---
title: Italy's Anti-Inflammatory Season Starts When the Olive Mills Open in October
description: Newly pressed oil loses a fifth to nearly half of its oleocanthal within a year in the bottle, so the weeks after the harvest are the time for ribollita, pas...
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-09-07T19:40:18.125Z
updated: 2026-09-07T19:40:18.136Z
canonical: https://richmommagazine.com/article/italy-anti-inflammatory-season-new-olive-oil-october
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-harvesting-green-olives-by-hand-in-calabria-italy-showcasing-10510951.jpg
categories: Nutrition, Food & Nutrition
content_type: Feature
region: Italy
publication: Rich Health Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

The olive mills on the Tuscan coast now open in the first days of October, about a month ahead of the late-October and November harvest that used to be normal, Il Tirreno reported last autumn. The coast runs roughly two weeks ahead of the inland groves, the Terre dell'Etruria mills were taking fruit in early October, and [Coldiretti](https://www.coldiretti.it)'s Letizia Cesani put yields at 11 to 12 per cent.

What comes out of the press in those first weeks is olio nuovo, the new oil, which catches the back of the throat. The sting comes from [a compound called oleocanthal](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/extra-virgin-olive-oil-oleocanthal-the-secret-behind-the-mediterranean-diet), and it is highest in the days after pressing, then falls through the year in the bottle. For a few weeks each autumn the oil is as close to its peak as it will get, and the kitchens of Tuscany, Piedmont, the Veneto and Lombardy have long eaten it with the same things: beans, cavolo nero, farro, pumpkin, mushrooms, anchovies, garlic and chestnuts. Those are also [the foods that turn up in the inflammation trials](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/happy-table-best-anti-inflammatory-foods-for-autumn).

## Oleocanthal, the Compound That Stings the Throat

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