Olive oil
Encyclopedia : O : OL : OLI : Olive oil
Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the Olive tree (Olea europaea L.), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is used in cooking, cosmetics, soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps. Olive oil is regarded as a healthful dietary oil because of its high content of monounsaturated fat (mainly Oleic acid) and polyphenols.
Grades and classification
The International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) sets standards of quality used by the major olive oil producing countries. It officially governs 95 percent of international production, and holds great influence over the rest. IOOC terminology is precise, but it can lead to confusion between the words that describe production and the words used on retail labels. Olive oil is classified by how it was produced, by its chemistry, and by its flavor. All production begins by transforming the olive fruit into olive paste. This paste is then malaxed to allow the microscopic oil droplets to concentrate. The oil is extracted by means of pressure (traditional method) or centrifugation (modern method). After extraction the remnant solid substance, called pomace, still contains a small quantity of oil.
Industrial grades
The several oils extracted from the olive fruit can be classified as:
- Virgin means the oil was produced by the use of physical means and no chemical treatment. The term virgin oil referring to production is different from Virgin Oil on a retail label (see next section).
- Refined means that the oil has been chemically treated to neutralize strong tastes (characterized as defects) and neutralize the acid content (free fatty acids). Refined oil is commonly regarded as lower quality than virgin oil; the retail labels extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil cannot contain any refined oil.
- Pomace olive oil means oil extracted from the pomace using chemical solvents — mostly hexane — and by heat.
In order to classify olive oil by taste, it is subjectively judged by a panel of professional tasters in a blind taste test. This is also called its organoleptic quality.
Retail grades
The IOOC [standards] are complicated. The labels in stores, however, clearly show an oil's grade:
- Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil.
- Virgin olive oil with an acidity less than 2%, and judged to have a good taste. There can be no refined oil in virgin olive oil.
- Olive oil is a blend of virgin oil and refined virgin oil, containing at most 1% acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor.
- Olive-pomace oil is a blend of refined pomace olive oil and possibly some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, but it may not be called olive oil. Olive-pomace oil is rarely found in a grocery store; it is often used for certain kinds of cooking in restaurants.
- Lampante oil is olive oil not used for consumption; lampante comes from olive oil's ancient use as fuel in oil-burning lamps. Lampante oil is mostly used in the industrial market.
Label wording
Olive oil vendors choose the wording on their labels very carefully.
- "Imported from Italy" produces an impression that the olives were grown in Italy, although in fact it only means that the oil was bottled there. A corner of the same label may note that the oil was packed in Italy with olives grown in Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia. Since Spain produces nearly half of the world's olive harvest, it is likely the oil "imported from Italy" comes from olives grown in Spain.
- "100% Pure Olive Oil" sounds like a high-end product, but in fact is often the lowest quality available in a retail store: better grades would have "virgin" on the label.
- "Made from refined olive oils" suggests that the essence was captured, but in fact means that the taste and acidity were chemically produced.
- "Lite olive oil" suggests a low fat content, whereas in fact it refers to a lighter color. All olive oil—which is, after all, fat—has 120 Calories per tablespoon (33 kJ/ml).
- "From hand-picked olives" gives the impression that extraordinary care went into the oil's production, whereas it is not clear that a manual harvest produces better oil than the common tree-shaking method.
- "First cold press" the oil in bottles with this label is the first oil that came from the first press of the olives. The word "cold" is important because if heat is used the olive oil's chemistry is changed.
The market
The International Olive Oil Council is an inter-governmental organization based in Madrid, Spain that promotes olive oil around the world by tracking production, defining quality standards, and monitoring authenticity. More than 85% of the world's olives grow in the 23 nations that are members of the Council.International Olive Oil Council [membership list]
The United States is not a member of the IOOC, and the United States Department of Agriculture does not legally recognize its classifications (such as extra-virgin olive oil). The USDA uses a different system, which it defined in 1948 before the IOOC existed. [The California Olive Oil Council], a private US trade group, is petitioning the Department to adopt terminology and practices that shadow the IOOC's rules.United States Department of Agriculture [Site]
Among global producers, Spain leads with more than 40% of world production, followed by Italy and Greece. Much of the Spanish crop is exported to Italy, where it is both consumed and repackaged for sale abroad as Italian olive oil. Although boutique groceries sell high-quality Spanish olive oil at a premium, Italian olive oil has the popular reputation for quality. However, chefs will often attest to the superior qualities of Greek olive oil. Incidentally, of these three competitors, Greece has the longest tradition of using the olive tree as a food source.
Global olive oil market
The main producing countries in 2003 were:United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [Site]
| Country | Production | Consumption | Annual Per Capita Consumption (kg)"California and World Olive Oil Statistics"" [PDF] at UC Davis. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 44% | 23% | 13.62 | |
| Italy | 20% | 28% | 12.35 | |
| Greece | 13% | 11% | 23.7 | |
| Turkey | 7% | 2% | ||
| Syria | 7% | 4% | 6 | |
| North Africa (mainly Tunisia and Morocco) | 4% | 4% | 10.9 | |
| Portugal | 1.6% | 3% | 7.1 | |
| United States | nil | 8% | 0.56 | |
| France | nil | 4% | 1.34 | |
| Other | 5% | 16% |
Olive oil extraction
Main article Olive oil extraction
Traditionally, olive oil was produced by beating the trees with sticks to knock the olives off and crushing them in stone or wooden mortars or beam presses. Nowadays, olives are ground to tiny bits, obtaining a paste that is mixed with water and processed by a centrifuge, which extracts the oil from the paste, leaving behind pomace.
Relation to human health
In the United States, producers of olive oil may place the following health claim on product labels:
- Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about two tablespoons (23 grams) 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 total number of calories you eat in a day.United States Food and Drug Administration [Site]
A health study in 2005 compared the effects of different sorts of olive oil on arterial elasticity. Probands were given a serving of 60 grams of white bread and 40 milliliters of olive oil each morning for two consecutive days. The study was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, the probands received polyphenol-rich oil ("extra virgin" oil contains the highest amount of polyphenol antioxidants), during the second, they received oil with only one fifth the phenolic content. The elasticity of the arterial walls of each proband was measured using a pressure sleeve and a Doppler laser. It was discovered that after the probands had consumed olive oil high in polyphenol antioxidants, they exhibited increased arterial elasticity, while after the consumption of olive oil containing less polyphenols, they exhibited no significant change in arterial elasticity. It is supposed that, in the long term, increased elasticity of arterial walls reduces vascular stress and consequentially the risk of two common causes of death - heart attacks and stroke. This could, at least in part, explain the lower incidence of both ailments in regions where olive oil and olives are consumed on a daily basis.
In addition to the internal health benefits of olive oil, topical application is quite popular with fans of natural health remedies. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is the preferred grade for moisturizing the skin, especially when used in the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM). OCM is a method of cleansing and moisturizing the face with a mixture of EVOO, castor oil (or another suitable carrier oil) and a select blend of essential oils.
Olive oil in history
Besides food, olive oil has been used for medicines, as a fuel in oil lamps, to make soap, and as bodily decoration. The importance and antiquity of olive oil can be seen in the fact that the word "oil" actually derives from the same root as "olive".Middle East
The first official documentation [link] regarding olive trees and oil production was found in the archives of the ancient city-state Ebla, around a dozen documents, dated 2400 BC, describing lands in the property 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. Many of the tablets dealt with administrative and commercial affairs. The tablets that have been consolidated by fire included the first known bilingual dictionary. These tablets use cuneiform script and are written in many languages. The kingdom of Ebla (2600-2240 BC) was located on the outskirts of the Syrian city Aleppo.Olive Oil was also used by the ancient Hebrews. Olive oil of the highest purity was poured daily into the seven cups of the golden candelabrum (called the Menorah) in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Olive oil was also used for anointing the kings of Kingdom of Israel. From this ritual of anointing, the expected savior of the Jews is called the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ "anointed one" -- mashiach). The word Christ (Greek Χριστός, Khristos, "the anointed one") is a literal translation of "mashiach".
Greece
Another instance of olive oil use is in religious ceremonies of the ancient Minoans. The oil was a principal product of the Minoan civilization, where it is thought to have represented wealth. The Minoans put the pulp into settling tanks and, when the oil had risen to the top, drained the water from the bottom. It was also very common in the cuisine of Ancient Greece and classical Rome. According to legend, the city of Athens obtained its name because Athenians considered olive oil more essential than water, thus preferring the offering of the goddess Athena (an olive tree) over the offering of Poseidon (a spring of water gushing out of a cliff).The Spartans were the first Greeks to use the oil to annoint themselves while taking exercise in the gymnasia. The practice was intended to eroticise and highlight the beauty of the male body. From its beginnings early in the seventh century BC the decorative use of olive oil quickly spread to all of Greece, together with naked athletics, and lasted close to a thousand years despite its great expense.Thomas F. Scanlon, "The Dispersion of Pederasty and the Athletic Revolution in Sixth-Century BC Greece," in Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West, ed. B. C. Verstraete and V. Provencal, Harrington Park Press, 2005Nigel M. Kennell, "Most Necessary for the Bodies of Men: Olive Oil and its By-products in the Later Greek Gymnasium" in Mark Joyal (ed.), In Altum: Seventy-Five Years of Classical Studies in Newfoundland, 2001; pp119-33
Olive oil in contemporary religious use
Used as a medicinal agent in ancient times, and as a cleanser for athletes (athletes in the ancient world were slathered in olive oil, then scraped to remove dirt), it also has religious symbolism related to healing and strength and to "consecration" -- God's setting a person or place apart for special work. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches use olive oil for the Oil of Catechumens (used to bless and strengthen those preparing for Baptism), Oil of the Sick (used to confer the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick), and olive oil mixed with a perfuming agent like 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. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and a number of other religions use olive oil when they need to consecrate an oil for anointings.
To this day, Eastern Orthodox Christians use oil lamps in their churches and home prayer corners. To make a vigil lamp a votive glass with a half-inch of water on the bottom is filled the rest of the way with olive oil. [[The votive glass is placed in a metal holder; different kinds of metal holders may hang from a bracket on the wall, or one that sits on a table. A cork float with a wick is placed in the glass and floats on top of the oil. The wick is then lit. When it comes time to douse the flame, the float can be (carefully!) pressed downward into the oil, and the oil douses the flame.
Olive oil is also recommended by Muhammad the Prophet of Islam. “Consume olive oil and anoint it upon your bodies since it is of the blessed tree.” He also stated that it cures seventy diseases.
While other fuels are allowed, Jews prefer to use olive oil to fuel the 9-branched candelabrum (called a menorah or a hannukiah) used to celebrate Judaism's holiday of Hanukkah.
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References
See also
- Olive oil extraction
- Cuisine of Italy
- Cuisine of Greece
- Cuisine of Turkey
- Greek products
- Amurca, the byproduct in olive oil extraction, historically used for many purposes
- Oleocanthal, an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound recently found in virgin olive oil
External links
- [The International Olive Oil Council]
- [Olive Oil - Production, Consumption, Exports, and Imports Statistics by Country]
- [The California Olive Oil Council]
- [California's Olive Oil Tasters Flunk Test of Distinction]
- [Information on olive oil]
- [How to follow an olive oil rich Mediterranean diet]
- [US olive oil information]
- [Organic Olive Oil - Certificated, processing, controls, mills, and beneficial to our health]
- [Australian olive oil information]
- [Olive oil 'acts like painkiller']
- [Phenols in olive oil benefit blood vessels]
- [Spanish Olive Oil - Production, history, taste, health benefit, organic olive oil, origin denominations.]
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