At an Italian a restaurant and bakery in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of central Brooklyn, canned and bottled olive oils are being nixed for an on-tap experience.
Saraghina provides shop-goers with a green-tinted glass bottle that they then fill and refill themselves with Italian olive oil. By foregoing single-use canisters, Saraghina’s olive oil is not only sustainable and environmentally friendly, but promotes a local loyalty around the oil and where Brooklynites get it.
It’s nice to have someplace local to fill up on olive oil and not have to dump empty bottles every other week.
“We get our olive oils in five-liter tins that we use to fill the fusti that our customers can then use to fill up their own bottles,” Anne Hoberg, manager of Saraghina’s bakery since its opening in early 2014, said.
What initially drove Hoberg to opt for on-tap olive oils was not necessarily reducing Saraghina’s ecological footprint, but to offer premium olive oils at a reduced price point, about $18 for 750 milliliters.
See Also:Sustainability News“It’s so much easier for the producer to package their olive oils in a tin than in individually packaged bottles,” Hoberg said. “It can lower the price of each olive oil by over 50 percent.”
Sitting in these stainless steel fusti, atop a two-tiered trolley with tinted glass bottles and refillable tins underneath, Saraghina offers two olive oils: one from Puglia and the other from Pianogrillo. The Puglia oil is sourced from the Brooklyn-based importer Marovato and the Pianogrillo is sourced from the Bronx-based importer Gustiamo.
“Both of our olive oils come from importers that we know very well,” Hoberg, who worked at Gustiamo before joining Saraghina’s staff, said. “Both source their products from small, family-owned farms that you cannot find elsewhere in the United States.”
When handling their olive oils, Hoberg said that the goal is not to impact the taste.
“We keep all of our olive oil tins in the back of our store where sunlight is limited,” she said. “We use stainless steel drums. We source dark, tinted-green bottles so there’s no sunlight affecting the oil once it’s been poured.”
In a city that was recently found to have more litter that any other in the U.S., Saraghina’s refillable olive oils have seemingly satisfied both the tastebuds and consciences of their shoppers.
“Their oils always taste so fresh,” Jordi Ng, a customer and Bedford-Stuyvesant resident, said. “It’s nice to have someplace local to fill up on olive oil and not have to dump empty bottles every other week.”
Maybe Saraghina’s efforts are signs of a trend toward a refillable life, but for now, it just makes sense for Hoberg
“I mean, anything that helps you re-use packaging while still having a high-quality product is great,” she said.
Related Articles
Jan. 3, 2024
Researchers Develop Algorithm to Predict Harvest Potential from Climate Data
The publicly available algorithm was developed using 15 years of data from Italy to compare how combinations of climatic events impacted subsequent harvests.
Aug. 13, 2024
Olive Center to Host Inaugural Olive Oil Sustainability Conference
The International Olive Sustainability Conference will discuss sustainability, from farming and milling to marketing and certifications.
May. 28, 2024
Researchers Transform Olive Grove Waste Into Bioplastic
Turning olive tree leaves and branches into biopolymers would provide environmental, economic and social benefits to olive farmers.
Aug. 19, 2024
The Many Values in Recovering Abandoned Olive Groves in Tuscany
Fil Bucchino, Andrea Pagliai and Gionni Pruneti produce extra virgin olive oil from recovered trees to benefit communities and the environment.
Jan. 16, 2024
IOC Leader Focuses on Expanding Cultivation, Fighting Climate Change
The International Olive Council director, Jaime Lillo, says the future of olive oil production lies beyond the Mediterranean.
May. 14, 2024
Innovation and Sustainability Yield Winning Results for GangaLupo
Teamwork, the responsible use of resources and innovation underpin the success of the Apulian Coratina monovarietal.
Apr. 22, 2024
Olive Milling Byproducts May Improve Animal Feed
Diets including olive tree leaves and olive oil pomace did not negatively impact the health of sheep or their milk quality while decreasing methane emissions.
Feb. 19, 2024
Fourth Generation of Sicilian Farmers Celebrate Local Cultivars
In southeastern Sicily, the producers behind Vernèra share a sense of social responsibility and environmental sustainability.