Oil that has been extracted from freshly picked olives is known as olive oil nouveau. The oil, with a touch of piquancy, can be enjoyed fresh only during this season.
Early in November, bottles of freshly extracted olive oil made with olives from Shodoshima island in Kagawa Prefecture were featured in a Tokyo store specializing in goods from the prefecture. The oil smelled of fragrant young leaves and had a spicy flavor.
"It's so different from what I use every day for cooking. It smells fresh and pleasant," said one customer who stopped by the shop.
Most of Japan's olives are produced on the island, and their harvest begins around September. Those harvested early in the season are pickled lightly. In October and November, some of the newly harvested olives are processed for olive oil nouveau.
Shipments of the oil began arriving at Tokyo supermarkets in late November, and a limited number of bottles will be on sale at the store sometime this month.
The olive-picking season will continue until February, but production volume is so low that the oil is available at only a limited number of shops outside the prefecture.
According to the Shodo Olive Laboratory in the prefecture, olives picked while still green taste fresher and spicier. The riper the olive, the sweeter and less bitter the oil is. Farmers time their harvests or blend oils from different seasons to create distinctive tastes. Domestic oil usually costs around 3,500 yen for 200 milliliters.
"Don't heat it up. Enjoy this seasonal delicacy as it is," said Hideaki Shibata of the laboratory.
This autumn's olive oil nouveau will be shipped from Italy and Spain around mid-December.
Around that time, olive oil speciality shop Olio Teca in the Shinjuku branch of Isetan department store in Tokyo will offer seven types of freshly extracted Italian oil. The prices start at 2,100 yen for 250 milliliters. Some supermarkets in Tokyo also are planning to sell imported olive oil during the season.
According to the Italian State Tourist Board, fresh olive oil is popular in Italy, where it is commonly served unheated with bread so its freshness can be savored.
Taeko Katsumata, a lecturer at the Tokyo-based Olive Oil Sommelier Association of Japan, said freshly extracted olive oil should be tasted by itself by dipping bread and vegetables in it.
She also recommends dipping slices of sashimi into a spicy oil nouveau to take advantage the fish's sweetness. Dipping sashimi in the oil along with soy sauce, salt or a squeeze of yuzu citrus juice are additional tasty options.
"Blue-backed fish goes well with a spicy olive oil. You can search for the optimum combination of sashimi and oil," Katsumata said.
[Source: Daily Yomiuri Online]
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