With so much talk about olive oil these days and the discovery that what is being sold in the stores as quality olive oil, is not really at all.
In the past, I used olive oil as just another ingredient, a way of adding flavor to my meals. I had no idea the beneficial properties extra virgin olive oil can have. Since the majority of us use olive oil daily, why then should we miss the opportunity to do something that is going to make us healthier? Quality extra virgin olive oil has antioxidants.
An extra virgin olive oil is "quality" if it has been produced in a certain way, has been stored in a certain way, and bottled in a certain way and if it has not been exposed to light or heat. The more exposure it has, the more it loses its beneficial qualities and flavor. The more robust the flavor, the greater the antioxidant properties.
If an EVOO is using olives from different areas in Italy for instance, chances are the processing time is longer. The best EVOO is milled the same day as olives are picked. Timing is everything.
I most recently saw a very famous gourmet retailer selling an EVOO that is not high quality. I know this because I saw the small print on the bottle, that although the name of the oil is called a name of a famous Tuscan region, in small print it says the olives do not come from that region!
Quality EVOO is expensive. Quality EVOO is from the latest harvest (in this case from Harvest 2010). Any old Harvest is not quality. The newer the oil, the better it is.
In the past, I used olive oil as just another ingredient, a way of adding flavor to my meals. I had no idea the beneficial properties extra virgin olive oil can have. Since the majority of us use olive oil daily, why then should we miss the opportunity to do something that is going to make us healthier? Quality extra virgin olive oil has antioxidants.
An extra virgin olive oil is "quality" if it has been produced in a certain way, has been stored in a certain way, and bottled in a certain way and if it has not been exposed to light or heat. The more exposure it has, the more it loses its beneficial qualities and flavor. The more robust the flavor, the greater the antioxidant properties.
If an EVOO is using olives from different areas in Italy for instance, chances are the processing time is longer. The best EVOO is milled the same day as olives are picked. Timing is everything.
I most recently saw a very famous gourmet retailer selling an EVOO that is not high quality. I know this because I saw the small print on the bottle, that although the name of the oil is called a name of a famous Tuscan region, in small print it says the olives do not come from that region!
Quality EVOO is expensive. Quality EVOO is from the latest harvest (in this case from Harvest 2010). Any old Harvest is not quality. The newer the oil, the better it is.
