Oil’s well! - The Persalls Eye the Future with Optimism - Hamilton Spectator

09/01/2007

What is Canada’s Maple Leaf doing beside the words “cold-pressed” and “extra virgin?” Terms we associate with olive oil assure us that flavour, aroma and nutritional benefits are intact.

And now they are front and centre on the mock-up of a new label for Pristine Oils.

As soy oil trickles from an auger-like press into a storage tank at the Persall Naturals processing facility in rural Waterford, Jason Persall explains.

“The oil temperature when it exits the press is between 40 and 60 degrees Celsius,” says this fourth generation Norfolk farmer.

Processing the oil at a relatively low temperature helps preserve heat-sensitive vitamins, minerals and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

The extra virgin moniker shows that the oil comes from the first mechanical pressing and no gases or chemicals have been used to extract it from the seeds.

Persall Naturals guarantees all their Pristine Oil products are free of seed that has been genetically modified. They grow their own soybeans in the surrounding fields, but seeds for their canola oil are grown on a farm where the weather’s a bit cooler, further north in the Lambton area.

How did Persall, from generations of livestock farms and chick hatcheries, come to be here explaining the nuances of gourmet oils? “I’ve always had a fascination with the food industry,” says Persall, “and my wife loves to cook.”

They bought their own farm in 1998 and deliberated on what they might produce to appeal to local foodies.

It took two years before the idea came to them: Why not try a gourmet vegetable oil?

Originally, they tried the head-on approach, targeting the retail market directly. But after getting tips from chefs at a culinary symposium in 2005, they reconsidered their strategy.

They put their products into the hands of well- known proponents of local food, chefs such as Michael Olson, Jamie Kennedy and Stephen Treadwell.

They, in turn, have helped to spread the word that there are gourmet-quality oils being produced in Ontario.

The Persalls have had a lot of media attention lately, but they still have tons of hard work ahead of them.

“We do a lot with Slow Food (a worldwide movement that boosts local cuisine) and next week we have 20 shipments going out as samples to chefs,” says Persall with cautious optimism.

There’s a package sitting on his desk, ready to go out to a food magazine in New York City. Slow expansion is part of the strategy.

They may add to the Persall Naturals line a raspberry wine vinegar and a naturally brewed soy sauce from other Ontario producers.

And among those mockup labels is one for sunflower oil. They don’t make this one yet, but when they do, it will be cold-pressed, extra virgin — and definitely local.

To learn more about Persall Naturals and Pristine Oils, or to order some of their products, check out their website or call 519-443-4658