Welcome, Princìpiu! Discover the features of the newest addition to the Bataranni family.
Princìpiu, Extra Virgin Olive Oil PGI Sicily
Princìpiu means beginning, and it's a term grandparents used to define the true, remote origin of something—a family, a business, even a human settlement in the area. "A lu princìpiu"... this is how they began their family history, for example, beginning with the description of a founder figure vaguely known to them, but completely shrouded in the mists of time and mystery for us children listening.
Princìpiu is the name of the Sicilian PGI certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil that we bottled in this new 2025-2026 campaign.
Like our other extra virgin olive oils, it is a blend of the native cultivars of southwestern Sicily: Cerasuola, Nocellara, and Biancolilla. Unlike our "historic" oils, where Cerasuola dominates, bringing its bold character and distinctive, appreciated bitter aftertaste, here the balance favors the other two less pungent varieties, for an overall sweeter and more delicate flavor.
You will judge the quality of this oil when you open the bottle or can, but for those who are curious and attentive to the characteristics of agri-food products, we report below the chemical-physical analysis accompanying the PGI certification obtained in November 2025 by what later became our Princìpiu EVO Oil:
| Trial | Unit of measurement | Result | Uncertainty | Test method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Determination of free fatty acids, cold method | g/100 g oleic acid | 0.21 | ± 0.02 | COI/T.20/Doc n. 34/rev 1 2017 |
| Peroxide value | meq O₂/kg | 5.3 | ± 0.2 | COI/T.20/Doc n. 35/rev 1 2017 |
| Polyphenols (Gallic Acid)* | mg/kg | 483 | – | Spectrophotometric method |
As explained in our article "What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil Really?", the acidity of EVOO is a key chemical characteristic for assessing the product's quality. In fact, although it isn't perceived by the palate, acidity expresses the amount of free fatty acids , which in turn is proportional to the progression of the oil's (inevitable over time) degradation processes.
The acidity of the oil is also the main parameter that allows us to classify olive oils into the product categories intended for trade, distinguishing those for human consumption (food) from those for industrial consumption.
For example, to be classified as "extra virgin" an oil must have an acidity level of less than 0.8% (i.e. 0.8 g of free fatty acids - oleic acid, the predominant one - per 100 grams of oil).
Very high quality extra virgin olive oils usually have acidity levels between 0.2 and 0.4%.
Note how with 0.21% Olio Princìpiu di Bataranni is positioned very high in an ideal ranking of quality measured according to technical parameters ;)
We intend to dedicate a blog post to the other characteristics of extra virgin olive oil, with all the detail it deserves. For now, suffice it to say that the peroxide value indirectly indicates the quality of the product, as it reflects the oxidation processes (and therefore, once again, degradation) that in turn occur when the oil is poorly processed or stored. It is measured in milliequivalents of active oxygen per kilogram of oil ( meq O2/kg ), and the legal limit for Extra Virgin must be less than 20 meq O2/kg . An excellent quality, well-preserved oil usually has values lower than 10-12 meq O2/kg . Have you seen the value of our oil?Niente male, eh?
Per finire, i polifenoli. Questi invece hanno una proporzionalità diretta e non inversa con la qualità e soprattutto con la salubrità dell'olio. Sono potenti antiossidanti e antinfiammatori naturali, conferiscono quella caratteristica nota di pizzicore in gola al prodotto, e solitamente sono presenti in media con valori di 150-250 mg/kg, con gli oli definiti "premium" o di alta qualità che superano generalmente i 400 mg/kg.
Cosa dire: i numeri ci sono tutti. adesso non resta che assaggiarlo :)
Acquista la tua scorta di Princìpiu prima che finisca...
