OLIVE OIL - ELIXIR OF THE GODS
"Except the vine, there is no plant which bears a fruit of as great importance as the olive."
Pliny (AD 23-79)
by Michelle Bienias
 As the saying goes, life is much too short to drink bad wine. The same could be said for olive oil. The ancient Greek poet Homer called it "liquid gold" and in ancient times the upper classes preferred their oil crushed without the pit, which they believed spoiled the oil. The slaves were fed oil made from rotten olives. Now, as then, there are many varieties of olive oil, from cold-pressed extra-virgin to industrial oils used for lamps, but as with fine vintage wines, neophytes can easily become bewildered by the array of oils available. Cold-pressing, extra-virgin, virgin – what does it all mean?
We embarked on a road trip to the southwestern coast of Tuscany and the province of Livorno, where a small olive oil mill and its owner would, hopefully, provide enlightenment. This fertile area, marked by its sandy soil, temperate climate and proximity to the Mediterranean, is rich in olive groves, chestnut woods and vineyards. Fossilized remains have been found nearby indicating that the venerable olive tree was growing here as long as 5,000 years ago, although actual cultivation probably did not occur in the area until the fifth century B.C.
"I cipressi che alti e schietti vanno da san guido a Bolgheri in duplice filar" is a famous phrase memorized by every Italian school student. It describes the beautiful road lined with hundreds of ancient Cypress trees leading to the towns of Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci, home of the famous 19th century poet and Nobel prizewinner Giosue Carducci, the phrase’s author. The area has also gathered attention as the setting chosen by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who produced the famous Italian wine, Sassicaia, the first Italian wine to successfully establish itself abroad. Incisa della Rocchetta wanted to produce a wine similar to the great Bordeaux and chose Bolgheri for its favorable microclimate (the name Sassicaia means “stony ground” in the Tuscan dialect).
Amidst this captivating region of Tuscany is Fonte di Foiano, where Michele di Gaetano and his sons tend their olive groves and manage their press, producing some of the finest extra virgin olive oil in the world. When it comes to olive oil, two factors are influential: where the olives are grown and which harvesting methods are implemented. Here, the olive trees are centuries old and the olives are picked by hand in late October to January. They are then pressed cold in the ancient tradition, using granite millstones, which doesn’t conduct heat the way steel does. Bottling is performed immediately after pressing to ensure richness of taste. The first oil produced after pressing is called ‘extra virgin’. The pulp left over is then mixed with hot water and processed to make second and third press oils, sometime called “extra fine virgin” and “regular or fine virgin”, respectively.
The di Gaetano’s have taken a further step in the quest for the greatness. Under the guidelines established by renowned Italian wine critic Veronelli, they now produce very special oils that have been de-stoned before pressing, an arduous process used by ancient Greeks and Romans but abandoned in modern times. This extra step imparts a finer, truer taste to the oil but diminishes the quantity of oil extracted. They also segregate the olive by type (leccino, moraiolo, frantoio), enabling them to produce singular unblended oils. Veronelli believes these oils are so special that one day it will become common to order one’s own bottle of olive oil when dining out, as is common with wine now. All of the oils produced here have an oleic acidity level of 0.35 % or less, far below the regulatory 1% required for labeling as extra virgin.
There are about thirty varieties of olives grown in Tuscany today, and each yields oil with unique characteristics. A word of warning – modern chemical processing can produce acidity levels as low as 0.05% but the oil may be of poor quality and taste, so be sure to check the label reads “cold-pressed”, which means that it is unrefined.
And the taste? I’m no connoisseur but the fragrance alone is dreamy. I sip pale green single unblended oil from a plastic cup and the taste is light and slightly fruity. I buy a large bottle of blended oil and have been using it on everything for the past several months. Occasionally, when dining out, I’m forced to use whatever is provided, and it’s then that I truly miss my bottle of Fonte di Foiano at home.
And if you need any further reasons to love olive oil, it’s well-known health benefits are hard to ignore. Many studies have determined that: extra-virgin olive oil is the most digestible of the edible fats; it helps to assimilate vitamins A, D and K; it contains so-called essential acids that cannot be produced by our own bodies; it slows down the aging process; and it helps bile, liver and intestinal functions. Olive oil also reduces cholesterol, particularly ‘bad’ cholesterol, while not affecting levels of ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL). For more information on olive oil’s many health benefits, visit the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC). Now, can the same be said for wine?
Courtesy of the IOCC Canada site
Fast Facts (courtesy of www.foodreference.com)
Olive trees may live to be 1500 years old; the average life span is about 500 years.
Over 90% of world olive production is used to make oil, and almost 98% of the acreage is in the Mediterranean region.
Comments:
Very nice article. It's nice to see a comparison being made with fine wine, because "fine" olive oil is something truly special. F.Y.I. did you know that in 2001 84% of Italy's olive oil export were produced using Spanish Andalucian olives??? Andalucia is the world's largest olive oil producing area with at current count over 230 million olive trees, give or take one or two! If only the we would have the same marketing pizzaz as our Mediterranean cousins would... Just thought a little curious fact would interest you... Thomas Weller
thomasweller@mercuryin.es on 2002-11-07 21:23:37
Email: michelle@webidentity.com
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