OLIVE VARIETIES
There are over 25 different Greek olive varieties. Most common are Ladolia, Manaki, Koroneiki and Athinolia. Different olive varieties produce oils of varying yields, flavors, aromas and colors. Oil quality is greatly determined by olive fruit maturity. In fact, maturity is more important than variety. Ripe olives yield more than green and their oil contains fewer antioxidants. Its taste is milder and can be described as buttery, floral or tropical. Oil made from green olives has a longer shelf life and can be described as grassy, artichoke or tomato leaf. There are also significant changes in flavor of the same cultivar grown in different areas.
MAKING OLIVE OIL
Olives are harvested manually or mechanically from November to December. After harvesting, olives come to the mill, where leaves and twigs are removed and fruit is washed. Then, olives are ground into a paste. Paste is well mixed and spread on fiber disks. Then, paste is stacked in a hydraulic press to separate liquid from solid parts. Liquid is placed in a centrifuge, in which water is separated from oil. The resulting oil is then filtered to eliminate remaining solid particles. All process is done at a maximum temperature of 27oC. Handpicked, good quality olives brought immediately to the mill to be crushed produce higher quality oil than mechanically harvested or damaged fruit, or olives that are stored before milling. It is possible to increase yield by heating, adding water and by other means, but this results in reduced oil quality.
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
Extra virgin olive oil is obtained directly from olives and has not undergone any treatment other than washing, decantation, centrifugation and filtration. It could be described as natural olive juice; it maintains the highest levels of nutritious components and delivers the best healthy benefits. Extra virgin olive oil has certain chemical characteristics (FFA, peroxide, UV absorption values etc.) that give indication of the care with which it was made and stored. It has also certain organoleptic characteristics; it does not have taste defects, yet it is not totally flavorless. It can be anything from very delicate and mellow to quite bitter and pungent. Flavors of olive oil are determined by a wide range of factors including the type of olive, growing conditions, crop maintenance and ripeness at harvest.
More About Olive Oil
OLIVE OIL STORAGE
Depending on its quality and on how it was made, extra virgin olive oil in sealed bottles may last from 3 months to 2 years. With age, flavor and aroma of olive oil decrease, especially if not stored in dark and cool conditions. Moreover, when olive oil is exposed to oxygen, light or heat, it is subject to oxidation. As soon as you open a bottle, oxidation process accelerates; oil will degrade fairly rapidly and may become rancid. Proper storage can prevent this. Make sure you keep oil in a dark container, away from sources of heat. The best way to preserve it is in a stainless steel container or in a dark glass bottle.
TASTING OLIVE OIL
Although most people enjoy olive oil with other foods, following steps will allow you to focus on the olive oil’s flavor without distraction. First evaluate olive fruit aroma (fruitiness) by inhaling oil from a glass. Then bring the oil in your mouth to further examine its aroma retro-nasally as well as to determine the amount of bitterness on your tongue. Lastly evaluate oil’s pungency in your throat as you swallow it. Oil’s color is not addressed during sensory assessment. The reason is that contrary to the common belief, color is not an indicator of either the oil’s flavor or quality. In fact, in scientific assessments, sampling is done in specially designed blue glasses that obscure color of oil. Tasting from a dark glass prevents experts from having preconceptions about flavor of the oil before they actually smell or taste it.
HEATING OLIVE OIL
When heated, olive oil is very stable, which means it stands up well to high frying temperatures. The important thing when frying is not to heat the oil over its smoke point (the temperature at which oil begins to break down). The smoke point of olive oil varies with its quality. Extra virgin olive oil smokes at 185-204ºC, depending on its free fatty acid content. This smoke point is well above the ideal temperature for frying food (180ºC). The digestibility of olive oil is not affected when it is heated, even when it is re-used several times for frying.
SOURCES: www.agbiolab.com, www.easreth.gr, www.internationaloliveoil.org, www.minagric.gr, www.soilzone.com, www.prosodol.gr, www.oliveoil.gr, www.oliveoil.org, www.oliveoilsource.com, www.oliveoiltimes.com, www.olivetreeroute.gr, www.wikipedia.org, www.wix.com
OLIVE OIL AND MEDITERRANEAN DIET
The Mediterranean Diet is more than a diet. It is a lifelong living style. Decades ago, it was the natural way of life of people around the Mediterranean Basin, especially in Spain, Italy and Greece. High activity, healthy nutrition, anti-stress attitudes and not much money shaped a culture that was declared Immaterial Human Heritage by UNESCO.
Nowadays, these circumstances have changed in the mentioned countries, but many people are still keeping or returning to what is considered to be the healthiest diet in the world, the best anti-aging and long-living culture!
The Mediterranean Diet is the best way to live many years with a high quality of life. It is also the best way to keep your body in shape, your skin clean and beautiful and your internal organs working properly. It the best diet to lead you to a proportional weight and don't endanger your health with urgent and unbalanced malnutrition.
The original Mediterranean Diet characteristics are:
1. High consumption of virgin olive oil.
2. High intake of vegetables, fruits and legumes.
3. Use of non-refined carbohydrates (portions to be adjusted to physical activity).
4. Consumption of fish, especially oily (or "bluish" one) three or four times a week.
5. Consumption of milk and derivates, cheese (the original cheese was fresh goat cheese) and yogurt. Keep an eye on the saturated fats of the dairy products. Do not consume too much!
6. Three or four eggs per week.
7. Moderate consumption of meat and saturated fats (natural, not artificially hydrogenated!).
8. One or two small glasses of wine a day, preferably red and at the main meals. White wine and beer are alternatives.
9. Nuts as snacks.
10. In "special occasions", Mediterranean traditional desserts.