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www.gourmetnews.com 4 Oli e Aceti • Gourmet News www.gourmetnews.com LEE M. OSER JR. Publisher KIM FORRESTER JULES DENTON CARLOS VELASQUEZ Associate Publishers LORRIE BAUMANN Editorial Director MICAH CHEEK Associate Editor YASMINE BROWN JONATHAN SCHIEFFER Graphic Designers ANTHONY SOCCI Account Manager SARAH GLENN CAITLYN MCGRATH Customer Service Managers TARA NEAL Circulation Director JAMIE GREEN Circulation Manager Oli e Aceti is a product of Gourmet News, is published by Oser Communications Group ©Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Executive and editorial offices located at: 1877 N. Kolb Road • Tucson, AZ 85715 T 520.721.1300 • F 520.721.6300 www.oser.com OSER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP G OURMET N EWS A G U I D E T O O I L S & V I N E G A R S A ceti O li Authentic Greek Freshness in an Extra Virgin Olive Oil BY LORRIE BAUMANN You won't see a lot of clutter on the label of a bottle of Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Instead of a lot of extra text, the bottle's white label is simple and clean, suggesting the purity and elegance of the product inside. That's intentional, says Jonathan Bassett, Co-founder of The Olive Fruit, which makes the Kiklos product. "A lot of olive oils, and particularly specialty olive oils, say a lot on the label, and then when you purchase them and taste them, you're asking, 'What did I just buy?'" he says. "We wanted to show in the brand image that we're taste per- fectionists." The Kiklos brand was started by Bas- sett after he grew frustrated in his search for the au- thentic tastes he re- membered from when he traveled to Greece on family visits when he was young. "I fell in love with the coun- try and the food," he says now. One of the flavors he missed most was the characteristic taste of Greek olive oil. "It's such a staple taste that influ- ences the taste of the food that's made with it." He finally decided that the best way to get that flavor in the United States was to start a company with a Greek colleague and import high-quality extra virgin olive oil from the Peloponnese region made from just one variety of olives—the Ko- roneiki. The Koroneiki olive, known as the "queen of olives" for its fine taste, also pro- duces oil with high antioxidant levels, which are responsible for the health bene- fits for which extra virgin olive oil is lauded. "It's a Greek taste," Bassett says. He launched the Kiklos brand in Amer- ican stores in June, 2014. Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil from olives har- vested this fall will be arriving in stores this winter. Olives for oil production are harvested in Greece during the months of October, November and December. The olives whose oil will be bottled for Kiklos are harvested just before they reach the peak of ripeness to maximize their antioxidant content. Kiklos olives are picked without using big machinery to shake the olives out of the trees, as is done in many olive groves. That hurts the trees and hurts the olives, and the effects ultimately show up in the oil's flavor, so the Kiklos olives are harvested gently, then transported quickly to the mill and cold-pressed within a day or so at a temperature below 27 degrees C. "Since we're a small company, it's easy for us to do that because we have full con- trol over our process," Bassett says. "But even as we grow, we'll continue to process the same way and always in small batches." The result is a yellow-green oil with a characteristic grassy flavor and a peppery finish that Bassett calls the "Kiklos kick." "With the kick, you feel a warm sensation at the back of your throat, which signifies that you're getting the antioxidants and a natural anti-inflammatory," he says. "It's not blended. It's not deodorized. It's not in- fused. What we're offering is olive juice – it's just pressed olives without any other chemicals." "In Greece, when you order a salad, there's no dressing; there's just olive oil, vinegar, pepper and salt. That's it," he adds. "It's the perfect dressing, not only for your salad, but also if you want to cook chicken or fish or grilled vegetables – it just makes it that much better." Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil re- tails for around $29 for a 500 ml bottle. For more information, visit www .theolivefruit.com. GN

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