- Olive varieties: Olivastro
- Filtered
- Description: Yellow gold with a tint of dark green. Unctuous, deep ripe olive aroma. Thick but not fatty mouth feel, flavors of fresh cut herbs. Mildly pungent finish. This combination of qualities, although unusual, is the pure expression of the olivastro variety of the olive, lovingly harvested and pressed.
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Lemon & Herb Agrumato:
Description: Lemon comes through in the nose-when warmed the garlic also wafts forward. Lingering flavors of the herb and garlic medley.
Traditions: Drizzle over fresh greens, grilled chicken breast, or crostini.
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Lemon Agrumato:
Description: Fresh ripe lemon pulp in the aroma. Forward flavor: Immediately bright and crisp on the palate. Marries magically with a wide variety of raw and cooked foods.
Traditions: Toss with pasta and fresh ricotta, drizzle over grilled fish, roasted vegetables or fresh greens.
Fancy Food Show Winner, 1994
200 ml or 500 ml (16.9 oz)
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Orange Agrumato:
Description: Alluring aroma of a cracked, ripe orange skin. Olive and citrus notes sustain for a long finish.
Traditions: Perfect with grilled poultry, on spinach salad, and over roasted root vegetables or squash.
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Tangerine Agrumato:
Description: Fragrance is astonishingly redolent of fresh tangerines. Slightly bitter finish.
Traditions: Drizzle over roasted squash, beet salad, grilled shellfish or salmon.
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