A recent scientific study has once again shown that people who follow the “Mediterranean diet” live longer and are less likely to develop heart disease or cancer.
The Mediterranean diet is a set of eating habits traditionally followed by the people of the Mediterranean region and includes—in addition to a greater consumption of bread, cereals, vegetables, potatoes, fish, beans, nuts, seeds, and fruit—the use of olive oil for seasoning and cooking.
Extra virgin olive oil appears to be primarily responsible for many of these benefits because it is rich in vitamin E and because it is used almost exclusively in Mediterranean cuisine in place of margarine, butter, and other fats.
The olive tree is difficult to grow, and the olive harvest can vary greatly from year to year.
But the area around Mount Linas , in the province of Cagliari, is a true natural paradise immersed in Mediterranean scrub and holm oak forests where endangered animals hide (such as the mouflon, the Sardinian deer, the partridge, the peregrine falcon) and where rare endemic plants still grow.
In this uncontaminated and ancient land, the intense aromas and authentic flavours of the past still persist, and it is no coincidence that the Municipality of Villacidro, the most important production centre in the area, has joined the group of "oil cities", which have the task of promoting the territories where the production of olive oil is important.
For five generations, the Serra family has passionately dedicated itself to processing Medio Campidano olives. In 1988, Luciano and Angelo moved their mill to Villacidro, and today their label is exported to many countries, even far away, and their products can also be purchased online.
The use of fine local olive varieties, the careful selection made personally by the Serra brothers in the olive groves, the accurate control during milling and bottling, guarantee a product of the highest quality, with an intense flavour and aroma, capable of enhancing any dish, cooked or raw.
Oil extraction takes place at the end of each harvest day, using modern mechanical processes and without the addition of chemicals. When farmers bring the olives to the mill, they are immediately defoliated, washed, ground, and cold-pressed within hours, preserving their organoleptic and nutritional qualities.
Villacidro's fruity extra virgin olive oil has received acclaim from regional and national experts.
The success of the Serra brothers' label demonstrates that the public also appreciates the quality of this product, especially those consumers who want to follow a healthy and balanced diet and are more careful about what they buy, choosing simple foods, perhaps less advertised and less well-known, but certainly more authentic.
If the Sardinian people are among the longest-lived on the planet, perhaps it is also thanks to our oil.
