Every late October or early November, we harvest the olives at our home in Puglia, which is surrounded by olive groves. We like to harvest before the rain comes as this gives the oil an intensity, a richness with an almost concentrated stickiness and makes it very tasty. Olive harvesting is a time honoured tradition, the branches of the trees are literally shaken, and the olives drop onto the netting below. They are then hauled to the ‘frantoio’ (the crusher or oil mill) where they are cold pressed and bottled. We produce a 100litres for use in my kitchen and as gifts for friends who come to stay.

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