Olive Oil

The flavorful product of the fruit of the olive tree, Olea europaea, the only oil that can be consumed immediately after extraction from its source. Olives have their beginning in Greek mythology. Poseidon and Athena were competing to see which one would name the newly built city near Attica, and they agreed that the winner would be the one with the better gift for its citizens. Poseidon stuck his trident into a rock and, because he was the god of the sea, saltwater flowed. When Athena, the goddess of peace and wisdom, pierced the ground with her spear, it turned into an olive tree, which is how Athens got its name and why the olive branch is a symbol of peace. Homer called olive oil gold", and wrote that the olive tree had been thriving in Greece for more than 10,000 years.

The olive harvest can last from November to March. Olives are usually collected in nets, strewn on the ground to catch what's fallen from the trees at their most perfectly ripe, and then processed within 24 hours. For lower grades of olive oil, the trees are shaken to encourage more olives to fall, or the fruit is actually hand- or mechanically picked. Historically, olives were crushed by hand in large stone basins. Today, producers use mechanical, stainless-steel grindstones to crush olives and then a centrifuge to separate the oil from the paste, producing the first or cold pressing, to which no heat or chemicals have been added. In this form, the oil is at its optimal in color, flavor and nutritional value. It then undergoes a gentle filtering to remove sediment and becomes extra virgin olive oil. Like wine, the flavor of olive oil is heavily dependent on soil, climate, variety, age and processing. Unsurprisingly, its flavor characteristics - delicate, mild, spicy, nutty, floral, fruity - resemble the terms one hears used when discussing wine.

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