F.A.Q.
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION.
Well, maybe some, but at least you're inquisitive!
Q: How do I use Smoked Olive Oil?
A: You put it on everything. Specifically food.
- Mix it in hummus
- Drizzle on pizza, pasta, soups & sandwiches
- Salad dressings
- Roasted vegetables and cooking eggs
- Marinating meats
- Sauces like pesto, chimmichurri, and aioli
Stuff like that. Go crazy with it. It tastes like bacon. You can visit our Recipes section for more fun stuff!
Q: Where do you get your olive oil? Is it extra virgin?
A: We currently source our olive oil from Spain. We love the flavor the arbequina olive oil has before it's smoked, and it's even better afterwards, and nobody grows better arbequina than Spain!
Q: So, how do you make olive oil? Do you just tap it? (Points at our dwarf olive tree) Like maple syrup?
A: Er, no. The olives are harvested, ground up (or milled), and the pressed between 2 giant flat stones to extract the oil from the fruit itself.
Q: How do you smoke olive oil?
A: We created a machine to cold-smoke it. We keep the olive oil near freezing while the smoked runs over it naturally, just like you smoke meat. The olive oil picks up the savory hickory flavor and, viola, smoked olive oil.
Q: So, do you use, like, liquid smoke or whatever and mix it in?
A: No... It's naturally smoked. We made a special machine to do it. Holy Smoke Olive Oil doesn't have any additives. It's just good old fashioned extra virgin olive oil that's cold-smoked. Boom.
Q: What does "extra virgin" mean?
A: It's a mixture of a few things. First, it means that it's the first pressing of the olives. No chemicals used. Purely mechanically pressed. Second, it has to meet certain lab tests like acidity levels and peroxide levels. Third, it must meet certain taste standards and not have any defects (which is more subjective).
Q: You guys have an amazing product! Why don't you go on Shark Tank?
A: Uh, I don't know? Because I don't know Mark Cuban?
Q: Why is my Hickory Smoked Wildflower Honey crystallizing?
A: This is the question of nightmares and the reason why we may not continue making smoked honey in the future... So, real honey crystallizes and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. It's up for debate by bee keepers and food scientists all over the world. The only thing that can be done is to heat the bottle of honey to about 150 degrees Fahrenheit to re-liquify it, and it will probably re-crystallize after a certain period of time. We've gotten some nasty reviews from people who don't understand this.
Q: Can I hang out with you guys? You seem cool!
A: Sure! We're at the Charleston Farmer's Market every Saturday from 8am-2pm April through December. And we're not cool. Total dorks.
