Several years ago when I was selling Mary Kay, we used to earn monthly surprises for sells over certain amounts. One month, my Director, Lyn, took me to a new place in Abingdon, VA, called the Olive Oil Company, followed by dinner just around the street corner at 128 Pecan. It was a delightful evening of taste-testing lovely fused and infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars.
In my pursuit of healthier cooking, I recently decided to go check out the Abingdon Olive Oil Company again, this time with Russ. I left with 6 bottles – 3 bottles of oils and 3 bottles of balsamic vinegars. A week later, they announced a sale, and I came home with 4 more bottles of each! I love the flavors and am hooked on using them in everything, cooked and uncooked!
A friend who worked there shared with me that the balsamic vinegars can aid in digestion issues like acid reflux, which I’ve suffered from for decades. Additionally, they add great taste to water! Well, I’m a big fan of lemon in my water, so I decided to try it. I have to tell you: it’s pretty tasty! I’ve tried almost all of my balsamics in water now, and am having far fewer acid reflux and digestive issues than normal. Part of that is because I’m changing my eating habits, but I also credit part of it to the amazing balsamic vinegars I’ve been using to help flavor my drinking water, too. One balsamic I haven’t used in my water is the Cara-Cara Orange and Vanilla; I save that one for my indulgences in vanilla bean ice cream, which creates a most astonishing “dreamsicle” effect!
I cook with the oils and balsamics, as well as just dousing food with oil/balsamic mixtures after cooking. I douse my fruit salads with balsamic oils. I drink balsamic oils. I have a handy-dandy guide that helps me figure out which olive oils and balsamics pair well with which foods, too. And with 14 different selections currently on our pantry shelf, it’s nice to experiment with different flavor combinations, too! Real foodie fun!
There are two convenient locations of the Abingdon Olive Oil Company, in Abingdon, VA, and in Kingsport, TN. I highly recommend them to everyone, if for no other reason, just to go in and learn about the olive oil-making process and the taste-testing tour, which are absolutely free. The folks there are friendly, helpful, and most informative! Tell them Chrissie sent you; it won’t get you anything extra or free, but tell them, anyway!
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