Name
of Farm: Nick Sciabica and Sons Farmers: Joseph, Daniel, Nicholas and Jonathan Sciabica Address: 2150 Yosemite Boulevard
Modesto, CA 95354-3931 Phone: 1.800.551.9612, 209.577.5067 Email:sales@sciabica.com Website:eatwell.com & sciabica.com
History
Nicola Sciabica was an Italian immigrant who originally settled in Connecticut, but came to California in search of weather more like his native Sicily. He finally found it in the Central Valley in 1925, and settled in Modesto where in 1936 he founded the Nick Sciabica and Sons olive oil company with his son, Joseph.
These days, the company is run by Nick's son Joseph and Joseph's sons Dan and Nick, with some help from grandson Jonathan and 94-year old Uncle Tony. Joseph's wife Gemma has written three cookbooks about cooking with olive oil.
The family now farms 55 acres of olive trees, including a 51-acre grove of 100+ year old olive trees in Wallace, California that are certified organic, and 4 acres of young trees planted last year on a hillside in Modesto below their mill. The Sciabica farm is the last remaining farm within Modesto's city limits. It includes 10 acres of vineyards that the Sciabicas are considering removing and replanting with more olives. The four-acre grove overlooks a city park that was formerly part of the Sciabica property, and those who walk, run or ride in the park are delighted by the presence of the grove in the city. The grove includes 7 varieties of olives, 6 Italian varieties and 1 Greek (Kalamata), and this is the second year they've been able to harvest from these trees. This property is in transition to being organic.
The Sciabicas hand-harvest all of their olives. The olives in the 4-acre grove in Modesto have been planted close together, and the intention is to prune them and train them so that they can be hand-harvested without using ladders. At the end of each row of olives the Sciabicas have planted a pomegranate tree, following a tradition that dates back to Roman times. The fourteen-acre property in Modesto includes citrus trees, a vegetable patch, a stately avocado tree, fig trees, and other plantings that provide food for the family and some produce for the farmers market. Joseph and Gemma live in a house on the property, and Dan's family lives in his grandfather's house next door.
Also on the property is the Sciabica's state-of-the-art olive press. During the pressing season—which lasts for about 6 months from the earliest fall harvest to the latest spring harvest, the mill works day in and day out washing, crushing, and pressing olives from throughout California into California olive oil. The mill is used to produce oil for the Sciabica's five brands—Sciabica's, Marsala, Mission Trail, Sanita, and Sadeg—as well as doing custom-crushes for other olive growers who bottle their own brands. In order to turn olives into olive oil, the olives must be washed, and most of the leaves removed. Then the olives are crushed into a paste, and then pressed. What is pressed out of the olives is a liquid combination of oil, olive-water, and little bits of olive. This must then be separated into olive oil and olive water. The olive oil is then put into a centrifuge to remove the final amounts of water to create an unfiltered olive oil. The olive oil can then be bottled "as is" or further filtered for clarity.
The early fall harvest of green olives is pressed into a dark-colored, rich oil that is quite "pizzicante," an Italian phrase that describes the strong flavor in the back of your throat so characteristic of Tuscan olive oils. At this time of year, the olives being harvested are a combination of green and black, and give the oil a slightly mellower flavor that still has lots of flavor and a real bite. By springtime, the olives that have over-wintered (mostly the Mission variety) are ripe and mellow, producing a very delicate olive oil that is especially useful for baking and skin care. The Sciabicas have been pioneers in producing and promoting varietal olive oils, and each variety of olives and harvest season lends its own special flavor and color to the olive oil.
Whenever they can, the Sciabicas bring to the Saturday farmers market a limited number of bottles of oil that was just pressed on Friday evening. In their commitment to freshness, the Sciabicas are happy to bring to customers oils that are less than 24 hours away from the olive. Ask Dan, Jonathan, or the other sellers at the farm stand if they happen to have any of this new olive oil, and get a taste of freshly pressed California olives. Or ask them to explain their various varieties, and they will steer you towards a perfect olive oil for your taste and needs.
Products
Over 20 different varieties of California Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Figs, eggplant, citrus fruit, loquats; pomegranates; grapes; basil and occasional other produce.
Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm. Also available at many Mollie Stone's; Draegers; Gene's Fine Foods; Mastrelli's in Ferry Building; Molinari's; Piazza's.
1/4 lb Italian sausage cooked, drained, and crumbled
3/4 cup onion
3/4 cup celery
5 cups bread, cubed
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup raisins, apricots, or prunes, chopped
1/2 cup romano cheese, grated
3/4 cup provalone, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
3 eggs (or 6 egg whites)
3/4 cup milk or broth
3/4 cup fresh basil and/or parsley
1 liver from turkey, chopped
1 cup chestnuts, cooked, peeled, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pistachios, pine-nuts, or walnuts, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
In a skillet over medium heat add olive oil, onion, celery, and mushrooms,
cook until tender. Add liver, cook a few seconds more.
Add mixture to a large mixing bowl together with remaining ingredients
except turkey. Stuff turkey, truss. Stuff neck cavity, secure with poultry
pins.
Roast in a 325 degree oven about 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until internal
temperature is 185 degrees and leg moves easily.
Baste with a drizzle of olive oil several times during baking.
Try not to open oven door too many times, as heat escapes. Cover with foil
if browning too quickly.
If there is any stuffing left over, bake it in greased muffin tins at 325
degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden.
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