Olive Oil Facts

A Brief History
Olive oil dates back more than 6,000 years to the countries in the Mediterranean.  Olive farming spread beyond the Mediterranean with the discovery of America in 1492 when olive trees were carried from Spain to the American Continent.  By 1560, olive groves were being cultivated in Mexico, Peru, California, Argentina and Chile.

What is Olive Oil?
Olive oil is technically a fruit juice which sets it apart from other processed cooking oils.  Virgin olive oil is the only edible oil that is extracted from a fresh fruit and consumed raw while keeping all its components and qualities.  Olive oil is simply 'juiced' when it is pressed and the oil separated from the watery and solid parts of the fruit

Varieties of Olive Oil

Olive oil is very similar to wine in that it is made from different varieties of olives like wine is made from different varieties of grapes.  Each olive variety has its own unique characteristics that make its flavor different from the others.  Just like a merlot is soft and fruity and a cabernet is rich and tannic, single varietal olive oils are also different from each other and a particular oil may be more suited for a particular dish.  There are hundreds of olive varieties cultivated in the world.  Arbequina and Picual are two of the most common olive varieties used in olive oils from Chile.

• ARBEQUINA is an olive of Spanish origin, originally from the town of Arbeca in Spain.  The fruit are very small, about the size of a large sweet pea.  The oil made from Arbequina olives tastes of almonds, green apples, tomato leaves and green vegetables.  It is very smooth in the mouth with a sweet finish.  It is a fresh oil that combines perfectly with salads, vegetables, fresh or cooked, and grilled poultry and seafood.
• PICUAL is also an olive of Spanish origin and accounts for 50% of the production in Spain, and therefore about 20% of world production.  The Picual olive has a distinctive shape with a marked point at the end of the fruit, so its name comes from the Spanish word “pico” meaning "peak" or "point”.  Picual is one of the most stable olive oils in the world and it stands up well to high heat during cooking.  The flavor of Picual oil is very distinct and intense with a peppery "bite" in the back of the throat.  This oil is best used in frying or cooking meats and stews.

Health Benefits

Olive oil is one of the healthiest products you can consume.  Olive oil typically has about a 75% monounsaturated fat content which reduces the level of bad cholesterol and increases the level of good cholesterol in your body.  Research shows that olive oil, when used in place of saturated fat in a well-balanced diet, may actually reduce the risk of heart disease.

Extra virgin olive oil helps fight breast cancer.  Check out the latest research from Barcelona.  Another study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1998 also showed that consumption of olive oil helps reduce women’s chances of developing breast cancer.

Research shows that olive oil can be more easily digested than any other edible fat or oil which explains the lower incidences of gallstones and kidney stones that have been reported in countries where people consume more olive oil as part of their daily diet.

Olive oils also contain antioxidants, polyphenols and Vitamins A and E, all of which increase longevity.  Antioxidants help protect the body from harmful molecules called “free radicals”.   Polyphenols help repair the damage to cell membranes from cigarette smoke, pollution, alcohol and the sun.  Vitamin A helps in the formation of bones and teeth and enhances immunities to colds, flu and infections.  Vitamin E prevents arteriosclerosis and helps to reduce blood pressure. 

Buying Tips

Check the date of bottling or use by date on olive oil before you buy it.  Unlike wines, olive oils deteriorate over time.  A very fresh olive oil tastes noticeably different from an older oil.  Olive oils are generally good for two years after bottling.

Also, be aware that many olive oils on the shelf today are not really 100% olive oil and are probably not 100% extra virgin olive oil either.  A 1996 study by the US FDA found that 96% of the olive oils they tested from the US market, labeled as 100% olive oil, had been diluted with other oils.  In Italy in 2008, there were two high-profile busts of adulterated Italian olive oil.  This “fraudulent” product is on our store shelves mainly because terms such as “extra virgin” may be used without legal restriction in the US.  The US is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), which defines quality standards and monitors the authenticity of olive oil, and therefore the US does not legally recognize the IOOC classifications like extra virgin.  The IOOC definition of extra virgin olive oil is that it “comes from virgin oil production only, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have superior taste”.  Extra virgin olive oil accounts for less than 10% of all olive oil in many producing countries, so how can we have so many extra virgin olive oil bottles on our shelves today?

The best indicator of real extra virgin olive oil is price.  Most true extra virgin olive oils from Italy run $20 to $40 for a 500ml bottle.  You should expect to pay at least $15-$20 for a 500ml bottle to really get 100% extra virgin olive oil.  The olive oils that you see at $5-$10 per liter are likely not 100% olive oil or 100% extra virgin.  Experts contend that olive oil is too difficult and costly to produce to allow for such low prices.

Also, learn about the producer of the products you are buying.  Are they a reputable company?  Our producer Las Doscientas does not and will not use anything other than true extra virgin olive oil in their products.  They follow all of the international standards for processing extra virgin olive oil and submit their olive oils to independent testing each year.  

Tasting Guide

1. Pour about 1 oz of oil into a glass similar to a wine glass.  Cover the glass with one hand while you hold the bowl of the glass in the other hand.  This helps warm the oil to bring out the aromas.
2. Swirl the oil to release its aromas.  Uncover the glass and quickly smell the oil.  Aroma is the key to the fruitiness of the oil.
3. Sip the oil.  Move the oil all around the inside of your mouth but don't swallow it just yet.  Let the oil touch the tip, sides and back of your tongue.  This will allow you to sense the four major sensations: sweetness, saltiness, acidity and bitterness.
4. With the oil still in your mouth, breathe in sharply to make the oil bubble along your tongue as the air moves over it and spreads it around your mouth as finer particles. This will truly bring out the more subtle tastes in the oil as it stimulates the back of your throat and nose.
5. Swallow the oil.  Notice if there is a peppery or stinging sensation in your throat.  Some oils, if they have a pungent quality, will have a spicy and peppery sensation or “bite” which may make you cough.  This is a good quality when in moderation, so be prepared for a little bite from some oils.

Here are some of the ways
you can describe the olive oils you taste:

• Fruity - Sensations that are perceived by smell or taste and are characteristic of fresh olive fruit, either ripe or unripe.  Fruity sensations could include: a smell of raw almonds, fresh green apples, sweet flowers, freshly mown grass, olive or tomato leaves, sweet peppers and/or a smell or taste of artichoke, nuts or unripe green fruit.
• Bitter – Characteristic of oil obtained from unripe (green) olives and is perceived on the back of the tongue. It is both a positive and negative characteristic that is an important part of an oil’s balance of flavors.
• Pungent – Peppery sensation perceived at back of the throat that is indicative of the oil’s freshness.  A peppery sensation will often make you cough.  This can also be a negative characteristic of pressing unripe olives.

• Greasy, musty, rancid, watery or vinegary.  The presence of these characteristics means that the oil was processed or handled incorrectly and it should not be consumed.

Now go ahead and impress your friends with how you can describe an olive oil!

Here are a few sources for more information on olive oil:
International Olive Oil Council: www.internationaloliveoil.org