A passion for olives
story by Leah Larkinpictures supplied by Leah Larkin and Catherine Hugues
French couple produces prize-winning olive oil
He carefully pours a small quantity of the unctuous liquid from the dark green bottle into a tiny spoon, lifts the spoon to his nose and sniffs the contents. "It smells of fresh cut grass," he proclaims.He then moves the spoon to his mouth and inhales, letting the juice roll around in his mouth before swallowing. The taste, he says, is reminiscent of "artichokes, almonds, with a pepperiness. It's long on the palate."
While the procedure was not unlike a wine tasting, Jean-Benoit Hugues was tasting his olive oil, CastelaS Huile d'Olive A.O.C. de la Vallée des Baux de Provence, a premier olive oil which has won numerous prizes. A.O.C. (appellation d'origine contrôlée) means that the oil was produced in the valley of Les Baux in Provence, France.
Hugues, 48, and his wife Catherine, 45, built their olive oil mill at the foot of the medieval town of Les Baux in Provence just five years ago; a few years after they returned from the United States where they had had been living for some 15 years and where Hugues "realized the American dream."
In 1984 at the age of 25 he left his job as an automation engineer in Montpellier to seek fortune in America. His boss in France stifled his creativity, he said, so he went to Arizona, with "not a penny in my pocket, only a French credit card." He got a job with a company which backed his ideas, then eventually started his own company and did well. "There is an American dream. If you want to accomplish your dream there, you can".
In 1995 the Hugueses decided to sell the company and "come back to our roots." They felt it was a good time to bring their two young children, then ages 6 and 8, back to France and to the world of grandparents, relatives and cousins. And, a good time to realize another dream - olives -- with the profits from the U.S. venture.
The couple owned a grove of olive trees in St. Remy de Provence, and Catherine had often returned to France from the U.S. in the summers to work with the trees. "I caught the olive virus," says her husband. "If you have an olive tree, you will understand. It starts with just one olive tree."
Their original idea was to buy an old mill and sell oil by the side of the road. But, as the trees don't produce regularly each year and they had a limited number of trees, they knew they needed more trees so they started looking for more property with olive trees.
They now own 90 acres and some 12,000 trees, producing between 25,000 and 35,000 litres of oil per year. They named their oil "Castelas" after one of the areas where they have trees, some of which are thought to be 400 years old or older "That's the beauty of olive trees," notes Jean-Benoit. "You can't kill them. They will surely outlive you." If extreme cold kills the branches, the roots survive and go on to produce new branches. Olive trees, he said, are like a man, "their best at age 50."
The mayor of Les Baux gave the couple a permit to build an olive mill. They purchased state-of-the-art equipment for the mill from Italy. "We wanted the newest technology to get the best from the olives," says the burly olive grower.
Olive trees bloom in mid May, bursting forth with a multitude of white, fragrant flowers. which last only a week. The withered flower turns into a tiny olive which grows throughout the summer until harvest time in October or early November, about the same time grapes are picked. The olives are harvested by hand using a comb which knocks them into a net.
Making olive oil is much simpler than making wine which is more technical and involves fermentation, explains Catherine. "With olive oil you're only extracting the juice from the olive. There's no transformation, no fermentation. You don't add anything. You know the same day if you did well or not," she says.
Jean-Benoit analyzes each of his four varieties of olives (Salonenque, Aglandau, Grossane and Verdale) to determine perfect maturity. As soon as they are picked, the olives are rushed to the mill where the oil is cold extracted immediately.
The different varieties of olives are crushed separately and the oil is extracted at below 27 C°. Using heat to extract the juice may provide more oil, but taste is sacrificed. Jean-Benoit Hugues says his method ensures that his oil has a low acidity level (0.3) and peroxide index of less than 7, providing an extra virgin olive oil with the potential for very long conservation. To qualify as "extra virgin," olive oil must be made from the first pressing of olives and have a free acid count of less than 0.8 percent and a peroxide level below 20, meaning that CastelaS oil is well within the extra virgin label limits.
Jean-Benoit advises purchasing only extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil that is not extra virgin is refined oil made using solvents to extract the oil which is then distilled.
CastelaS oil sells for 20 euros for a 75 cl bottle in their shop at the mill. It's a gourmet product ideal for salads, sprinkling on fish or steamed vegetables, and cheese. It's so good, boasts the olive oil producer, that for salads it can be used straight, minus vinegar and mustard.
Catherine is involved in selling and marketing the product, which, in addition to selling at their shop, they sell to stores in France and to distributors in other countries, primarily the U.S. Selling is tough, they explain, as France is not known for olive oil. Spain is the biggest producer (50 percent), followed by Italy (25 percent). The other 25 percent comes from Turkey, Morocco, Greece, and other countries, with France accounting for just 0.5 percent.
CastelaS oil was awarded a Medaille d'Or (gold medal) in Paris in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, and in a competition in Italy was just recently judged one of the world's 15 best extra virgin olive oils.
Success, however, is not prompting the Hugueses to plan expansion. "We will not exceed the size of the mill," Jean-Benoit says. "We want to keep our soul, a way of sharing our passion." He speaks of spending time with the customers. "That's as important as what's inside the bottle," he says.
Jean-Benoit and Catherine Hugues (both speak excellent English) welcome visitors to the CastelaS mill and will gladly give tours of the production facility.
They are open daily from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Telephone: (++33 (0) 490 545086)
www.castelas.com
