Pressing Business at the Olive Mill

Olives start their journey in the hopper.

Nothing prepares you for the aroma of freshly pressed olives. Maybe you’ve smelled extra virgin olive oil from the bottle before you pour it on a salad or dip a piece of bread into it. It’s lovely: fruity, grassy and full of possibility. But step into an olive mill and you’re subsumed by the intensity, surrounded by a symphony of flavor notes swirling through the atmosphere.

We’re Thankful for Olives

Brian learns to use the scuotitore to “shake” those hard-to-reach olives right out of the trees.

Thanksgiving in Martina Franca came and went quickly. Since Americans are pretty thin on the ground here, it was just another day for our Italian friends and neighbors. For us, though, it was a little strange to experience a holiday that no one else is celebrating. The positive aspects? No waiting at the butcher shop to claim our turkey, food vendors were open for business all day long and there was a marked absence of football (the American kind). Okay, maybe that’s not a positive for everyone but it worked for us. We celebrated with Italian and American friends with all the usual Thanksgiving accompaniments, but we drew the line at candied yams and marshmallow fluff. Our minds, though, were firmly focused on the overarching seasonal business at hand here—the olive harvest.

Pascarosa on Foot

Maria Teresa guides us through the Pascarosa countryside.

It began the way most Italian group activities begin. We met in a strategically located piazza, then followed one another, caravan style, in our cars to the start of the adventure. I’d gotten an invitation to join a Sunday group walk in the countryside near our olive grove, followed by an al fresco lunch in the fields. This was to be our first independent outing. We didn’t know anyone and had no idea what to expect.