Montecastelli Selections The ABC’s of Olive Oil - Look out for the harvest date! Serious producers print this information on the back label. Only the harvest date guarantees freshest olive oil, and should not be dating back more than 18 months previous to purchasing this oil. Only best oils can stay fresh for up to 24 months with perfect storage conditions.
- Perfect storage for olive oil is not in the fridge, nor close to the stove. Olive oil is a fresh food, and subject to oxidation. Keep away from heat, sunlight, store best at around 60-65°F. Buy smaller containers to help prevent oxidation.
 Look for geographic identification! Only oils with a precise origin can claim to be beneficial to health and carry their full flavor. European oils have established a DOP system (Denomination with Certificate of Origin) that guarantees where olives are grown, controls the actual farming, milling and bottling process. A lesser appellation is the IGP seal, though still reliable. A top olive oil shall carry the NAME and ADRESS of the producer, as well as the statement that it is PRODUCED AND BOTTLED or ESTATE BOTTLED. Everything else is blended oil without a clear origin.
 For olive oils produced in the US look for COOC (California Olive Oil Council) certification. Or look for a gold medal winner of the Los Angeles County fair, the most prestigious award an olive oil can receive in the US.
- Is Extra Virgin still a guarantee for good quality? NO, Extra Virgin means hardly anything, it just refers to the oil passing a lab test with a certificate of less than 0.8% oleic acidity. Good oils have between 0.1% and 0.25% of acidity!
- Does First Cold Press mean anything? Again, to know that the oil you buy is from a non heated extracting process may be good, but nobody certifies this statement, thus it becomes meaningless – any maker of oil may state so. Using today’s extraction techniques all oils should be from the first press, secondary extraction results in lamp oil and other bio chemical products which I would not recommend for personal consumption. Thus the term ‘First Cold Press’ is obsolete.
- Olive Oil is a fresh food and best farming methods guarantee longest life and health of this product! Look for possible organic or bio-dynamic certification represented by the following symbols:
 or  or other European certification agencies.
- And last but not least - the price: don’t buy it if it seems too good to be true!
In order to produce healthy olives, it takes some effort! A farmer may achieve for bulk sales in Europe between €4 (Puglia) and €10 (high altitude oil from Tuscany or Liguria) per kilogram. This cost plus bottling, transport, customs, administrational costs, importer charges, local transport, warehouse and delivery charges and mark-up of a local store result in a minimum price of around $10/bottle of 17 oz or 500 ml, with quality oil more likely to be priced above $15 per bottle. Expect to pay a premium for organic oil or appellation oil. Oil from higher altitude olive grove usually fetches the highest prices, because these oils have the most antioxidants and last the longest. - Lower priced oils? Just remember the term olive oil is not a protected food category! Anything that is deriving from vegetable matter and of less than 0.8% of acidity may be sold as olive oil. Do not pay too much for a disguised corn oil and rapeseed oil, just because it carries the label olive oil.
Key Factors of healthy olive oil: - Olive Oil is rich in antioxidants or polyphenols, up to 5 mg for 10 g of olive oil. Most other oils have no antioxidants at all.
- Olive Oil is high in mono and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats (a Oleic Acid) help increase levels of the good cholesterol (HDL) which in turn helps to fight the bad cholesterol (LDL). Olive oil has the highest percentage (about 77%) of monounsaturated fat of any edible oil. Omega-3 fatty acid is a type of polyunsaturated fat (a Linoleic Acid) that is especially healthy. Omega-3 fatty acids help to reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, guard against plaque buildup in the arteries, and aid in brain development.
- Olive oil is beneficial for skin and hair. Overly dry skin or sun damaged skin can be soothed with the application of olive oil. Olive Oil based soaps and cosmetics are very popular recently! Olive oil promotes shiny and full-bodied hair and a healthy scalp.
- Studies have indicated that olive oil may reduce some of the effects of aging. It helps with digestion and the absorption of nutrients. It helps to maintain healthy bones and prevents calcium loss. The natural antioxidants in olive oil may even help to maintain mental faculties for a longer period.
Cooking with Olive Oil - Good Olive Oil’s most important quality is its capacity to enhances flavors of other ingredients used in the cooking process. It harmonizes a dish and adds a special note of freshness to the preparation.
- Olive oil is the most resistant oil of all vegetable oils against oxidation and hydrogenation, thus heating olive oil does not turn it into a trans-fat! Heating may only result in a loss of aromas and flavor, but not in the loss of its nutritional values.
- Olive Oil is best used as a frying and finishing oil. Due to its high smoke point (410°F) you can safely fry and deep fry all Mediterranean garden produce, fish, and meats. The best olive oils are often used by the top chefs as finishing oils after plating, to dress and enhance flavors of their creation.
- You may also use olive oil for under oil preservation of dried tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and other garden produce, as well as soft cheeses. Make sure that if you do so to parboil or flash heat all ingredients (also herbs added for flavor!) previous to putting them under oil (to avoid Botulism)
- Dipping oil. Recently it has become fashionable to substitute butter at the table with olive oil and to offer various flavored oils as a bread dip. This is not entirely Italian, but it captures in essence Olive Oil’s relationship to bread: most breads taste delicious with olive oil, see the Italian Focaccia and Pizza. Baking bread with olive oil and or adding olive oil after the baking process on top of the baked goods is an Italian must.
- Salad dressing and veggie dipping: dressing salad with olive oil is a classic, add some balsamic vinegar and sea salt and your daily portion of greens turn ito a symphony! Instead of bread, you may also cut up raw vegetables and dip them ‘pinzimonio’ (just best olive oil) or ‘bagna cauda’ (with anchovies and garlic) style in tasty olive oil.
Links: http://www.oliveoilsource.com/ |
Detail of watercolor by artist Lindsay Megarrity
16th Century print of the olive pressing process
Diagrammatic etching of olive
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