History: Olive trees have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. It is thought that wild olive trees originated in Asia Minor, spreading through Syria to Greece and then from the 6th Century BC onwards throughout the Mediterranean basin. To the Gods olive oil was a source of immortality. Today, it's a way of life. Legend says that the immortality of the Greek gods came from their use of olive oil. It can (it was believed) halt the ageing process. Other legends tell other tales of the olive tree. Poseidon, God of the Sea, once fought for supremacy with Athene, Goddess of Wisdom and the Arts. He made salt water flow from the bare rock. She planted an olive tree and from the olives flowed a divine juice: Olive Oil. It was no contest. Olive oil might not confer immortality but it's healthy, beneficial and creates meals fit for the gods. It's a blessing to mankind.
Interesting information about olives and olive oil.
The Trees: The olive tree has become perfectly adapted to the region in which it grows, well suited to hot, dry and sometimes windy conditions. The trees grow to between 15ft - 30ft over many years, becoming twisted and hollow over time. Our Italian oil comes from olive groves in Puglia where some of the trees are over 400 years old. The trees can survive anything except the cold. Wind, heat and even fire can be survived. The wood from these trees can be made into bowls, salad servers and other similar implements.
The Fruit: There are hundreds of varieties of olives, some are grown for their oil and others for eating, either green or black. Green olives are not fully ripe, gradually as they ripen further the olives turn darker until they become purple/black. Eating olives, once harvested are washed and then cured in brine, either with the stone left in or pitted (the stone removed). Some of the pitted olives are then stuffed with pimento, garlic, almond, feta or any of a variety of things. Eating olives are classified by number of olives per kilo;
Harvesting: Like any fruit all the olives on one tree will not be ready to harvest at the same time, so each tree will be revisited several times. Some olives are picked by hand, but most are harvested by shaking the tree, the olives drop into nets placed on the ground. They are taken straight to the local mill where, within the next 24 hours they will be washed to remove leaves, twigs and earth. Then without delay they will be processed.
Processing: To obtain the oil from the olives first they crushed and kneaded to form a pulp, 15 - 25% of this is oil. Next the oil is extracted using one of two methods; 1. 'Traditional' - this is to apply a pressure of 250 - 400kg per square centimetre, the oil and water runs from the press and is then separated in a centrifuge, 2. 'Continuous' - this is to use only centrifuge, the pulp is spun at high speed to separate the flesh from the oil. During both these processes the temperature remains below 30C, the resulting oil is Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Interesting Facts:
1. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil which is edible after pressing without having to be treated in any other way, all other vegetable oils have to be treated to remove toxins.
2. It takes 5 kilos of olives to produce 1 litre of oil, each tree produces 3 to 4 litres of oil.
Oil classification: Olive oil is graded by the International Olive Oil Council according to the level of oleric acid it contains. The best quality oils have the lowest acidity levels.
Within the Cold Pressed Extra Virgin classification the oil can either be filtered, leaving a clear, bright oil. Alternatively it can be un-filtered, this oil will be hazy if the bottle is disturbed, some experts would say that this oil has a more pure taste. Also within the classification the finished oil can be a blend of oils from different groves and olive varieties, this produces a consistent top quality product. Or they can be from a single estate and single variety for example Biolea from Crete, this produces a unique product of excellent quality.
World Production: The total production world wide is aprox. 1,250,000 tonnes per year. The main producers are gathered around the Mediterranean basin, but olives are also grown in Australia, California and other countries where the temperature remains high enough.
Spain 500,000-600,000 tonnes
Italy 300,000-350,000 tonnes
Greece 200,000-300,000 tonnes
Tunisia 70,000-80,000 tonnes
Portugal 35,000-40,000 tonnes
Which oil tastes the best? Similarly to wine this is a very personal thing, different oils suit different palates. There is far more diversity within olive oil than many people could ever imagine. Some oils are very fruity with undertones of melon, banana or lycee, this tends to apply to the Spanish oils. The Greek oils ten to be have deeper tones of olives and freshly cut grass. The best Italian oils tend to be very full bodied with a peppery finish.
To find out which oils you prefer taste has many as you can and remember that oils change their characteristics when heated. Again similarly to wine different oils are better suited to use with various foods.
Why use olive oil? It is necessary to include fat in a balanced diet as a source of energy, but which type of fat can have a direct bearing on health. For many years it has been well documented that in Mediterranean countries the number of people suffering from Coronary diseases is much lower than in Great Britain, this has been attributed to their diet. They tend to eat more fish, fresh fruit and vegetables than here and the main source of fat is olive oil rather than red meat.
Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat which has been shown to provide protection against the build up of cholesterol deposits, and reduce deposits already there. Olive oil is a completely natural untreated food and this provides other benefits, it is rich in antioxidants and vitamins which help prevent body cell ageing.
The oils can also be used on hands, hair and as a base for massage oil, just add your your favourite essential oil.
- The Olive Oil Information Bureau.