Historical story

The Use of Olive Oil and Olives in Etruscan Cuisine

Etruscans at the table. Olive oil and olives were the basis of their diet

The use of extra virgin olive oil olive in the kitchen , and not only that, it is very ancient.

This exceptional product, typical of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, enjoyed in the past such a high consideration that it even assumed, among many populations of the time, a sacred connotation .

The Etruscans, mysterious people of obscure origins settled in the territories of central Italy corresponding roughly to today's Tuscany, made olive oil an abundant and varied use; lush and fruitful olive groves represented an essential feature of the Etrurian landscape and the olive tree was considered so precious as to be the object of veneration, present, in the form of small twigs held in the hand by the sarcedotesse, in every religious procession.

The olives, important and appreciated as much as the juice that derived from them, they found their main place on the table; the particularly favorable climate, mild and sunny, combined with the high degree of fertility guaranteed by the type of soil, ensured abundant harvests and excellent quality fruits, which consumed both raw and cooked , were one of the basic foods of Etruscan cuisine .

Ingenious and cunning even in the gastronomic field, the Etruscans were able to recover even too bitter olives:immersed for a few days in water and salt or in water perfumed with dried fennel and mastic fruits, they were considerably sweetened, becoming more pleasant on the palate.