Olive oil autumn: what olio nuovo is, and why you drink it fast

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. — Albert Camus

Everyone else gets excited about autumn for the leaves. In our world, autumn means one thing: harvest. From roughly October through December, across Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, California and everywhere else olives grow, the trees are stripped and the mills run around the clock. And for a few short weeks afterwards, something remarkable becomes available.

What olio nuovo actually is

Olio nuovo — new oil — is extra virgin olive oil straight from the first pressing, usually unfiltered, bottled within days or even hours of milling. Producers release it in small quantities, often on pre-order, and it sells out.

It looks different: cloudy, sometimes almost opaque, an intense green. Those suspended particles of olive flesh are exactly what makes it taste so alive — grassy, peppery, bitter, occasionally aggressive enough to make you cough twice. It is olive oil with the volume turned all the way up.

Filtered oil is a portrait. Olio nuovo is the person walking into the room.

Drink it fast — faster than they tell you

Here is my one piece of firm advice. Producers will often say olio nuovo keeps for six months. Technically true. But those same particles that make it extraordinary also make it fragile — they carry moisture and plant matter, and they push the oil towards decline far quicker than a filtered bottle.

Buy it, and use it within about a month. Do not save it for a special occasion; the special occasion is now. Pour it on everything — soup, roasted squash, warm bread, beans, a fried egg, plain rice. If you find yourself rationing it, you have missed the point.

A pro tip for autumn roasting

When you roast autumn vegetables, season them first, then toss with olive oil. Not the other way round.

Salt, pepper and herbs go on the dry vegetable; the oil goes on afterwards and carries all of it into every surface, while giving the herbs something to cling to. Do it in the other order and your seasoning slides off into the pan. It is a small change to the sequence and it transforms carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes. You are welcome.

Mythbusting: yes, you can cook with it

The internet keeps insisting that extra virgin olive oil should never be heated. It is wrong, and it has probably ruined more dinners than any other food myth.

Good extra virgin olive oil smokes somewhere around 375–410°F (190–210°C), depending on its quality and freshness — comfortably above what sautéing and roasting require. Its antioxidants also make it more stable under heat than many refined oils, which is precisely why Mediterranean cooks have fried in it for centuries.

• 🫒Sautéing — medium-high, around 325–375°F (163–190°C)
• 🫒Roasting vegetables — 400°F (200°C) is perfectly fine
• 🫒Deep frying — close to 375°F (190°C)
• 🫒If the oil is smoking, it is already too late — pull the pan

Save your finest bottles for finishing, where the flavour is visible. But cook with good oil. That is what it is for.

Roasted squash medley with garlic and olive oil

Simple, forgiving, and built to show off a good oil. Serve it beside roast chicken or fold it into a grain bowl.

• 🫒2 small yellow squash and 2 small zucchini, halved lengthways and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 🫒1 medium onion, diced
• 🫒1 package button mushrooms, halved
• 🫒3–4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil — be generous
• 🫒2–3 garlic cloves, minced
• 🫒Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• 🫒Optional: Italian herbs, fresh parsley, or parmesan to finish

Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Season the vegetables, then toss them with the oil and garlic until everything is coated. Let them sit for thirty minutes if you have the time. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet — crowd them and they steam rather than roast — and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway, until golden and tender. Finish with parsley or parmesan, and a last drizzle of your best oil off the heat.

That final drizzle is not optional. Cooking mutes the delicate aromatics; a raw spoonful at the end puts them back.

How to buy well this season

• 🫒Look for the harvest date, not a 'best by' date — new-harvest oil should say so plainly
• 🫒Expect cloudiness in unfiltered oil; it is a feature, not a fault
• 🫒Buy a size you can finish in a month, not a year
• 🫒Order direct from the producer where you can — it is fresher and they keep more of your money
• 🫒Store it away from heat and light, cap closed tight

Every oil in the Veritat directory states its harvest date, so you can see at a glance what is genuinely new. When the first bottles of this year's pressing arrive, that is where they will be.

Here's to an autumn drizzled with flavour, health and discovery. Warmest wishes, Julie