The history of olive oil is as colorful and rich as the history of the world, paralleling the history of mankind in the Mediterranean.
Before 2000 BC, dynastic Egyptians imported olive oil from Crete, Syria and Canaan and oil was an important item of commerce and wealth. Remains of olive oil have been found in jugs over 4,000 years old in a tomb on the island of Naxos in the Aegean Sea.
The goddess Athena, in a well-known myth, gifted the city of Athens with an olive tree to become the guardian and patron goddess of the city. According to another myth, it was the Cretan Kouretes or spirit warrior, the Idaean Dactyl Heracles, who gifted the olive tree to Greece, by planting a wild olive tree in Olympia. He is also credited with inaugurating the Olympic Games and crowning winners at the games with an olive branch.
T.J. Robinson, the Olive Oil Hunter, notes that olive oil trees can live for thousands of years. “There are trees still bearing fruit today that may have supplied oil for the table of Julius Caesar.”
According to National Geographic, that luscious-looking olive, ripe off the sun-warmed tree, is horrible.
The substance that renders it essentially inedible is oleuropein, a phenolic compound bitter enough to shrivel your teeth. The bitterness is a protective mechanism for olives, useful for fending off invasive microorganisms and seed-crunching mammals. In the wild, olives are dispersed by birds, who avoid the bitterness issue by swallowing them whole.
Given the awfulness of the au natural olive, you can’t help but wonder why early humans, after the first appalling bite, didn’t shun the olive tree forever. Because olive oil. The olive is a drupe or stone fruit, like cherries, peaches, and plums, in which a fleshy outer covering surrounds a pit or stone, which in turn encases a seed. In the case of the olive, the outer flesh contains up to 30 percent oil—a concentration so impressive that the English word oil comes from the ancient Greek elaia, which means olive.
Olive oil is best known for its uses in food, yet it is also widely used for religious rituals, medicines, as a fuel in oil lamps, soap-making and skin care applications.
In 2013, world production of virgin olive oil was 2.8 million tonnes, a 20% decrease from the 2012 world production of 3.5 million tonnes. Spain produced 1.1 million tonnes or 39% of world production in 2013. Seventy-five percent of Spain's production derives from the region of Andalucía, particularly within Jaén province which produces 70% of olive oil in Spain. The world’s largest olive oil mill, capable of processing 2,500 tons of olives per day, is in the town of Villacarrillo, Jaén.
Although Italy is a net importer of olive oil, it produced 442,000 tonnes in 2013 or 16% of the world's production. Major Italian producers are known as "Città dell'Olio", "oil cities"; including Lucca, Florence and Siena, in Tuscany. The largest production, however, is harvested in Apulia and Calabria. Greece accounted for 11% of world production in 2013.
Olive oil is the main cooking oil in countries surrounding the Mediterranean, and it forms one of the three staple food plants of Mediterranean cuisine, the other two being wheat (as in pasta, bread, and couscous) and the grape, used as a dessert fruit and for wine.
Cooking with olive oil is known to have many benefits, however how you cook with it matters greatly. The higher the temperature the olive oil is heated to, the higher the risk of compromising its taste. When extra virgin olive oil is heated above 210–216 °C (410–421 °F), depending on its free fatty acid content, the unrefined particles within the oil are burned. This leads to deteriorated taste. Also, the pronounced taste of extra virgin olive oil is not a taste most people like to associate with their deep fried foods.
Choosing a cold-pressed olive oil can be similar to selecting a wine. The flavor of these oils varies considerably and a particular oil may be more suited for a particular dish.
An important issue often not realized in countries that do not produce olive oil is that the freshness makes a significant difference. A very fresh oil, as available in an oil producing region, tastes noticeably different from the older oils available elsewhere. In time, oils deteriorate and become stale. One-year-old oil may be still pleasant to the taste, but it is less fragrant than fresh oil.
If you happen to be in a wine region, you are most likely also in an olive oil region and many olive oil producers offer tasting rooms just like wineries and I highly recommend them.
After the first year, olive oil should be used for cooking, not for foods to be eaten cold, like salads or bread dipping.
Not unlike wine, the taste of the olive oil is influenced by the varietals used to produce the oil and by the moment when the olives are harvested and ground with less ripe olives give more bitter and spicy flavors – riper olives give a sweeter sensation in the oil.
Olive oil also has a long history of being used as a home remedy for skincare. Egyptians used it alongside beeswax as a cleanser, moisturizer, and antibacterial agent since pharaonic times. In ancient Greece, olive oil was used during massage, to prevent sports injuries, relieve muscle fatigue, and eliminate lactic acid buildup. In 2000, Japan was the top importer of olive oil in Asia (13,000 tons annually) because consumers there believe both the ingestion and topical application of olive oil to be good for skin and health. We discussed Cleopatra, the woman who never aged, and her adoration of olive oil and honey among other things in the article: Want to Look Like a Goddess? You’ve Got to go Skin Deep.
According to Olmsted, U.S. consumption is up 50% since the beginning of the 21st century as is the adulteration of olive oil, most commonly extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin contains sterols and the liposoluble vitamins A, D and E that have been attributed to protective and antioxidant action that may prevent artery-blocking deposits and cancer and slow the aging process. However adulterating olive oil not only dilutes any positive health affects, but it has also been shown to be harmful.
So we want to experience an amazing olive oil, how do we decide which one to buy?
Different names for olive oil indicate the degree of processing the oil has undergone as well as the quality of the oil. Extra-virgin olive oil is the highest grade available, followed by virgin olive oil. The word "virgin" indicates that the olives have been pressed to extract the oil; no heat or chemicals have been used during the extraction process, and the oil is pure and unrefined. Virgin olive oils contain the highest levels of polyphenols, antioxidants that have been linked with better health.
Olive Oil, which is sometimes denoted as being "Made from refined and virgin olive oils" is a blend of refined olive oil with a virgin grade of olive oil. Pure, Classic, Light and Extra-Light are terms introduced by manufacturers in countries that are non-traditional consumers of olive oil for these products to indicate both their composition of being only 100% olive oil, and also the varying strength of taste to consumers. Contrary to a common consumer belief, they do not have fewer calories than Extra-virgin oil as the names imply.
Cold pressed or Cold extraction means "that the oil was not heated over a certain temperature (usually 27 °C (80 °F)) during processing, thus retaining more nutrients and undergoing less degradation". The difference between Cold Extraction and Cold Pressed is regulated in Europe, where the use of a centrifuge, the modern method of extraction for large quantities, must be labeled as Cold Extracted, while only a physically pressed olive oil may be labeled as Cold Pressed. In many parts of the world, such as Australia, producers using centrifugal extraction still label their products as Cold Pressed.
First cold pressed means "that the fruit of the olive was crushed exactly one time-i.e., the first press. The cold refers to the temperature range of the fruit at the time it is crushed". In Calabria (Italy) the olives are collected in October. In regions like Tuscany or Liguria, the olives collected in November and ground often at night are too cold to be processed efficiently without heating. The paste is regularly heated above the environmental temperatures, which may be as low as 10–15 °C, to extract the oil efficiently with only physical means.
Olives pressed in warm regions like Southern Italy or Northern Africa may be pressed at significantly higher temperatures although not heated. While it is important that the pressing temperatures be as low as possible (generally below 25 °C) there is no international reliable definition of "cold pressed.”
Furthermore, there is no "second" press of virgin oil, so the term "first press" means only that the oil was produced in a press vs. other possible methods.
The grades of oil extracted from the olive fruit can be classified as:
Virgin means the oil was produced by the use of mechanical means only, with no chemical treatment. The term virgin oil with reference to production method includes all grades of virgin olive oil, including Extra Virgin, Virgin, Ordinary Virgin and Lampante Virgin olive oil products, depending on quality.
Lampante virgin oil is olive oil extracted by virgin (mechanical) methods but not suitable for human consumption without further refining; lampante is Italian for "glaring", referring to the earlier use of such oil for burning in lamps. Lampante virgin oil can be used for industrial purposes, or refined to make it edible.
Refined Olive Oil is the olive oil obtained from any grade of virgin olive oil by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceridic structure. The refining process removes color, odor and flavor from the olive oil, and leaves behind a very pure form of olive oil that is tasteless, colorless and odorless and extremely low in free fatty acids. Olive oils sold as the grades extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil therefore cannot contain any refined oil.
Crude Olive Pomace Oil is the oil obtained by treating olive pomace (the leftover paste after the pressing of olives for virgin olive oils) with solvents or other physical treatments, to the exclusion of oils obtained by re-esterification processes and of any mixture with oils of other kinds. It is then further refined into Refined Olive Pomace Oil and once re-blended with virgin olive oils for taste, is then known as Olive Pomace Oil.
In countries that adhere to the standards of the International Olive Council (IOC), as well as in Australia, and under the voluntary USDA labeling standards in the United States, the following standards apply:
Extra-virgin olive oil Comes from virgin oil production only, and is of higher quality: among other things, it contains no more than 0.8% free acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste, having some fruitiness and no defined sensory defects. Extra-virgin olive oil accounts for less than 10% of oil in many producing countries; the percentage is far higher in the Mediterranean countries (Greece: 80%, Italy: 65%, Spain 50%).
Virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, but is of slightly lower quality, with free acidity of up to 1.5%, and is judged to have a good taste, but may include some sensory defects.
Refined olive oil is the olive oil obtained from virgin olive oils by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceridic structure. It has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams (0.3%) and its other characteristics correspond to those fixed for this category in this standard. This is obtained by refining virgin olive oils with a high acidity level or organoleptic defects that are eliminated after refining. Note that no solvents have been used to extract the oil, but it has been refined with the use of charcoal and other chemical and physical filters. Oils labeled as Pure olive oil or Olive oil are primarily refined olive oil, with a small addition of virgin-production to give taste.
Olive pomace oil is refined pomace olive oil often blended with some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, but may not be described simply as olive oil. It has a more neutral flavor than pure or virgin olive oil, making it unfashionable among connoisseurs; however, it has the same fat composition as regular olive oil, giving it the same health benefits. It also has a high smoke point, and thus is widely used in restaurants as well as home cooking in some countries.
As the United States is not a member, the IOC retail grades have no legal meaning there, but on October 25, 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil, which closely parallel the IOC standards however in the U.S. they are voluntary and certification is available for fee.
U.S. Extra Virgin Olive Oil for oil with excellent flavor and odor and free fatty acid content of not more than 0.8 g per 100 g (0.8%);
U.S. Virgin Olive Oil for oil with reasonably good flavor and odor and free fatty acid content of not more than 2 g per 100 g (2%);
U.S. Virgin Olive Oil Not Fit For Human Consumption Without Further Processing is a virgin (mechanically-extracted) olive oil of poor flavor and odor, equivalent to the IOC's lampante oil;
U.S. Olive Oil is a mixture of virgin and refined oils;
U.S. Refined Olive Oil is an oil made from refined oils with some restrictions on the processing.
Even though there are strict regulations within the EU, the rules do not apply when oil is exported. Hence, many of the imported oils on the American retail shelf are mislabeled and contain adulterated oil.
If you are looking to really learn about olive oil and want to invest in the healthiest edition possible, then don’t buy olive oil at a grocery store because its likely fake. The Journal of Food Science showed that olive oil was the single most commonly referenced adulterated food of any type in scholarly articles from 1980-2010. We interviewed Larry Olmsted of the book Real Food Fake Food to hear about innumerable products that were being faked, “and when you go to the supermarket, you buy what's labeled extra virgin olive oil, which is the highest international standard for olive oil. And depending on which study, which expert, you cite, between 85 and 92 percent of the time, that olive oil is not extra virgin” and just because it says “bottled in Italy" doesn't necessarily mean "grown in Italy." You can find his book and listen to his fascinating interview here.
Journalist Tom Mueller has investigated crime and adulteration in the olive oil business, publishing the article "Slippery Business" in New Yorker magazine, followed by the 2011 book Extra Virginity. On 3 January 2016 Bill Whitaker presented a program on CBS News including interviews with Mueller and with Italian authorities. It was reported that in the previous month 5,000 tons of adulterated olive oil had been sold in Italy, and that organized crime was heavily involved—the term "Agrimafia" was used. The point was made by Mueller that the profit margin on adulterated olive oil was three times that on the illegal narcotic drug cocaine. He said that over 50% of olive oil sold in Italy was adulterated, as was 75-80% of that sold in the US. Whitaker reported that 3 samples of "extra virgin olive oil" had been bought in a US supermarket and tested; two of the three samples did not meet the required standard, and one of them—with a top-selling US brand—was exceptionally poor.
What is most disappointing is that if you’ve traditionally bought your olive oil at the grocery store, you’ve likely never tasted truly exquisite olive oil. No more! Life is too short!
Working with Larry Olmsted of Real Food Fake Food and based on my own olive oil obsession I have two great options for where to start your olive oil education. First, T.J. Robinson, the Olive Oil Hunter, is one of the world's most respected authorities on all matters olive oil. T.J. offers an extraordinary olive oil club offering three bottles quarterly from the finest selections available from around the world for each harvest season.
T.J.’s Olive Oil Club oils are accompanied by a “Pressing Report,” an extensive 20 page booklet describing the producers, olive varieties, regions, harvest and delivery details of your shipment. You will also receive our tasting notes for each oil, a game plan for an olive-oil tasting party, and suggestions for ways to enjoy each of the oils, emphasizing seasonal recipes and traditional uses. The club (which I am delighted to belong to) makes every quarter of the year a very special treat. Try the Olive Oil Club Here.
The second recommendation is my personal single-grove favorite, PJ Kabos. Tasting characteristics include aromas of green fruit, fresh grass, artichoke and notes of herbs. Taste exhibits abundant fruitiness, green grass, some sweetness, medium bitterness and pungency with notes of almonds, in an exceptional harmony, with high persistence and complexity.
A grove owned for several generations, the owner’s personal olive groves were trees lovingly planted by his father and his grandparents over 50 years ago. These trees are located in the surrounding area of Ancient Olympia, Greece, and produce the precious olive nectar of PJ KABOS.
The owners grandmother on his fathers side, Mrs. Maria, lived to the age of 103 and is perhaps one of the best examples of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet and PJ Kabos Extra virgin olive oil.
The premium quality is ensured by the care taken every single step of the way. It starts from the tender-love the groves need throughout the year, right up until the harvest, extraction, storage, bottling and transportation of the final product. The extraction happens just a few hours after the olives are harvested at a temperature of 28 degrees Celsius and storage takes place only in INOX stainless steel tanks under controlled temperature and constant Nitrogen pressure to protect from oxygen degradation of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Having started production just a few years ago, they have already won gold medals two years in a row from both New York International and the Los Angeles International olive oil competitions. Multiple award winning label 'PJ KABOS' Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made from hand-picked Koroneiki variety olives and is single press, COLD extracted, within 1 to 12 hours after the olive harvest. This year's harvest started on the 15th of November and finished on the 11th of December, 2016. The groves are located in the western Peloponnese region of Greece, near the site of ANCIENT OLYMPIA. PJ KABOS was voted 'One of the world's best olive oils' for 2015 & 2016.
Try a bottle for yourself, you will not be disappointed! PJ Kabos is an exquisite, boutique olive oil and it can be found on MoxieCreed.com.
Olive oil, as indulgent as it is healthy, nectar of kings, gladiators, queens and pharaohs, is not something you want to economize on. Moxify, reduce the inventory you have of unhealthy oils, and find yourself upgrading the standard of your food experiences for both your health and for the amazing flavor. Bon Appétit!
Have ideas you’d like to add? Need more suggestions? Let me know!
Julie Koester is CEO of Life with Moxie, a Lifestyle Revolution Company www.lifewithmoxie.com and Host of Life with Moxie Radio, Saturday’s at 1pm on 98.9 WGUF in Southwest Florida. You can reach her at Julie@lifewithmoxie.com
Passionate Living by Design, That’s Life with Moxie
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Photo credit: http://www.eleokarpos.com
Sources:
http://www.eleokarpos.com/en/ελιά-πολιτισμός/ιστορία/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/07/olives--the-bitter-truth/