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It is a legal requirement to indicate the origin of an olive oil. This can be a particular country, such as Spain, Italy or Tunisia or a combination of countries. Oils blended from various countries represent a significant proportion of the UK market. Whilst some of these oils can present good value for money, they are less likely to rank among the highest quality segments. Spain is by far the largest olive oil producing country. Italy sells significantly more olive oil than it produces, which highlights a bottling model whereby oils from other countries are mixed in Italy under Italian or international brands. Greece, Tunisia and Turkey also rank among the largest world's producers of olive oils. Traceability and short value chains are, in our mind, key factors in identifying the highest quality extra virgin olive oils. An artisan producer who is responsible for every step of the production process from the planting of the trees to the harvesting and oil extraction can offer a very high level of traceability. A blending processing on a large scale is unlikely to match the level of quality of a small artisan producer primarily because the quantities of high quality olive oil tend to be very modest in comparison with common quality extra virgin olive oil. High-quality olive oils are typically harvested early in the season and extracted at low temperatures within a few a hours. This particular production process has a totally different cost base from standard extra virgin olive oil. For instance, the yield, which is the quantity of oil produced from a given quantity of olives, can more than double when comparing early to late harvests. This exceptionally fruity and buttery Spanish extra-virgin olive oil is one of the freshest you can get. Made from olives cold-pressed on the first day of the harvest – when they’re at peak ripeness – it has all of the classic hallmarks of a champion unrefined EVOO. The Italian fraud squad recently announced they were investigating allegations that the country's largest olive oil producers have adulterated Italian oil with cheaper imports from Spain, Greece, Morocco and Tunisia. The olive was one of three trees (the others being the cypress and cedar) that sprang from seeds from the Tree of Knowledge Studies have found that higher consumption of olive oil is associated with a lower blood pressure in those following a Mediterranean style diet, young women with mild hypertension, healthy males, elderly people with hypertension, and those with type 2 diabetes. Whether these effects are due to the polyphenols, the monounsaturated fats or a combination of the two remains unclear.
The Italian parliament is doing a bit better than the EU. They’ve actually passed a significantly more restrictive olive oil law that raises the bar of olive oil quality. It gives taste tests a lot more legal weight. (So Italy is doing better than the EU, and the EU is doing better than the FDA.) “Many small purveyors are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy because they’re facing off against false competition that is selling inferior product.”
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Olive is considered a “blessed” fruit in Islam, with one of the religious texts even saying “Eat olive oil and use it on your hair and skin, for it comes from a blessed tree.” It is used in ruqya treatment, a traditional religious healing modality. Flavoured or infused olive oil can be composed of refined oils, pure extra-virgin oils or a combination of both. Aromatics such as garlic, chilli and truffle are steeped in plain oil to produce flavoured variations. Flavoured oils aren’t usually used for frying, but are ideal for finishing dishes and for mixing into things like soup and pasta sauce.
Olive oil was used for skin and hair care by the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. (Curious about olive oil in skincare? Read all about it here.) Pure olive oil remains stable at high temperatures and can be heated to 210°C before chemical changes occur and it starts to smoke. Virgin and extra virgin olive oils are less stable due to their higher content of heat-sensitive (but flavourful) components and may cause unwanted smells or taste changes if heated above 180°C. Use pure olive oil for frying and roasting, and virgin or extra virgin olive oils for steaming, lower-temperature braising and salad dressing. Discard any oil that begins to smoke or smell odd during use. Ideally, cooking oils should not be re-used. Health benefits of olive oil All extra virgin olive oil is made from cold-pressed olives, whereas regular olive oil will be a blend, combining processed oils in the mix. Extra virgin olive oil is therefore a healthier choice, retaining more of the natural antioxidants and vitamins that can be lost during processing. in Nutritional Medicine. She is best known for writing over 70 top selling health and nutrition books and, in the process, being awarded multiple prizes for her contribution to cutting-edge human nutrition. The real interest and aesthetic value lies, however, in the trunks of old trees. The combination of a hard life and repeated pruning (aimed at maintaining a manageable crown for easier harvesting) results in trunks that are squat, contorted and fissured, their history worn in craggy glory. There are notable examples throughout the Mediterranean and beyond.
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Today, virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) are still cold extracted via mechanical methods. The importance of the olive to Greek culture is seen in the appearance of the olive branch on Classical Athenian coins and its use in the crowns of victory at the Olympic Games. The Athenians considered the olive tree a gift from their patron goddess Athena, and this very tree grew on the acropolis of the city. They had an entire sacred grove of olive trees ( moriae) too, from which oil was pressed and placed into uniquely decorated amphora vases to be given as prizes in the annual Panathenaic festival.
However, when you dig deeper, it’s clear extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest choice as it’s made from cold-pressed olives, which means it's less processed than regular olive oil. It’s also way tastier too, as this gentle approach helps to maintain more of the oil’s aroma, flavour and nutritional value.” — win, win. How we test
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There are a range of different ways that fraud manifests, though it comes down to the basic principle of buying low and selling high. It’s the key to good business and the key to profitable crime. You can do this in a number of ways with olive oil. The most common is to blend in low-grade olive oil, or other vegetable oils like soybean oil or sunflower oil, which are much cheaper, then sell the resulting mix as “extra virgin olive oil.” I sympathize with the FDA here in the states: It is an extremely important organization that is systemically understaffed and underfunded, meaning that it can’t achieve its mission. And its mission is to ensure that the food and drugs in America are safe for consumers. They don’t have the bandwidth to look into olive oil because it’s too far down the list of priorities when it comes to health risks. Also beware of ambiguous wording. Just because an oil says it’s a ‘product of Spain’, for example, doesn’t mean the olives were grown or harvested there. This can simply mean it’s been imported from elsewhere and bottled there. Bottle – Exposure to light can speed-up the deterioration of cold-pressed olive oil. That’s why producers tend to distribute extra-virgin oils in dark-coloured or opaque bottles. This doesn’t mean you should avoid light-coloured bottles altogether, but it’s something to keep in mind if you plan on storing your oil for a prolonged period of time. How much should I spend on olive oil? As such, EVOO is considered a more premium product, with a more nuanced flavour profile. For that reason, many consider it a waste to cook with, saving it for finishing dishes, drizzling and dipping. According to tests done by the UC Davis Olive Center, 69% of all store-bought extra virgin olive oils in the United States are most likely fake. The study analyzed a total of 186 extra virgin olive oil samples against the standards established by the International Olive Council.
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