Many think that the best and the birthplace of olive oil is Greece. Yet the Palestinian town of Rameh,Israel has also pressed olives for the last 5,000 years. The end result is a smooth sweet oil that can go in either savory or sweet dishes.
Reem Kassis, a Palestinian food and culture writer wrote about this famed oil in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. she visited this Northern Israeli town, located halfway between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee. It is high up in the hills where the olive tress abound and have been long before Jesus Christ. It has long held the reputation of being the area's best olive oil. Its' color is a bright liquid gold with an aroma reminiscent of wild grasses and dandelion leaves that grow around the trees.Users describe it as rich and smooth with a mouth feel of ghee or clarified butter. This area has long produced this oil, being the main producer of the ancient world.Now Spain and Southern Italy are the now the main producer's of the world's olive oils. Rameh still has an amazing two thousand acres of trees surrounding this hill town. Th eolifes and trees have long been praised in newspapers articles, books and even poetry. The village declares itself as the "queen of Palestinian oil".
Why is Rameh's oil so delicious? It has to do with harvesting.The trees are harvested later in the season than the other olive trees in the region.This is due partly to the olive fruit fry that comes in from the coast. It works inland which means the more western regions have to harvest unripe olives. This happens much later in Rameh where it takes a while for the infestation to hit along with being much higher up. The olives are allowed to ripen to their full maturity which directly affects the color and flavor of the oil. According to local MAzen Ali, this makes for a "pleasant bitterness but is still delicious and fruit." There's also the favorable climate along with being grown in a nutrient rich soil.It's tilled by livestock and not treated with commercial fertilizers. There's also meticulous care and pruning. which produces green olives with purple spots.Unfortunately the groves were restricted and untended during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.Also closing the borders of Lebanon and Syria during this time helped too. Ms. Kassis also included recipes for homemade pita and olive oil soaked za'atar and bugar majadura.a mix of lemtils and fried onions.
The world needs to know about Rameh's treasured olive oil. It would be perfect in cooking and even baking. This is the epitome of oil, sweet, smooth and silky.
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