A new commercial area that I walk in features a business named “Olio & Olive” at olioandolive.com. According to the website, it is an online retail gourmet store for high end Italian gastronomic products. Back in 2004, it started as an importer and distributor of top olive oils, serving fine restaurants, hotels and specialty shops. Since the pandemic started, I have been cooking a lot more at home and using a lot more olive oil. I was surprised when the large bottle of olive oil I purchased disappeared quickly — and I am just cooking for one person. I have roasted a lot more vegetables than I did pre-pandemic — roasted rosemary potatoes, roasted cauliflower with gruyère and parmesan cheese, roasted spicy carrots, roasted asparagus, roasted sugar snap peas with parmesan and panko bread crumbs, roasted tomatoes, squash, zucchini, onions, etc. All that roasting requires olive oil. At a high-end olive oil shop I went to in Charleston you could taste a wide variety of olive oils before buying them. I really don’t have a discerning palate; couldn’t tell much difference. But I do love the flavor that olive oil gives to roasted veggies. Will have to admit that even though I have used olive oil a lot, I really don’t know much about it. Let’s find out.
According to Wikipedia, olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives, a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking, for frying foods or as a salad dressing. It is also used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and soaps, and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps, and has additional uses in some religions. The olive is one of three core food plants in Mediterranean cuisine; the other two are wheat and grapes. Olive trees have been grown around the Mediterranean since the 8th millennium BC.
The top five producers of olive oil by volume are Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Greece and Turkey. Per capita consumption is highest in Greece, followed by Italy and Spain.
The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, altitude, time of harvest and extraction process. It consists mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%) with smaller amounts of other fatty acids including linoleic acid (up to 21%) and palmitic acid (up to 20%). Extra virgin olive oil is required to have no more than 0.8% free acidity and is considered to have favorable flavor characteristics.
History
Olive oil has long been a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, including ancient Greek and Roman cuisine. Wild olives, which originated in Asia Minor, were collected by Neolithic people as early as the 8th millennium BC. Besides food, olive oil has been used for religious rituals, medicines, as a fuel in oil lamps, soap-making and skin care application. The Spartans and other Greeks used oil to rub themselves while exercising in the gymnasia. From its beginnings early in the 7th century BC, the cosmetic use of olive oil quickly spread to all of the Hellenic city states, together with athletes training in the nude, and lasted close to a thousand years despite its great expense. Olive oil was also popular as a form of birth control; Aristotle in his “History of Animals” recommends applying a mixture of olive oil combined with either oil of cedar, ointment of lead or ointment of frankincense to the cervix to prevent pregnancy.
Early cultivation
It is not clear when and where olive trees were first domesticated. The modern olive tree most likely originated in ancient Persia and Mesopotamia and spread to the Levant and later to North Africa, though some scholars argue for an Egyptian origin.
The olive tree reached Greece, Carthage and Libya sometime in the 28th century BC, having been spread westward by the Phoenicians. Until around 1500 BC, eastern coastal areas of the Mediterranean were most heavily cultivated. Evidence also suggests that olives were being grown in Crete as long ago as 2500 BC. The earliest surviving olive oil amphorae date to 3500 BC — Early Minoan times — though the production of olive oil is assumed to have started before 4000 BC. Olive trees were certainly cultivated by the Late Minoan period in 1500 BC in Crete, and perhaps as early as the Early Minoan. The cultivation of olive trees in Crete became particularly intense in the post-palatial period and played an important role in the island's economy, as it did across the Mediterranean. Later, as Greek colonies were established in other parts of the Mediterranean, olive farming was introduced to places like Spain and continued to spread throughout the Roman empire.
Olive trees were introduced to the Americas in the 16th century AD when cultivation began in areas that enjoyed a climate similar to the Mediterranean such as Chile, Argentina and California.
Recent genetic studies suggest that species used by modern cultivators descend from multiple wild populations, but a detailed history of domestication is not yet forthcoming.
Trade and production
Archaeological evidence shows that by 6000 BC olives were being turned into olive oil and by 4500 BC at a now-submerged prehistoric settlement south of Haifa.
Olive trees and oil production in the Eastern Mediterranean can be traced to archives of the ancient city-state Ebla — 2600–2240 BC, which were located on the outskirts of the Syrian city Aleppo. Here some dozen documents dated 2400 BC describe lands of the king and the queen. These belonged to a library of clay tablets perfectly preserved by having been baked in the fire that destroyed the palace. A later source is the frequent mentions of oil in the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible.
Dynastic Egyptians before 2000 BC 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. Sinuhe — the Egyptian exile who lived in northern Canaan about 1960 BC — wrote of abundant olive trees. The Minoans used olive oil in religious ceremonies. The oil became a principal product of the Minoan civilization, where it is thought to have represented wealth.
Olive oil was also a major export of Mycenaean Greece c. 1450–1150 BC. Scholars believe the oil was made by a process where olives were placed in woven mats and squeezed. The oil collected in vats. This process was known from the Bronze Age and has been used by the Egyptians and continued to be used through the Hellenistic period.
The importance of olive oil as a commercial commodity increased after the Roman conquest of Egypt, Greece and Asia Minor led to more trade along the Mediterranean. Olive trees were planted throughout the entire Mediterranean basin during the evolution of the Roman republic and epire. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, Italy had "excellent olive oil at reasonable prices" by the 1st century AD — "the best in the Mediterranean". As olive production expanded in the 5th century AD, the Romans began to employ more sophisticated production techniques like the olive press and trapetum pictured on the left. Many ancient presses still exist in the Eastern Mediterranean region, and some dating to the Roman period are still in use today. Productivity was greatly improved by Joseph Graham's development of the hydraulic pressing system developed in 1795.
Symbolism and mythology The olive tree has historically been a symbol of peace between nations. It has played a religious and social role in Greek mythology, especially concerning the name of the city of Athens where the city was named after the goddess Athena because her gift of an olive tree was held to be more precious than rival Poseidon's gift of a salt spring.
Culinary use Olive oil is an important 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. Extra virgin olive oil is mostly used as a salad dressing and as an ingredient in salad dressings. It is also used with foods to be eaten cold. If uncompromised by heat, the flavor is stronger. It also can be used for sautéing. When extra virgin olive oil is heated above 410–421 °F — depending on its free fatty acid content — the unrefined particles within the oil are burned. This leads to deteriorated taste. Refined olive oils are suited for deep frying because of the higher smoke point and milder flavor. Extra virgin oils have a smoke point around 356–419 °F, with higher-quality oils having a higher smoke point, whereas refined light olive oil has a smoke point up to 446 °F. It is a popular myth that high-quality extra virgin olive oil is a poor choice for cooking, as its smoke point is above the temperatures required for cooking and has greater resistance to oxidation than most other cooking oils, as a result of its antioxidant and mono-unsaturated fat content.
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.
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. After the first year, olive oil is more suitable for cooking than serving raw.
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. Less ripe olives give more bitter and spicy flavors; riper olives give a sweeter sensation in the oil.
Christianity use The Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches use olive oil for the Oil of Catechumens used to bless and strengthen those preparing for Baptism and Oil of the Sick used to confer the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick or Unction. Olive oil mixed with a perfuming agent such as balsam is consecrated by bishops as Sacred Chrism, which is used to confer the sacrament of Confirmation as a symbol of the strengthening of the Holy Spirit, in the rites of baptism and the ordination of priests and bishops, in the consecration of altars and churches and traditionally, in the anointing of monarchs at their coronation.
Eastern Orthodox Christians still use oil lamps in their churches, home prayer corners and in the cemeteries. A vigil lamp consists of a votive glass containing a half-inch of water and filled the rest with olive oil. The glass has a metal holder that hangs from a bracket on the wall or sits on a table. A cork float with a lit wick floats on the oil. To douse the flame, the float is carefully pressed down into the oil. Makeshift oil lamps can easily be made by soaking a ball of cotton in olive oil and forming it into a peak. The peak is lit and then burns until all the oil is consumed, whereupon the rest of the cotton burns out. Olive oil is a usual offering to churches and cemeteries. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses virgin olive oil that has been blessed by the priesthood. This consecrated oil is used for anointing the sick. Iglesia ni Cristo uses olive oil to anoint sick — in Filipino: "Pagpapahid ng Langis;" it is blessed by minister or deacon by prayer before anointing the sick. After anointing, the elder prays for Thanksgiving.
Judaism use In Jewish observance, olive oil was the only fuel allowed to be used in the seven-branched menorah in the Mishkan service during the exodus of the tribes of Israel from Egypt, and later in the permanent temple in Jerusalem. It was obtained by using only the first drop from a squeezed olive and was consecrated for use only in the temple by the priests and stored in special containers. In modern times, although candles can be used to light the menorah at Hanukkah, oil containers are preferred, to imitate the original menorah. Olive oil was also used to prepare the holy anointing oil used for priests, kings, prophets and others.
Skin care use One study found that olive oil lowered the risk of dermatitis for infants in all gestational stages when compared with emollient cream, while another study of adults found that topical treatment with olive oil "significantly damages the skin barrier" when compared to sunflower oil, and that it may make existing atopic dermatitis worse. The researchers concluded that due to the negative outcome in adults, they do not recommend the use of olive oil for the treatment of dry skin and infant massage. Applying olive oil to the skin does not help prevent or reduce stretch marks.
Other uses Olive oil is also a natural and safe lubricant and can be used to lubricate kitchen machinery like grinders, blenders, cookware, etc. It can also be used for illumination in oil lamps or as the base for soaps and detergents. Some cosmetics also use olive oil as their base, and it can be used as a substitute for machine oil. Olive oil has also been used as both solvent and ligand in the synthesis of cadmium selenide quantum dots. The Ranieri Filo della Torre is an international literary prize for writings about extra virgin olive oil. Annually, it honors poetry, fiction and nonfiction about extra virgin olive oil.
Production In 2016/17, world production of virgin olive oil was 2,586,500 tons, an 18.6% decrease under 2015/16 global production. Spain produced 1,290,600 tons or 50% of world production. The next six largest producers — Greece, Italy, Turkey, Moocco, Syria and Tunisia — collectively produced 70% of Spain's annual total. In the EU, Eurostat reported in 2007 that there were 1.9 million farms with olive groves. The olive sector is characterized by a large number of small operations. The largest holdings are in Andalucía in Spain and Alentejo in Portugal while the smallest are located in Cyprus, Apulia and Crete. Some 75% of Spain's production derives from the region of Andalucía, particularly within Jaén province which produces 70% of the olive oil in Spain. The world's largest olive oil mill — almazara in Spanish, capable of processing 2,500 tons of olives per day — is in the town of Villacarrillo, Jaén. In 2016/2017 Greece was the second largest producer of olive oil with 195,000 tons produced. As of 2009, there were 531,000 farms cultivating 1,800,000 acres from 132 million trees producing 310–350,000 tons of olive oil. Italy produced 182,300 tons in 2016/17 or 7.6% of the world's production. Even though the production can change from year to year, usually major Italian producers are the regions of Calabria and, above all, Apulia.
Labeling standards In countries that adhere to the standards of the International Olive Council, as well as in Australia and under the voluntary United States Department of Agriculture labeling standards in the United States: Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade of virgin oil derived by cold mechanical extraction without use of solvents or refining methods. 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 is a lesser grade of virgin oil, with free acidity of up to 2.0% and is judged to have a good taste but may include some sensory defects. Refined olive oil is virgin oil that has been refined using charcoal and other chemical and physical filters, methods which do not alter the glyceridic structure. It has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams, and its other characteristics correspond to those fixed for this category in this standard. It is obtained by refining virgin oils to eliminate high acidity or organoleptic defects. Oils labeled as “Pure olive oil” or “Olive oil” are primarily refined olive oil, with a small addition of virgin for 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.
Crime 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 January 3, 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 U.S. Whitaker reported that three samples of "extra virgin olive oil" had been bought in a U.S. supermarket and tested; two of the three samples did not meet the required standard, and one of them — a top-selling U.S. brand — was exceptionally poor. In early February 2017, the Carabinieri arrested 33 suspects in the Calabrian mafia's Piromalli ‘ndrina or ‘Ndrangheta which was allegedly exporting fake extra virgin olive oil to the U.S.; the product was actually inexpensive olive pomace oil fraudulently labeled. Less than a year earlier, the American television program “60 Minutes” had warned that "the olive oil business has been corrupted by the mafia" and that "Agromafia" was a $16 billion per year enterprise. A Carabinieri investigator interviewed on the program said that "olive oil fraud has gone on for the better part of four millennia" but today, it's particularly "easy for the bad guys to either introduce adulterated olive oils or mix in lower quality olive oils with extra-virgin olive oil." Weeks later, a report by Forbes stated that "it's reliably reported that 80% of the Italian olive oil on the market is fraudulent" and that "a massive olive oil scandal is being uncovered in Southern Italy — Puglia, Umbria and Campania."
Potential health effects
In the United States, the Food & Drug Administration allows producers of olive oil to place the following qualified health claim on product labels:
Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 2 tbsp. or 23 g of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the overall number of calories consumed in a day.
In a review by the European Food Safety Authority in 2011, health claims on olive oil were approved for protection by its polyphenols against oxidation of blood lipids, and for maintenance of normal blood LDL-cholesterol levels by replacing saturated fats in the diet with oleic acid. Despite its approval, the EFSA has noted that a definitive cause-and-effect relationship has not been adequately established for consumption of olive oil and maintaining normal blood concentrations of triglycerides, normal blood HDL-cholesterol concentrations and normal blood glucose concentrations.
A 2014 meta-analysis concluded that increased consumption of olive oil was associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events and stroke, while monounsaturated fatty acids of mixed animal and plant origin showed no significant effects. Another meta-analysis in 2018 found high-polyphenol olive oil intake was associated with improved measures of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, malondialdehyde and oxidized LDL when compared to low-polyphenol olive oils, although it recommended longer studies and more investigation of non-Mediterranean populations.
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