Newsletter Ottobre 2024

Welcome back, dear olive oil loving friends!

Times are uncertain all over and our poor, battered Boot, alas, is no exception. But we’ll rise to the occasion, as Italians have always done in the past, and bounce back with all our hallmark ingenuity, brilliance and flair. Talking of which, magic is in the air.

Quite right, it’s that time of the year again – the new Pornanino First Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil is coming!

Times are changing and most of us are being forced to some extent to change our lifestyle, or at least reconsider our habits. Whatever you do, please keep choosing olive oil, as it’s key to a longer, healthier life.

It’s the one investment that will always pay! So get your yearly supply now, before it runs out!

Pornanino’s olive grove diary

We’ve changed. But it’s all good – we’ve just launched our new look website

Come explore our new website. it’s now even easier (we hope!) to find your favourite Pornanino products and discover some new ones at the same time. With better navigation and more in-depth product information, we hope you will love it as much as we do. You will also find useful information on the olive oil and traditional recipes.

A new cleaner look

We swept the corners, aired out the linens and moved some pixels around. We think you’ll like it!

Easier navigation

Whether you’re browsing our site for olive oil or to learn how to cook a traditional dish, we take our job as your guide seriously.

More upgrades to come

We’re not finished yet. Keep an eye out for more improvements and new content, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

The Deliciouser, Chef curated, small batch spice blends.

We are very excited to be taking over the distribution of Pornanino Olive Oil from 2023! For the past 15 ears, we have been purchasing Olive Oil from our friends Terry & Debra Hart.

Every year we have preordered bottles for ourselves and as gifts for friends and family. When the new shipment arrives each December, we always look forward to the pickup party, a festive gathering of like-minded foodies eager to sample the new harvest. We’re honored and happy to continue the tradition.

Our story starts in the heart of the Midwest with these key ingredients: years of combined experience in the food industry; fostering relationships with community partners; and traveling the globe.

Our vision is to bring exceptional spices, herbs, and culinary products into every kitchen and to invite cooks from all walks of life to share in the joy of creating delicious food with Deliciouser blends.

We like to refer to ourselves as a blended family, not just because we are in the business of blending spices, but because we really are a family. The Deliciouser family is Patrick, Marcia, Michelle, and Anne.

Today, The Deliciouser is an emerging brand producing a full line of chef curated, small batch spice blends. In January 2023, we opened The Deliciouser Kitchen Studio to share our stories, recipes and techniques with cooks of all levels.

More at thedeliciouser.com

Healthy living

Still wondering whether you should invest in olive oil? We most emphatically think you should, but might admittedly be a bit biased. Here are a few independent opinions to sway you in the right direction…

Olive oil could reduce your risk of stroke – cnn.com

A diet high in olive oil may help protect older people against strokes, which are the third leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer. The findings are in a study published in the journal Neurology. A stroke occurs when an artery within the brain, or leading to the brain, becomes blocked by a clot or bursts. The brain becomes deprived of blood and oxygen carried in the arteries and begins to die. Strokes become more common as we age – stroke risk doubles for each decade of life after age 55, according to the American Heart Association.

Mediterranean diet ‘cuts cancer’bbc.co.uk

Adopting just a couple of elements of the Mediterranean diet could cut the risk of cancer by 12%, say scientists. A study of 26,000 Greek people found that just using more olive oil alone cut the risk by 9%. The diet, reports the British Journal of Cancer, also includes higher amounts of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and less red meat.

Is your diet good for your skin?Health.com

Sure, your diet keeps your body slim and healthy, but its impact doesn’t stop there. The food you eat from wrinkle-fighting antioxidants in fruits and vegetables to hydrating healthy fats in fish – may matter to your skin almost as much as it does to your waistline. Fish, leafy greens, olive oil, and fruit are the stars of this heart-healthy, waist-whittling diet. But the benefits don’t end there – eating Mediterranean may also protect against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, a recent Italian study suggests… antioxidants in leafy greens and olive oil may protect against ultraviolet light and other environmental assaults that can break down collagen and elastin, the structural supports that keep skin plump and smooth. Result: less sagging and fewer wrinkles later. Olive oil, tomatoes, and red wine also have antioxidants that help block the chemical reactions that lead to sun damage, explains Leslie Baumann, M.D., chief executive officer of the Baumann Cosmetic and Research Institute in Miami Beach, Florida

10 foods to help boost your brain power CookingLight.com

Just like the right diet can prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, or cancer, health experts are finding that certain foods may boost your mind. Although there is no current treatment proven to cure Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, there are foods that play a positive role in overall mind health.
Extra virgin olive oil – You may not have heard of them before, but ADDLs (or amyloid B-derived diffusible ligands) are Alzheimer’s-inducing proteins that are toxic to the brain. In the initial stages of the disease, they attach to brain cells rendering them unable to communicate with one another and eventually leading to memory loss. Extra virgin olive oil may be a potent foe against ADDLs according to research conducted at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, PA last year. It’s rich in oleocanthal, a compound that disables dangerous ADDLs.

Olive oil’s heart effect locatedbbc.co.uk

Scientists say they have pinpointed the micronutrients in olive oil that make it a good heart protector. Mediterranean diets have long been hailed as cutting heart attack risk. A team of Spanish researchers believes this is partly down to compounds called phenols that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and clot-preventing powers. Virgin or extra virgin olive oils are best because they have the highest phenol content, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports.

Happy birthday Pornanino!

It all started back in December 1989 with the first harvest at Pornanino…

Once upon a time there was a man who had been working abroad most of his life, overseeing major construction projects in faraway places such as Libya and Algeria, as well as all over native Italy.

Then came a point in his career when all this moving around rather lost its appeal. It would have been nice to go back home and settle down, he thought, and his wife rather agreed. There was a problem, though – after so much wandering, no particular place felt like “home” anymore.

Back to Italy, they were invited to visit some cousins who had just relocated in Chianti, which was not quite as fashionable yet but just as charming. And they were hooked. He resigned, they scouted for a suitable property and soon enough settled down in Tuscany. Home, now, was a place called Pornanino.

Sounds like a faity tale, right? It wasn’t quite, though. Because what they had bought was a dilapidated, sprawling 96 acre estate in the middle of nowhere and in urgent need of care. Franco (you had guessed we were talking about him, had you) needn’t fear that he would get bored! He definitely didn’t. Once the main stone house had been rebuilt (much to wife Lia’s relief), he embraced country life with a vengeance – and all the enthusiastic zeal of the city-born.

Chianti was always infamous for its stony, dry, unproductive soil where only grapes and olives could be grown. Given that wine-making is not for the amateur, Franco uprooted the straggling vineyards and replaced them with thousands of olive trees. Then he set out to teach himself as much as possibile about olive groves, olive oil and the making of it. Oh, and in his spare time he restored another couple of stone outbuildings, dug out a swimming pool and attempted to start a model vegetable garden that never quite took off – too many stones, not too mention greedy wild boar and deer.

Anyway, the first harvest, in December 1989, was a turning point. Franco fell in love with olive oil, and soon turned what had been a quirky pastime into a small-scale business. Love morphed into obsession, prompting him to build his own in-house mill so as to make sure that each and every step of the oil making process was under his own personal supervision – he actually did it all himself, tending the olive groves, picking the olives, pressing them, bottling the oil…

Then son-in-law Matteo joined in, a reformed computer programmer who gave up city life to embrace
the joys of riding a red tractor up and down the Chianti slopes. All in the name of olive oil.
35 years on, many things have changed in Pornanino. Life flows on. Yet nothing has really changed – olive oil making is as old as the world and we are still going about it as tradition demands. By hand. With the deepest love and respect.

Grandma Lia’s olive oil recipes

Forget the winter blues with a taste of Italian sunshine – treat yourself to a delicious pasta dish! And don’t even think of reaching for one of those nasty ready-made sauces (for shame!). Make your own in under ten minutes and buon appetito!

Cooking pasta

Put plenty of water to boil with a lid on. Exact quantity depends on how much pasta you are cooking – for 4 oz/100 gr (a generous serving by Italian standards) you’ll need about 4 to 6 cups. When the water comes to a rolling boil season it with sea salt and add the pasta.

Stir with a wooden spoon from time to time, to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. If you’re cooking spaghetti or “long” pasta make sure the strands are completely submerged (they’ll start to go limp after a couple of minutes, so don’t panic and don’t break them up!).

As cooking times vary, refer to cooking instructions on the package. As a rule of thumb, spaghetti will be done in 10 minutes, while “short” pasta like rigatoni or penne usually take 15 minutes.

Drain in a colander as soon as cooked, transfer to a large, shallow pan and toss together with the sauce and as much olive oil as necessary for a couple of minutes over a high heat.

Amatriciana

Fry ½ cup of diced bacon and ½ cup of thinly sliced onion in a non-stick pan lightly brushed with extra virgin olive oil.

When they are both golden and crisp douse with white wine and let it evaporate.

Add 1 cup of tomato sauce, a little chilli pepper and a pinch of salt.

Simmer for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and finish off with a generous drizzle of Pornanino Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Serve with grated Pecorino cheese.

Mock seafood pesto

In the blender process 2 tablespoons black olives, 2 tablespoons capers, 2 tablespoons walnuts, 2 tablespoons pinenuts, a handful each of flat-leaf parsley and basil, 1 garlic clove, 1 preserved anchovy fillet.

Mind you, don’t process it too long, as a rather rough texture is what you’re looking for.

Add a teaspoon of grated lemon peel, a pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper and plenty of Pornanino Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Carbonara

Fry ½ cup of diced bacon and ½ cup of thinly sliced onion in a non-stick pan together with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.

In a large bowl lightly beat 2 eggs with 3 tablespoons of cream (or milk), a pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of grated nutmeg.

Add the bacon and onion and stir to combine.

Pour the cooked pasta into the bowl: the heat of the spaghetti will cook the egg to a creamy sauce.

Finish off with some more Pornanino Extra Virgin Olive Oil and freshly grated Pecorino cheese.

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