An Original Olive Oil from an Exceptional Origin

About Terra Rossa

The Fertile Green Crescent, which covers Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, is home to some of the oldest olive trees dating back to the time of Jesus Christ. The Olive trees are planted in the "Terra Rossa" (Red Soil) region which is the biblical name given to this part of the Middle East. With its magnificent Mediterranean climate, this region has the ideal soil for cultivating olive groves, citrus fruits and grape vines. Growing and nurturing olive trees is embedded in the local culture and olive oil has been used for food, medicine and light in this part of the world for well over 6000 years.

Terra Rossa was established in 2005 to bring awareness to exquisite Arabian cuisine and offers 6 premium flavours of Jordanian Zait & Zaatar (Arabic for olive oil and thyme mix): Sinolea, Evoo, Basil, Lemon, Chilli and Garlic, which are traditionally eaten as a snack or an aperitif by dipping a piece of bread into the oil and then into a herb mix such as Herby Zaatar thyme, Spicy Dukka Coriander or Zesty Sumac.

Zait & Zaatar is not only good for dipping but is also ideal for use as seasoning sprinkled over salad, houmous, yoghurt, vegetables, mixed with cheese to make bread, pizza and paninis, or as a dressing drizzled over pasta and jacket potatoes, and as a marinade or rub for chicken, meat and fish.

The Sinolea extra virgin olive oil is extracted using a natural cold drip method and is unfiltered, while the Evoo is extracted using a first cold pressed method and is filtered. The Lemon oil is made by stone crushing the olives and the lemons together, while the Chilli and Basil oils are made by infusing at least 250gms of the very best of fresh Jordanian herbs into the Evoo oil until the oil changes its colour to signify that the natural herb and fruit flavour have been completely absorbed.

In 2009, Terra Rossa introduced a Dukka Harissa, an Anglo-Jordanian salsa and expanded its Arabian range to include two International award winning and Ultra Premium extra virgin olive oils from Morocco: Atlas's Les Terroirs de Marrakech and Desert Miracle.

These unique olive oils are produced by 5th generation Oliverons and are the culmination of passion and commitment of the Aqallal's family to produce the best ultra premium extra virgin olive oil in Morocco. The Desert Miracle is made from very young trees and milled within 1 hour of being harvested and has an exceptionally low acidity of 0.1% making it very high in antioxidants and polyphenols. Les Terroirs de Marrakech is made from a limited number of unique and very old trees that have 3 or 4 different variety of olives growing on the same tree and also has very low acidity of 0.2%.

Dukka Harissa is a truly versatile salsa that can add a rich and spicy flavour to any dish. Try it as an accompaniment to couscous, toss it into pasta, as a relish for grilled vegetables or barbequed meat, chicken or fish.

Not only is it delicious to dip with using bread or Nachos, it is also great as a filling for tortillas, burgers, pitta bread with falafel, and as a topping mixed with cheese for pizzas and inside paninis.

Last year also saw the re-packaging of the three herb mixes, Zaatar Thyme, Dukka Coriander and Sumac Citrus Berry in food grade brush metal aluminium tins.

New products for 2010 include Garlic Infused extra virgin olive oil, Zaatar Passata, a 1L Doypack Pouch for the First cold pressed Jordanian extra virgin olive oil, a 1L PET Atlas Extra virgin olive oil, a gift selection box containing six 50ml bottles of all the Jordanian olive oils and a beautiful gift box for Les Terroirs de Marrakech.

All Terra Rossa products are offered in elegantly packaged bottles, with hand made ceramic jugs and dipping pots and are presented in natural corrugated cartons, jute bags, Jordanian Hampers and hand-crafted wooden boxes.

All Terra Rossa products are sold via delicatessens, farm shops and garden centres with fine food sections and can be purchased directly from Terra Rossa.

Awards

In 2006 the Sinolea Zait & Zaatar received an International Award from iTQi in Brussels and scooped a Gold Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Food. The Lemon received Silver, and the Evoo, Chilli and Basil oils received Bronze.

In 2007 the Evoo, Lemon Oil and the Zaatar Oat Bites received Gold Great Taste Awards.

In 2008 the Evoo received the First Prize Award at the contest held at the IOTEX exhibition in Jordan (International Olive Oil Technology and Taste) and the Lemon oil as well as the oat biscuits, Manna from Heaven and Glacé fruits received Gold Great Taste Awards.

In 2009 both the Desert Miracle and Les Terroirs de Marrakech won 8 International awards including the prestigious Mario Solinas award by the International Olive Oil Council and 2-star Gold Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Food.

In 2010 the Les Terroirs de Marrakech won another 2-star Gold Great Taste Award. The newly released Zaatar Passata, as well as the Chilli, Lemon and Basil infused extra virgin olive oils also won a 1-star Gold Great Taste Award.

 
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