{"id":21676,"date":"2012-01-02T23:28:29","date_gmt":"2012-01-02T21:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.ikaria.ch\/?page_id=21676"},"modified":"2024-04-13T16:23:57","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T14:23:57","slug":"ursulas-olive-oil-the-liquid-gold-of-the-south","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ursula.ikaria.ch\/en\/ursulas-olive-oil-the-liquid-gold-of-the-south\/","title":{"rendered":"Ursula’s olive oil – the liquid gold of the south"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Olivenhain<\/span><\/div>

Superfood from Ikaria<\/h2>\n

Together with my husband, we took over his family’s three-hundred-year-old estate around 35 years ago and have been managing it ever since in keeping with the family tradition of mindful interaction between people and nature.<\/p>\n

We look after 180 olive trees, planted on the narrow terraces by our great-great-grandfather, as they did back then. We use no machines, no artificial fertilizers and no pesticides.<\/p>\n

Our olive oil is a purely natural product made from hand-picked, organic olives. We only produce it in small quantities, primarily for our own consumption. If there is excess, it is available from us. It can either be purchased directly from us in Ikaria or temporarily in Switzerland. Since we always bottle it fresh, it is advisable to contact us beforehand: contact link<\/a><\/p>\n

Not all organic is the same! In Ikaria there is no industry, no highways, no fine dust pollution, no air or groundwater pollution! There is only the warming sun, spicy air, the mist of the sea and the fertile cultivated soil of our terraces.<\/p>\n

Ikaria Blue Zones<\/h2>\n

The Island of the Centenarians, or Blue Zone<\/a>, as Ikaria is also called. Many books and studies have been written about it. Along with Icarian wine, olive oil is the most important ingredient in the Mediterranean diet, which allows the Icarians to age so healthily and contentedly.<\/p>\n

Fertile cultivated land<\/h2>\n

Our olive grove is located in the protected valley that connects the mountain village of Raches with the large beaches of Messachti and Livadi.<\/a> The vegetation in our valley is lush and diverse. Countless springs, fertile soil and a mild, protected climate ensure that our olive trees grow and thrive healthily. The terraced cultivated land has been owned by the Kastanias family for more than three hundred years.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Gr\u00fcne<\/span><\/div>
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Naturally fertilized and gentle harvest<\/h2>\n

We prune our trees every year and laboriously dig natural fertilizer (goat, chicken and pig manure from our own livestock) into the soil by hand. As soon as the olives are a nice dark purple, a sign of ripeness (green olives are not a different breed, they are simply not yet ripe), they are gently shaken from the branches with bamboo sticks. Since all the olives on the same tree are never ripe at the same time, this means that the same tree has to be harvested several times, which is not an option in conventional operations due to lack of time and therefore all olives, regardless of their stage of ripeness, are cut from the trees at the same time by machine become. This is an absolute torture for the tree, as leaves and young shoots are also affected. The tree needs months to recover! That’s why we prefer our more complex, but gentle method.<\/p>\n

Read here<\/a> how we harvest our olives.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Geerntet<\/span><\/div>
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Natural pest control<\/h2>\n

To combat the dacus fly (olive pest), we hang ammonia traps in the trees so that neither the tree nor the soil comes into contact with the product, in contrast to the conventional, government-mandated pesticides and the associated spraying methods.<\/p>\n

Since the ammonia traps are not as efficient as the pesticides that are sprayed directly onto the flowers or fruits several times, this of course means a significantly sparser harvest for us.<\/p>\n

And it also means that each olive has to be picked individually, by hand… the good ones in the pot, the bad ones in the bowl… But this is exactly the secret of the deliciously light aroma and the color like liquid gold.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Erlesenes<\/span><\/div>
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Cold-pressed<\/h2>\n

We then have our olives cold pressed in the village press. We monitor this procedure ourselves.<\/p>\n

Our olive oil is therefore a purely natural product that can be used in many areas:<\/p>\n

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  • Enjoyment, health, vitality<\/li>\n
  • Culinary (raw, cooked, fried, grilled, fried, in sweet dishes and pastries as a butter substitute)<\/li>\n
  • for preserving food<\/li>\n
  • Mediterranean diet<\/li>\n
  • Conditioners, oil pulling treatments<\/li>\n
  • Add natural cosmetics such as hair treatments to the bath water<\/li>\n
  • Massage, can be enriched with scent essences<\/li>\n
  • Baby and children massage<\/li>\n
  • Oil lamps infused with essential scents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>
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