It was on a trip to Holland, Michigan last year that I discovered a store that made my heart flitter. Just two items dominated this stores’ shelves: olive oil and vinegar. Yes, I had discovered Fustini’s, a foodie’s dream store. I have had a love affair with olive oil for some time now, but finding this little bit of heaven changed my life. After a lifetime of shopping in supermarkets, where it was a challenge to find flavored oils that I had only read about, it was a dream to find a store devoted solely to my favorite monounsaturated fat.
You can find Fustini’s on the Web, as well as on Facebook, where some 1,200 cognoscenti get regular updates about the store’s products, tastings, dinners and specials.
At Fustini’s, like at Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, you can taste everything that they have in stock. Wondering if tasting olive oil is like taking a serving of castor oil? Watch as former New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl explains exactly how it’s done.
As I regained my composure, I began to look around and see what this little gem had to offer. I started out slowly on my first visit. I purchased some garlic infused olive and then decided on a small bottle of white truffle oil. I realize that these are just the basics, but I had to start somewhere. On my next visit, which happened to coincide with the official “Girlfriends Weekend” that Holland offers each March, I bought an amazing blood orange olive oil that, when added to an ordinary brownie mix, transformed them into something utterly amazing. You have merely to replace half of the oil called for in the recipe with the orange oil and voila, the most incredible brownies that a boxed mix can offer. Your friends will think that you slaved over a hot oven to make these gourmet treats. Next, I purchased a meyer lemon olive oil that I had sampled in a lovely shrimp and pasta dish. It was the beginning of building an arsenal of taste in my cupboard.
The next time I went, which was just a few weeks ago, I moved on to the arbequina olive oil, a sweet, light, buttery oil reminiscent of fresh artichoke which is absolutely fabulous for those light, summery vinegrettes. My tastebuds were in heaven. I then chose a Tuscan herb olive oil, which I have been using on everything from vegetables to pasta. I have made the decision that the next time I visit I will definitely have to buy at least 2 bottles of the Tuscan herb.
I realize that not everyone has the luxury of traveling to Holland to visit Fustini’s, but fear not dear foodies, for there are also locations in Petoskey, Traverse City and Ann Arbor. Now I know that Zingerman’s is a draw to Ann Arborites as well, but there are differences in the prices. Fustini’s, which has a much smaller selection goes from around $12.95 to 15.95. Zingerman’s offers a much greater selection, but they also offer a much higher price, anywhere from $15.00 to $45.00. And while they also carry olive oils from Spain, Italy and France, I found the service at Fustini’s to be more personal and genuine. I guess you need to ask yourself, what would you pay for olive oil?
I hope that my adventure into the wonderful world of olive oils will have an impression on some of you. As for me, I can’t wait for my next visit. I look forward to trying something new, like the avacodo or sesame oils that they offer.
Ciao!
The olive was native to Asia Minor and spread from Iran, Syria and Palestine to the rest of the Mediterranean basin 6,000 years ago. It is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world – being grown before the written language was invented. Olives have been found in Egyptian tombs from 2,000 years BC. The olive culture was spread to the early Greeks then Romans. As the Romans extended their domain they brought the olive with them.
As the Franciscans marched north, establishing missions in California, they also planted olive groves. Southern California saw the first olive trees. According to an account in Judith Taylor’s book, The Olive in California, a visitor to Mission San Fernando in 1842 saw the mission buildings in ruins but the orchard with a good crop of olives. The visitor remarked that the mission probably had the biggest olive trees in the state. Subsequently in the past 150 years, trees have been planted in several waves along with interest in olives and olive oil. Many of these older groves (80-150 years old) still exist in California. Most are in Northern California.
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