Olive Branch Direct: News

About our Olives and Olive Oils

Our olives are all naturally cured by traditional methods and are un-dyed. They are freshly prepared and should be kept in the fridge or a cool place to preserve their quality. However as olive oil becomes cloudy and dense at low temperatures it is best to let any of our products that are marinated in olive oil return to room temperature before use.

All the olive oils we sell and use in our recipes are extra virgin and cold pressed. This means that they are produced from the first pressing of the olives with an acidity level of less than 1% and are extracted by mechanical pressing without applied heat. The lower the acidity the better the quality of the oil and cold pressing ensures that the important flavours and vitamins remain unchanged.

News

2010 is our tenth year of trading. We would like to thank all our loyal customers for their support, encouragement and enthusiasm over the years.

We have supplied Dart's Farm Shop at Topsham and Taverner's Farm Shop at Kennford for almost all of that time. More recently, we also started to supply Powderham Country Store at Kenton.

About Walnuts

Walnuts and walnut oil are both great foods. Walnuts have the highest levels of antioxidants of all nuts and a high level of vitamin E so are beneficial in helping to protect against cancer and in keeping your heart healthy. They are also a good source of protein and dietary fibre. However as they are high in calories, why not leave out some more unhealthy fats in your diet and include some health giving walnuts and walnut oil?

Try roasting your walnuts in the oven or toasting under the grill to enhance the flavour then crumble to make a tasty topping for cereals, cakes or put in salads. You can use walnut oil in stir fries or to make a healthy salad dressing.

New Products

We have just started to make some new tapenades. A black olive tapenade with anchovies and a milder green olive tapenade with anchovies and fragrant coriander.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of a special new extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany (see Product Profile).

To compliment our range of Mediterranean cheeses, we now have Sardinian Pecorino, a mature hard sheep's milk cheese with a mellow, creamy flavour.

We now stock a range of lovely gifts and household products made of olive wood. These come from a sustainable source in the Mediterranean.

Watch this space for our latest ideas and additions!