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Olives are fruit, grown on the olive tree, olea europaea. Olive trees
have been cultivated for thousands of years, and were already plentiful
during biblical times. Plucked from the tree, the olive is extremely
bitter, and virtually inedible. Prior to eating, olives are typically cured,
either in brine,water or in oil. Freshly picked olives can also be stir-
fried to remove some of the bitterness before eating.
The olive mash is then spread onto thin mats. These mats are stacked,
and placed into a machine "press." As the press applies several
hundred pounds of pressure, oil and water from the mash seep out of
the mats, and drip into collection vats. In the traditional method, no
heat is applied in the pressing--hence the term "first cold pressed." The
oil is allowed to settle, and any vegetable water is removed either by
centrifuge or decantation.
Oil extracted from the mechanical pressing of the olive is described as
"virgin" olive oil, because it is pure, unrefined and unprocessed.
What are the differences among extra virgin olive oil, ordinary
olive oil, and "light" olive oils?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. "Extra" is the highest grade for olive oil--the
best you can buy. The virgin oil produced from the mechanical
pressing described above may be called "extra" if it has less than 1%
free oleic acid, and if it exhibits superior taste, color and aroma. Thus,
the "extra" in extra virgin olive oil means "premium," or simply, "the
best."
Olive Oil. Ordinary "olive oil" is actually a blended oil product. Olive
oil producers start with low quality virgin olive oils. For these oils to
be fit for consumption, they must be refined using mechanical, thermal
and/or chemical processes. The resulting "refined olive oil" is largely
colorless and tasteless. Before the resulting product is sold as "olive
oil," the producer blends into the refined olive oil a percentage of
quality virgin olive oil to provide color and taste.
Olive Oil Blends. Olive oil blends (e.g., canola oil enriched with some
virgin olive oil) are sometimes used as a more economical substitute
for olive oil (but not as a substitute for extra virgin olive oil). Because
the production of good olive oil is labor intensive--the olives must
essentially be picked by hand--the resulting product is more expensive
than other vegetable oils. To offer a more economical product with
some of the goodness of olive oil, some companies make olive oil
blends. In an olive oil blend, the producer uses a base of a less
expensive vegetable oil (e.g. canola oil) to which it adds a percentage
(e.g. 25%) of virgin olive oil. These products have proven particularly
attractive to restaurant and institutional purchasers where the small
savings per tablespoon results in big savings due to the large volume
they purchase.
Taste is the most obvious difference between olive oil and the
commercially popular vegetable oils such as corn, soybean and canola
oils. These oils are tasteless fats. You would not want to eat a piece of
bread dipped in vegetable oil; for the same basic reason, many chefs
refrain from adding tasteless fat to the foods they prepare. When you
cook with oil, get the most flavor and texture you can.
Olive oil, especially extra virgin olive oil, adds a flavor and textural
dimension lacking in other oils, making it a suitable substitute for
butter and margarine in almost any recipe. In fact, more and more
restaurants are serving extra virgin olive oil, both plain or flavored
with salt and pepper, as an alternative to butter for bread.
Extra virgin olive oils are not processed or refined. It is said that you
do not make extra virgin olive oil, you find it. Extra virgin olive oil is
essentially "fresh squeezed" from the fruit of the olive tree, without
alteration of the color, taste, and nutrients or vitamins. Because of the
integrity of the product, and its antioxidant components, olive oil will
keep longer than all other vegetable oils.
Can olive oil be used in baking recipes that call for butter,
margarine, vegetable oil or shortening?
Yes! Try olive oil in your muffin and cake and cornbread recipes (but
not in recipes in which butter is the principal flavor like butter cookies
or pound cake).
Can avacado oil or macadamia nut oil be used in place of olive oil?
Yes! These relatively new oils are very healthy and taste great too! We
like to use avacado oil in salad dressings and pan fried potatoes. We
use the macadamia nut oil on broiled fish and asparagus.
Now, for the term ‘Extra Virgin.’ This means that the virgin olive oil
has passed chemical tests for purity and taste tests to assure the
absence of spoilage flavors. You should be able to count on getting a
healthy, tasty olive oil, possessing the flavors of the olive fruit.
Unfortunately, only two states in the U.S. have just recently adopted
the international standards for this designation, and the term is widely
misused here for oils that may not even come from olives. That’s why
it is best, here in the United States, to buy EVO oil that is certified as
Extra Virgin, and certainly to avoid bargain-priced ‘Extra Virgins.’
Extra Virgin olive oil on the other hand, is a natural raw product,
subject to variations year to year and to changes with time. Generally
speaking, a young EVO oil will be fresh and even perky with aromas
and flavors. As time goes by, the filtered EVO oils will mellow,
becoming softer and milder – but still quite pleasant. Unfiltered EVO
oils may develop off-smells and flavors at any time, largely depending
on storage conditions. Eventually, all oils will turn rancid.
When looking for a good EVO oil, always check the vintage date. If
there’s no date, then there’s no way to know how old the oil really is.
Olives are harvested in the late fall and early winter, anytime between
October and the end of January in the Northern hemisphere. Blending
and bottling usually occur in the new year.
Isn’t balsamic vinegar really the best companion for olive oil?
Balsamic vinegar has become quite popular in recent years here in the
U.S. If you think about it, you might become curious how supplies
have kept up with the U.S. demand – but that’s another story.
To add a soft acidity when dressing salads with olive oil, experiment
with Meyers lemon juice, or with a mixture of an off-dry white wine
and your usual vinegar.