Olive Oil

Olive oil is an oil derived from the fruit of the olive tree, which originated in the Mediterranean area. It is produced by pressing olivesand has a very high content of monounsaturated fats.

Olive oil was traditionally produced by beating the trees with sticks to knock the olives off and crushing them in stone or wooden mortars or beam presses. Nowadays, olives are ground to tiny bits, obtaining a paste that is mixed with water and processed by centrifugation, separating the oil from the pomace (the other remaining substances).

Edible commercial olive oil can be divided into several categories according to its chemical characteristics and the production method: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Virgin Olive Oil, and Olive Oil. The first two, virgin olive oils, are obtained only by physical extraction from the fruits. Non virgin olive oil is obtained by the chemical refining of a low-quality non-edible grade of virgin olive oil called “lampante” olive oil.

A second type of oil can be extracted from the remaining pomace. This is called Olive Pomace Oil and it is obtained, like all the other food oils, by treatment with a chemical solvent, generally hexane, and subsequent chemical refining.

Of all the categories, extra virgin olive oil presents the highest organoleptic, nutritional, and health qualities, as well as the most “flowery” taste. Today olive oil is mainly used in cooking and also in cosmetics and soaps, but it has been used for medicines and as a fuel for oil lamps.

“Cold Pressed” Extra Virgin Olive Oil is generally considered the best grade of olive oil. As the name suggests, it is obtained without heating the pressed mass. Heating frees more of the oil but lowers the quality of the resulting oil. Cold Pressed Extra Virgin olive oil is best suited to specialist uses such as salad dressings. Olive oil has a low Smoke point(200°F for fancy flavorful grades, and 400°F for the cheap refined grades) and so is not well suited for cooking at high temperatures. Blended oils containing olive oil are available and combine to make a higher smoke point.

Olive oil is produced in areas that have a Mediterranean climate. Large producers of olive oil include Turkey Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and California.

As doctors said, prevention is number one factor for good health.
Speaking as simple as we can and without the use of special medical terms we must point out the following:
1.Many diseases are caused by the incontrollable receipt of food, especially food containing in excess saturated fatty acids (animal fats), leading to arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.
Medical studies indicate that Mediterranean countries and specifically Greece, where olive oil consumption is high, suffer less cardiovascular problems from any other country in the world where the ratio of the consumption of animal fat is high or simply the nutrition parameters are poor.

By reducing the animal fats and increasing olive oil in our diet we obtain a perfect combination for the prevention of such fatal diseases, like arteriosclerosis and heart attacks.
2.The problems in bile area torture millions of people on our planet. The bad function of the bile and the formation of gallstone are problems difficult to cure and most of the times medical surgery is the only solution available.
Recent medical studies proved that olive oil, perfectly compatible with human body needs, creates a natural tie to those liquids that result in the formation of the gallstone mitigating pain and annoyance in bile’s area.

3.Millions of people around the world suffer by stomach problems and related diseases. Very serious is the gastric ulcer disease. As it is known the use of olive oil in nutrition is a beneficial factor for the function of the digestive system due to its property of keeping low the percentage of HCl in our stomach. Thus, the olive oil helps the normal function of the digestive system reducing to minimum the chances of ulcer creation and the other relative diseases, not to mention that is the best natural medicament for the fight against constipation.

It has been also proved that the use of olive oil in nutrition helps to sustain:

1.Human metabolism at a good balance, body’s growth and bone growth at a good level. It is obvious that olive oil means good health and development for our children.

2.Good level of Vitamin E in our body. This vitamin has the property to delay the change of the cellular structure which leads to natural decadence, the people’s aging, so one of the best medicaments for delaying aging is the olive oil. On the other hand, as we all know, Vitamin E improves our sexual life. So one can say that olive oil is by itself an aphrodisiac! Last but not least, is the unique property of olive oil to dissolve useful substances coming from food that cannot be absorbed by the human body.

Olive oil is used in everyday cooking. It can be used in salads or added in the cooking process of almost any recipe. Olive Oil is the healthiest type of oil with 0% cholesterol, rich in Vitamins against aging and perfect even for frying dishes. Olive oil is the best nutritional gift we can offer to ourselves. Olive oil helps us keep good in health making our life pleasant

The Olive was a native to Asia Minor and spread from Iran, Syria and Palestine to the rest of the Mediterranean basin 6,000 years ago. It is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world – being grown before the written language was invented. It was being grown on Crete by 3,000 BC and may have been the source of the wealth of the Minoan kingdom. The Phoenicians spread the olive to the Mediterranean shores of Africa and Southern Europe. Olives have been found in Egyptian tombs from 2000 years BC. The olive culture was spread to the early Greeks then Romans. As the Romans extended their domain they brought the olive with them.
1400 years ago the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, advised his followers to apply olive oil to their bodies, and himself used oil on his head. The use of oil is found in many religions and cultures. It has been used during special ceremonies and also as a general health measure. During baptism in the Christian church, holy oil, which is often olive oil, may be used for anointment. At the Chrism mass olive oil blessed by the bishop, “chrism”, is used in the ceremony. Like the grape, the Christian missionaries brought the olive tree with them to California for food but also for ceremonial use. Olive oil was used to anoint the early kings of the Greeks and Jews. The Greeks anointed winning athletes. Olive oil has also been used to anoint the dead in many cultures.

The olive trees on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem are reputed to be over 2000 years old, still relative newcomers considering the long domestication of the olive. We don’t know the exact variety of the trees on the Mount. The olive tree has been manipulated by man for so many thousands of years that it is unclear which varieties came from which other varieties. Varieties in one country have been found to be identical to differently named varieties in another. Some research is now being done using gene mapping techniques to figure out the olive family tree. Shrub-like “feral” olives still exist in the middle East which represent the original stock from which all other olives are descended.

In the past several hundred years the olive has spread to North and South America, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Buying oil in small sizes, or splitting larger bottles with friends, is a practical way to buy expensive oils. Oil purchased in bulk should always be poured into smaller containers, preferably in a can or a dark-colored bottle.

Air, heat, and light will cause olive oil to turn rancid, so it should be stored in a cool place in an airtight container. Store at a temperature of 14 degrees C. or 57 degrees F. If you have a wine cellar, store your olive oils there and keep a small amount in your kitchen. Always replace the cap on the bottle. Do not put olive oil in a container without a tight cap.

When chilled, or in cold weather, the oil may turn cloudy and even solidfy. Such oil will clear again as it warms, so cloudiness should not be taken as an indication that the oil is part its prime. Be sure bottles are tightly sealed. Olive oil can be refrigerated but doing so will cause it to congeal and turn cloudy, but should not affect flavor. If refrigerated, olive oil will return to its original, liquid state when warmed to room temperature again.

Tinted glass, porcelain, or stainless steel are the best materials for containers; oil should never be stored in plastic or in reactive metals. Stay away from plastic containers as the oil can absorb PVCs.

Olive oil is an oil derived from the fruit of the olive tree, which originated in the Mediterranean area. It is produced by pressing olivesand has a very high content of monounsaturated fats.
Olive oil was traditionally produced by beating the trees with sticks to knock the olives off and crushing them in stone or wooden mortars or beam presses. Nowadays, olives are ground to tiny bits, obtaining a paste that is mixed with water and processed by centrifugation, separating the oil from the pomace (the other remaining substances).

Edible commercial olive oil can be divided into several categories according to its chemical characteristics and the production method: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Virgin Olive Oil, and Olive Oil. The first two, virgin olive oils, are obtained only by physical extraction from the fruits. Non virgin olive oil is obtained by the chemical refining of a low-quality non-edible grade of virgin olive oil called “lampante” olive oil.

A second type of oil can be extracted from the remaining pomace. This is called Olive Pomace Oil and it is obtained, like all the other food oils, by treatment with a chemical solvent, generally hexane, and subsequent chemical refining.

Of all the categories, extra virgin olive oil presents the highest organoleptic, nutritional, and health qualities, as well as the most “flowery” taste. Today olive oil is mainly used in cooking and also in cosmetics and soaps, but it has been used for medicines and as a fuel for oil lamps.

“Cold Pressed” Extra Virgin Olive Oil is generally considered the best grade of olive oil. As the name suggests, it is obtained without heating the pressed mass. Heating frees more of the oil but lowers the quality of the resulting oil. Cold Pressed Extra Virgin olive oil is best suited to specialist uses such as salad dressings. Olive oil has a low Smoke point(200°F for fancy flavorful grades, and 400°F for the cheap refined grades) and so is not well suited for cooking at high temperatures. Blended oils containing olive oil are available and combine to make a higher smoke point.

Olive oil is produced in areas that have a Mediterranean climate. Large producers of olive oil include Turkey Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and California.

The sun baked olive groves of the Mediterranean are woven into ancient literature and history. Between the 7th & 3rd centuries B.C., philosophers, physicians and historians classified olive oil and referred to its curative properties. Homer and Liny praised its virtues and Hippo crates regarded it as both a food and a medicine. The Hebrews used olive oil in sacred ceremonies and saw the olive as a symbol of peace and prosperity. The Acropolis in Athens is always depicted with an ancient olive tree growing on it. According to Greek mythology, the goddess Athena placed it there to win the favor of the inhabitants of the city.

Olive trees have a life span of 300-400 years. Some grow to be 700 years and older. (Plato’s olive tree is still alive, though no longer productive). Before a site is selected to start an olive grove, it is observed, often for many years. It must be free of strong winds, winter floods or other faults. Each tree planted is surrounded by a low wall of stones, so that the soil around the roots will not be disturbed by rain. To produce the finest olive oils, the grower carefully tends each tree, coaxing the most abundant fruits to spring forth.

The olive oils of some small producers are treated like fine vintage wines, and are often grown by wine producers. Some of these oils are priced like fine wines as well. The great varieties of subtle flavors and textures from different regions, producers & vintages make them well worth trying. Used sparingly in salads and dips, a bottle should last weeks or months.

On a hill looking down on a valley with terraced olive groves rising one above the other and above the sea. Shades of green, dry earth, gray and blue. This is Anatolia and this is the habitat of the olive tree. Poor, calcareous soil and rock. Long hot summers (but not more than 40oC -104oF). Hillsides to let life-giving winds blow freely through the branches. The sea, never far, softens harsh winters (temperatures not less than -40C (8oF) or at least not for long). Annual rainfall 450-650 mm (18-26 inches).

Just what the olive tree needs. Not much. But the demands are precise. And Anatolia is the last place on earth to refuse the olive tree a favor isn’t that the way it always goes with couples that were just meant for each other? Excellent quality olive oil starts from. Olive tree cultivation is hard work. Not long but hard, The bulk of the work concentrates in two points: -pruning and harvesting There are four types of pruning: training (when the tree is young), production or maintenance pruning, rejuvenation pruning and regeneration pruning. It is the first thing the farmer does right after harvesting to prepare the tree for the next crop. Water the olive tree and you beg it to give you the oil. Prune it well and you order it grandpa used to say. Very practical, given that water has a clear preference for fertile plains over rocky hillsides. But pruning is not easy and it requires experience and skill. So it is only natural that good prunes get boasting fits twice a year, when the olive oil is still young from the press and at pruning time when they are lords and masters of the field. The fact that these two times almost coincide works wonders for community peace.

Harvesting time is from November to March, depending on the area and the variety. Olives meant for oil have to be picked when they are 3/4 black. That is the golden rule quantity/quality-wise. When they are greener, there is not enough oil, when they are all black, oil quality goes down. The place simply buzzes. The olives have to be hand picked one by one (and most of them tend to be smaller than an inch). Hard to make this enterprise cost effective.

They are then placed in baskets and carried out of the field., straight on to the press! The reason is if the olives are stored before pressing oxidization begins and quality goes down.

It is the frame of mind everybody gets into when it comes to olive oil. The oil has to come out perfect. And that is everybody’s job. With 70% of all production in Anatolia being Extra Virgin Olive Oil, it is not a quantity but a quality game and everybody abides by the rules.

Olive oil is not made. It is just there. You squeeze the olive and out it comes, the only oil that can be consumed as it is obtained from the fruit without having to suffer the trials and tribulations seed oils go through. And the 3000 olive oil presses in Anatolia often work 24 hours a day.

The vast array of olive oil flavors and colors in Anatolia, the distinct features of different varieties of olive oils, the strong personality of the olive oil itself demand expert knowledge. In close cooperation with the producer, he selects the best batches for packaging. The industry is actually involved in nothing more than storing, quality control and packaging. No more urns and cellars at this stage. Temperatures are kept constant in high quality tanks. Monitoring ensures almost zero fluctuations.

Quality control is more of a science than an art. Companies check more than 25 parameters in every olive oil batch. It is a very high cost procedure, but the consumer can be certain that it is there and that the specifications he will find on labels correspond to the contents of the container. Numerous agreements have been drawn up and legislation keeps piling up in recent years to assure company reliability. The types of olive oil are;
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – top grade, low acidity, comes from the first pressing of the choicest, handpicked olives. Mechanically pressed, requiring no heat or chemicals. Extra virgin olive oil has natural antioxidants which keep it from going rancid. Flavor, color & consistency vary, like fine wines, due to different olive varieties, location and weather. It is the best quality olive oil.

Virgin Olive Oil – slightly more acidity, pressed from olives that are not necessarily top grade, may be from a second or third pressing of pulp, also mechanically pressed. This grade and extra virgin are the only truly “cold pressed” oils.

“Pure” Olive Oil – Also called commercial grade oil. It is extracted from pulp and pits left after the second pressing of lower quality olives. Heat, high pressure and solvents are used. Sometimes a small amount of better quality olive oil is blended in. “Pure” refers to the fact that no non-olive oils are mixed in. A very talented and very shy olive oil.

Virgin olive oil with an impeccable taste and aroma; fruity; the acidity expressed in oleic acid may not exceed 2%

Virgin olive oil with an acidity of more than 3.3% and/or whose organoleptic characteristics have defects. Not fit for direct consumption. Always refined.

Virgin olive oil with a good taste and acceptable aroma, whose acidity does not exceed 3.3%

This is another oil derived from the olive that keeps its initial chemical structure. It is made of the oil extracted from olive pomace using solvents, which is then refined and blended with virgin olive oil. In no case may the degree of acidity exceed 1.5%.