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With a walk-in forest of choices, why did Adam and Eve clothe themselves with fig leaves? Was it their size, their durability or those fleshy lobes that offer coverage in all the right places? All of that, I think, plus this bonus among the leaves: sweet, luscious fruit that normally grows in Western Asia, the Mediterranean and other warm places. B...

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n recent months in Italy, there has been a real escalation in the requests for recognition of extra virgin olive oil with a Geographical Indication. The novelty lies in the attempt to replicate a successful model, that of Olio Toscano PGI. An exemplary case as even before the EU certification it has focused on a production area such as Tuscany, whi...

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The extra virgin olive oil is an irreplaceable ingredient, and ever-present one in Italian cuisine: in first and second courses, on vegetables and on bruschettas, or simply on plain bread. In Italy there are over 500 olive varieties and several areas of the national territory dedicated to oil production, allowing for the production of many varietie...

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As summer turns into fall, Italy’s harvest season begins. Experiencing it in first person, be it olive picking, grape picking or apple picking, is a wonderful opportunity to go hyperlocal and to immerse yourself in longstanding rituals that are still a way of life in some parts of the country. The olive harvest and the vendemmia are the most popula...

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This small region in central Italy once again proves that it’s small only in size. The high number of Tre Bicchieri awarded (this year 15, a record) are a perfect reflection of an industry that’s in great form, demonstrating the quality of the region’s reds, but its white side as well. The most prestigious appellations delivered in spades: in Monte...

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The olive harvest has just started in Italy. The estimated production is increasing by +15% compared to last year, and the forecasts speak of an excellent level of quality. This is what emerges from an analysis of the Italian farmers association Coldiretti, research firm Ismea, and Unaprol (an association of Italian olive oil producers) made public...

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Calabria is known for many reasons: its history and natural beauty, but also its food and the fertility of its soil. Some of the fruits traditionally associated with the region, including those we’re about to discover, developed almost a cult status not only in the kitchen, but also in the fascinating and somehow magical world of perfume making. Th...

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In 2015, as Nick Ranieri tended his 100-by-100-foot garden in Mattituck, growing a veritable bounty that included artichokes, plum tomatoes, Swiss chard and fava beans, and grafting his own fruit trees — apple, peach, chestnut and others — the now-82-year-old Italian immigrant had no idea that a woman in Pittsburgh was on a mission to find and inst...

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Randy Katz lives on a 3½-acre farm tucked behind Copley High School’s football stadium. He has 540,000 bees and lots of plants to keep them busy. They love Katz and all his gardens. “You name it, I grow it,” said the retired scrap yard owner who is now the Summit County apiary inspector. “Flowers, tomatoes and peppers.” Katz sells bouquets of flowe...

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Every now and then, you come across a little hidden gem that you should have known about already. That is what happened a couple of weeks ago when a friend invited me to a birthday celebration at Urbana Farmstead in the Landmark community south of Little Rock. Following my GPS to get there, I pulled off the beaten path onto a fairly nondescript roa...

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