We have a confession to make: we're olive oil snobs. 😂🫒

But we weren't always!

Before we became trained olive oil tasters, we believed some of the very same things we're about to talk about in this episode.

So Valeria decided to put Benedetta, our olive oil sommelier, to the test with a little game.

True or False?

Green olive oil is better. Bitter olive oil has gone bad. Light olive oil has fewer calories. You shouldn't cook with extra virgin olive oil. First cold pressed means better quality.

And that's just the beginning!

There are 10 statements in total, and guess what? They're ALL false!

We talk about why so many of these misconceptions exist, what actually makes an extra virgin olive oil good, how to store it, and why you should never save that special bottle for years.

But we also get into something we're especially passionate about: olive oil pairing.

Because once you discover how different one extra virgin olive oil can taste from another, and what happens when you pair the right oil with the right food, there's really no going back.

Fair warning: after this episode, your olive oil budget might go up. Ours certainly did! 😂

But you'll never look at a bottle of extra virgin olive oil quite the same way again.

Local Aromas is all about Italy and 100% made in Italy 🇮🇹

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Summer is over.

What are we thinking about?

Pumpkin. Mushrooms. Artichokes. Chestnuts. New olive oil. 😂

Because in Italy, a new season doesn't only mean a change in the weather. It means saying goodbye to foods we love and getting excited about the ones we've been waiting months to eat again.

Of course, we could buy tomatoes in winter or strawberries almost all year long.

But we choose not to.

And that simple choice led us into a much deeper conversation than we expected.

We talk about seasonal markets, sagre, Christmas foods, dishes that only make sense at certain times of year, the excitement of spotting the first porcini mushrooms, and even discovering that fish and potatoes have seasons too. 😂

But eventually we realized that seasonality teaches us something beyond food … it teaches us to wait.

To anticipate something. To enjoy it while it's here. And then to let it go.

Because when everything is available all the time, eventually nothing feels particularly special.

Maybe happiness doesn't always need to come from something extraordinary.

Sometimes it's simply seeing the first peaches at the market and thinking, They're back! ❤️

Those little moments cost almost nothing, but they can make everyday life feel a little more meaningful.

And that's something you can bring into your life wherever you live.

Local Aromas is all about Italy and 100% made in Italy 🇮🇹

💗 Join our online community ⁠Local Aromas Family⁠

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Apparently, Italians have a lot of rules. 😂

At least that's what people keep telling us.

🙄 No cappuccino after a certain time
🙄 Eat lunch at lunchtime
🙄 Have something to eat when you drink
🙄 Go for aperitivo
🙄 Take a passeggiata

And why do we ALWAYS go back to the same bar, market stall and neighborhood shops?

The funny thing is ... we don't think of any of these as rules.

So we started talking about them.

And somewhere between Benedetta remembering her grandmother bringing her coffee in bed and Valeria talking about the people at her Sunday market who know all about her family, we realized these little Italian rituals have something much deeper in common.

Connection. 💞

💕 Your bartender remembers your order
💕 Your vegetable vendor asks where you've been when you miss a week
💕 Someone makes your coffee before you wake up
💕 You sit around a table
💕 You take a walk with a friend without even deciding where you're going

None of these moments is particularly important on its own. Some last three minutes.

But together, they create a feeling of belonging.

And maybe that's one of the reasons so many people tell us they feel something different when they're in Italy.

We started this episode talking about Italian rules. We ended it realizing that perhaps they're actually little acts of love. ❤️

Local Aromas is all about Italy and 100% made in Italy 🇮🇹

💗 Join our online community ⁠Local Aromas Family⁠

🍝 Book our local Food & Wine Experiences in Italy

➡️ www.localaromas.com

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