Neudorf Olives

We have had a long hot summer and there is lots of fruit on the trees, though still in the form of small green bullets at this stage. We’re hoping for increased volumes of delicious oil for our expanding markets. Our 13 year old daughter remarked yesterday, that we would never be able to sell the grove as we couldn’t afford to buy the volume of oil we consume. She might be right… We use the oil on almost everything, meaning I might not be sylphlike; there are still calories in the oil despite the health benefits, but I should live a long and healthy life; so far, so good. This bring me to the latest information seen in the media about cooking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the suggestion that it produces dangerous side effects… This is what the International Olive Council states “When heated, olive oil is the most stable fat, which means it stands up well to high frying temperatures. Its high smoking point (210º C) is well above the ideal temperature for frying food (180º C). The digestibility of olive oil is not affected when it is heated, even when it is re-used several times for frying.” See http://www.internationaloliveoil.org/estaticos/view/85-frying-with-olive-oil

We have changed our opening hours on the grove. There are two reasons for this… firstly, we are developing parts of the grove that are out of sight and hearing of visitors that come up the drive, and I know how frustrating it is to arrive at an outlet and nobody comes to meet you, you wait a little longer and when still nobody appears, you give up, feeling exasperated and drive off, vowing never to return! Wed like to avoid that scenario. Secondly, we’re looking like we will run dangerously short of oil before the 2015 oil is ready to bottle so are limiting grove sales, in order to maintain supplies to our restaurants and retail outlets, both in the local region and further afield in Wellington and Auckland. If you would like to visit the grove at any other time, I am happy to show you around, explain the process of making Extra Virgin Olive Oil with props to hand, ie: the harvesting equipment and press, and provide tastings of the 3 varieties of EVOO as well as our new range of table olives and dukkah. Just call the house: 03 5432434 and if I’m not in, leave a message or, alternatively, send me an email: thegrove@neudorfolives.co.nz

I would like to finish by wishing all our friends and customers a very happy and successful 2015 and thank you for your support.