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Spartan Oil is Bottled with Allergen-free Equipment

Good news for our friends with severe allergies in their households! About two weeks ago, we received approval from the Commonwealth of Virginia to process olive oil in our own facility (we were using a commercial kitchen before). This is huge because it allows us to fully control the bottling process. This means that we can now offer our olive oil with the statement that Spartan Oil is bottled using allergen-free equipment.

Spartan Oil is 100% extra virgin olive oil and produced on allergen-free equipment.

Based on feedback that we've received from some customers, there are very few, if any, extra virgin olive oils that can make this statement. Those of you with kids and family members with severe allergies can appreciate how helpful this might be since olive oil can completely replace butter, peanut oil, soybean oil, and other allergenic ingredients. 

To be clear, our olive oil is pressed using equipment that only presses olives. There is a minor possibility that there could be some cross-contact in the fields since our trees could be near some nut trees, but that possibility is infinitely small. During the bottling process, we use equipment that is only used to bottle olive oil and has never been used for any other purpose. 

Please share this with your friends and family that might have an interest. We know there are many families struggling to find meal options in households with severe allergies and, hopefully, Spartan Oil will help to improve those options and make their meals more tasty!

Infusing Olive Oil

One of the most common questions we receive when talking with customers is whether we offer infused olive oil. After all, olive oil is great with a variety of flavors, including many herbs, spices, and fruits.

We've chosen not to offer infused oil, primarily because we prefer to infuse our oil fresh each time. This has many advantages, including:

1. Preserving shelf life. Infused oils have a short shelf life.
2. Allowing for measurement variation. Making your infusions fresh allows you to control the amount and strength of the infusion.
3. Creative combinations. Yes, we love our lemon, rosemary, and garlic infused oil, but we know there are many possibilities. We'll be posting some of our favorite infusion recipes here and on Pinterest to help get you started!

Here are a few tips to help with creating your infusions:

Heat up your ingredients before combining them. Adding an orange peel to your olive oil? Just toast it for a couple minutes in a pan. Heat up the olive oil, as well, but only a little. Just enough for it to feel warm on your hand.

Start with small quantities. No need to use your whole bottle of olive oil on a single infusion. Start with half a cup and experiment from there.

Use an infusing bottle. There are many on the market--just be sure to get one that allows you to separate the oil from the infusion ingredients. You can also use a jar and some cheesecloth to achieve the same results.

Get started and share your infusions on our Facebook or Pinterest pages! We love to see how our customers are using their Spartan Oil.

Here are some photos from a recent Vanilla infusion we tried. It was excellent with Sweet Potatoes!

Spartan Oil Double Giveaway Thank You

A 3-year old Explains Olive Oil Production

New Pour Tops on Stoneware Bottles

It's been about 3 weeks since the first orders were delivered and we are starting to get some good feedback. So far, we've gotten great reviews on the website, the bottle, the packaging, and the olive oil itself. One piece of feedback has been about pouring from the bottle. When the bottle is used without a pourer, there can be a tendency for the oil to drip down the sides. This usually isn't much of an issue, but on our bottle with the linen paper label, the oil mars the appearance. 

So, we've thought through this and we are going to offer a built-in pour top on our bottles going forward. This will be the default option starting today. If you already have your own pourer, you can still elect to get the nice wooden cap that has been the standard so far. Either option will be available as a gift with a wax-dipped seal.

Note: If you ordered a bottle before the pour tops became available and would like a pour top for your bottle, please let us know.

Please let us know if you have any additional feedback that would make the Spartan Oil package or overall consumer experience better. As a new company, we really appreciate and value the opinions and feedback of our first consumers.

Thank you!

Here's a photo of the new pour top:

Spartan Oil - Photo of the Actual Olive Oil

A few of you had a great suggestion about adding a photo of the actual olive oil to the website. Interestingly, color isn't necessarily an indicator of the quality of the oil (so say the scientists), but the deep green color of Spartan Oil certainly enhances the visual appeal of a dish.

Anyway, here's the photo of the oil. Enjoy!

Spartan Fried Eggs

Recently, while on a trip for a family wedding (absolutely beautiful and amazing and any other superlative available), we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I've been trying to pay a little more attention to what I eat which, of course, is the exact opposite of what you should do at a place like Cracker Barrel. Thankfully, Cracker Barrel has some pretty decent breakfast options (turkey sausage and bacon, fresh fruit, yogurt, etc.).

So, I asked the lovely server for a fried egg, turkey sausage, and a side of fresh fruit. 

"How do you want that egg--easy, over?"

"Well, let's go with over."

"Sure, honey."

When the breakfast arrived, the eggs looked remarkably clean, as if they'd been fried in a pan with no oil or seasonings. They were... okay... No match for a Spartan-style fried egg.

We got home and the first breakfast we made were fried eggs in Spartan Oil. So delicious with crispy edges on the whites and a light coating of olive oil all over. Delectable.

Here's how to fry an egg Spartan-style.

What you'll need

• Frying pan (preferably non-stick)
• Flipper/Spatula
• Spoon
• Small bowl
• Egg
• Spartan Oil! 
• Salt
• Pepper

How to do it

• Place about 2-3 heaping tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. It should be enough to form a little splashing pool for your egg. You know, enough to stomp around in, but not enough to get soaked and drown.
• Heat the pan to a medium temperature, making sure that the oil doesn't start to smoke.  
• Before you add the egg, be aware that the oil will splatter. This is what makes the lovely bubbly texture on the egg white, but it can burn you. Use a splatter screen or something to protect your arms. Also, move your mail to a counter that isn't adjacent to the frying pan. Trust me on this.
• Crack a single egg into a small bowl. Do this to ensure that you get a whole egg with the yolk intact. If you happen to break the yolk, use the egg for another recipe. 
• Pour the egg from the bowl into the pan SLOWLY. Avoid splashing the oil.
• After the egg starts to set up (about 30 seconds), give the pan a little shake to see if the egg separates from the pan. If it's still sticking, gently give it a nudge with your spatula. Once it separates from the pan, it should glide around the pan like an figure skater--gracefully and with ease. 
• This next step is WHAT MAKES IT GOOD. Take the spoon and scoop up a little of the hot oil from the pan. Gently pour a little of the hot oil over the top of the egg. This will help firm up the top of the egg, so that when you flip it over later, you won't break the yolk. Repeat this a couple of times until the yolk starts to form a little white layer. NOW YOU'RE COOKING WITH LOVE!
• Okay, here's the tricky part. Take out your spatula and prepare for precision flipping. Gently slide the spatula under the now mostly-white egg until you've got about half the egg on the flipper. Now is not the time to impress your family with your aerial flipping skills. Pick up the egg until the bottom edge is just out of the oil. Quickly, but smoothly, roll the egg from the flipper into the pan. This may take some practice, but eating the mistakes is the best part. 
• Give the egg about 30 to 60 seconds to cook and then do the pan shaking/spatula nudging step again. 
• Take the egg out of the pan with the spatula (don't slide it from the pan to a plate). Let some of the oil drip off into the pan, but leave a decent amount on the egg. It's olive oil, after all, and it's good for you. And it's delicious with a piece of crusty white bread.
• That's it. You've done it. Marvel at your work and allow your primal instincts to rejoice in your egg-frying abilities. You were fearless and you were bold--the Ancient Spartans would be proud. Take a photo. Share it. Let others envy your breakfast. Don't forget to eat it.