With so many different olive oil products on the market, ranging from regular olive oils to extra virgin olive oils, another extremely popular olive oil that certainly packs a punch, and makes a fantastic addition to any dish, is agrumato oil. We take a look at what agrumato oil is, and how these traditionally made Italian oils, differ not only in taste but in manufacturing processes from a standard olive oil.
What is an agrumato oil?
Italian in origin, agrumato oils were commonly produced in Abruzzo on the Costa Del Trabocchi, a region near the Adriatic Sea and were first created by millers, who used to clean their olive processing mills with lemons. The lemons were used as part of the cleaning process due to their acidic composition, rinsing out the old oil and assisting to combat rancidity of the olive oil products. The millers eventually discovered that the fusion of the processed oil, together with the lemons, created quite the delicacy, and as such agrumato oils, also commonly referred to as fusion oils became common in the region.
Citrus fruits, including the traditionally used lemon, as well as oranges and tangerines, were frequently used to create the agrumato oils, as these products increased in popularity with the original fusion processes from Italy, still used today.
The Australian market, like many olive oil markets around the world, have used innovation and creativity to expand the fusion ingredients, with agrumato oils now including combinations of garlic, chilli, herbs, as well as a variety of other fruits.
How is agrumato oil created
The process for making superior quality argumato oil, is often described as being tedious, with the hardest part of the process being sourcing high quality local fruits and herbs to fuse with the olive oil. For us at Robinvale Estate this is less of a problem due to the close proximity of our olive orchard to the fruit growing regions of the Mildura region, which ensures we have access to fresh quality citrus and herbs, harvested at the same time as our olives.
As the primary ingredient in agrumato oil is olive oil, the standard cold pressing of olives is essentially the start and major part of the process, with the additional ingredients, be it herbs, or fruits in their drained form added into the oil product. The remaining elements of the fruit and herbs, such as seeds, and pulp are not typically included in the oil and are discarded. The flavour from the fruits when added to the oil becomes suspended within the oil.
How is agrumato oil different from regular olive oils?
As is indicated by the addition of flavour to the olive oil product, the primary difference between an argumato oil and a traditional olive oil or extra virgin olive oil is that agrumato oil is flavoured.
Additionally, it is not possible for an agrumato oil to carry the “extra virgin olive oil label” due to the strict standards that are put in place by the Australian Olive Oil Association, and the International Olive Oil Council on a global scale. So even if extra virgin olive oil is used as a base of an agrumato, the fact that other components are being added to the oil, removes its ability to be classified as a “pure oil”.
What is agrumato oil used for?
Just like regular olive oil and extra virgin olive oil products, argumato oil is widely used in cooking, particular for sautéing, and as an aromatic and flavoursome addition to a salad dressing. Agrumato oils also carry many of the same health benefits of the traditional olive oils, meaning they are some of the healthiest cooking oils in the world, rich in antioxidants, a superfood, which can aid the regulation of the immune system with the ability to reduce high cholesterol levels and risks commonly associated with heart disease and stroke.
Robinvale Estate premium quality agrumato oils
The team at Robinvale Estate, with their innovate and creative processing techniques have created an award-winning range of agrumato oils. Formulated with our superior quality extra virgin olive oil, that is processed onsite within hours of harvest, our agrumato range includes flavours of lemon, orange, chilli, garlic and a garlic and chilli combination.
Placing great value on producing quality agrumato oils that can be enjoyed by all, the Robinvale Estate team only use highest quality, locally sourced products to use as additives to our agrumato range, only adding the products we believe are the finest, to ensure our finished products are the healthiest and most flavoursome products on the market.
A true testament to the superior quality of the Robinvale Estate agrumato range, is the awards our range has received at a national level. Our range has won Silver and Bronze awards at both the Sydney Royal Show, the Royal Melbourne show, and in 2007 our Chilli and Garlic agrumato oil received a Gold Award from the Australian Olive Association.
With a large variety of both agrumato oils as well as an extra virgin olive oil range which comprises both a Late Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a medium based Murray Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil produced at Robinvale Estate, our product ranges are perfect for those who wish to take their cooking to the next level, or for those who are looking to try something a little more new, innovative and unique.