Established in 1878 Huilerie J. Leblanc is still run by a Leblanc, Jean-Charles, the grandson of the founder. The factory grounds are still located in the southern most village of Burgundy, Iguerande and continues to make high quality, small-batch, handcrafted nut oils and vinegars. J. Leblanc has been doing business with the same farms for generations, and credits their products quality to the quality of the farmers ingredients and the care that J. Leblanc takes with them.
One of the most important facts about Huilerie Leblanc’s production is not the “how” but the “when”. Because Huilerie Leblanc has no large storage facilities, or refining capabilities, production takes place when orders come in – assuring the very freshest nut oils. It’s a difference you can taste – in their clean, bright, deep flavors. This also increases the longevity of the product, these oils will last a year if refrigerated after opening.
For each batch of oil about fifty pounds of nuts are ground into a paste using the huilerie’s original granite mill. The paste, resembling the texture of peanut butter, is then transferred to a roaster, which toasts the paste for about ten minutes while being stirred constantly to assure an even roast. The roasted paste is then transferred to a mechanical press where it is divided in half and separated with filter cloth After being pressed the oil rests for seven-to-fourteen days to allow sediment to settle before bottling. Maximum production is about 300 liters a day.
J. Leblanc makes nice vinegars too, the walnut vinegar being their most unique. By using the leftover paste the vinegar is infused with a wonderful walnut flavor. Use these oils and vinegars to brighten the season’s vegetables and lettuces.
Agrume means “citrus”. In Abruzzo, on the Adriatic Sea, at the end of each harvest, farmers used to create a special oil for their family and friends. In their “frantoio” (olive mill) on the farm, the farmers would crush and press small amounts of hand-harvested olives with fresh citrus fruit to create oils such as Agrumato.
The crisp freshness of Agrumato is achieved by the whole-fruit crushing process, which cannot be duplicated by the more common infusion method of other citrus flavored oils. By crushing the olives with the citrus, the purity of each fruit flavor is maintained.
The resulting products are subtle and delicate. Each oil has a best pairing, but they range widely from grilled fish and vegetables to micro green salads.
Check out the products page, under olive oil to find descriptions of each Agrumato oil we carry.
Every aspect of olive production affects the quality of the oil: the growing region (climate, altitude, soil character), methods of growing, harvesting, and transporting the fruit, as well as extraction and storage methods. The care taken in each of these steps not only affects the taste and quality of the olive oil but its cost, yield, and shelf life. Great Ciao carries oils from around the Mediterranean, from buttery Spanish oils to grassy Sicilian oils. We have something for everyone with olive oil.
This newsletter should help give us a common language to communicate about olive oils, to help us in judging what qualities we want from an olive oil and what factors are responsible for the amazing diversity of flavors. While what determines whether we like or dislike an olive oil is subjective, there are some objective indicators of these attributes, namely the acidity of olive oil and the wax content.
The acidity of an olive oil is determined by the quality of the olives, the ripeness of the olives, and the temperatures of production and storage. Extra virgin olive oil should have a very low acidity, ranging from 0.3 to 0.5% and always less than 1%. Higher acidity could indicate defects in the oil, which usually result when olives are not pressed quickly enough after collection, or oil is stored at elevated temperatures or is overexposed to light and air during the production process.
The wax content in a quality olive oil must be less than 250 milligrams of wax per kilogram of oil. Elevated levels of wax in virgin or refined olive oils are indicative of the presence of crude pomace oil, which contains high levels of wax. Eliminating these waxes from the oils can be accomplished with filtering, by cooling the oil to solidify the waxes and then passing through filters. Alternatively, a more gentle pressing of well-handled fruits will ensure that fewer of these waxes are extracted and will result in a more refined oil, a true extra virgin olive oil.
·Fruit maturity is critical in determining the taste and quality of olive oil. For instance, green (early harvest) Tuscan olives and green Spanish olives may yield similar oils, whereas early harvest Tuscan olives and late harvest Tuscan olives may yield oils quite different from each other. Ripe fruits yield more oil than green fruits, the oil contains fewer antioxidants, and its taste will be milder.
Fruit varieties will produce oils of varying intensity, from very mild to grassy and from rich and nutty to bitter, with infinite variations in flavor, aroma and color.
·Harvesting techniques affect the quality of the final product. Handpicked olives that are not stacked too deeply and are brought immediately to the mill to be crushed will produce high quality oil. Whereas, mechanically harvested fruit that is piled high in bins damages the fruit. Also, fruit that is not milled quickly after harvest, can get infested with olive flies and produce poor quality olive oil.
Exposure to oxygen, light, and heat is detrimental to the quality of the oil. Hence, stainless steel containers and dark glass bottles are preferable to other storing methods. Olive oil should also be kept away from the heat.
As always the most important thing to do is to taste and to enjoy. So, please give us a call to schedule a tasting, either at the warehouse or at your place of business.