Olives101.com

By Geoff Johnson, Lucero Olive Oil does just about everything in-house, right down to the label designs. By the end of October, the company will be able to add milling to that list. Using the third Westfalia brand separator to be built in the United States, Lucero will be able to improve the quality of [...]

From Tony Stallone, What makes a good olive oil? What is the difference between an extra virgin olive oil, 100 percent pure olive oil and a simple virgin olive oil? How should I store my olive oil? How long does it keep? What should I use it for? Here are the answers: A good olive [...]

Beginning Jan. 1, that bottle in the supermarket labeled “extra virgin olive oil” will need to meet international standards because of a new state law enacted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week. California law has long protected consumers against unscrupulous dealers selling imitation or blended oils as olive oil. However, said state Sen. Patricia Wiggins, [...]

Chef Jean Paul Desmaison of La Cofradia restaurant in Coral Gables, Fla. has created this Sauteed Apple Crisp for the North American Olive Oil Association. Extra-virgin olive oil replaces the butter, offering a mellow, concentrated sweetness to the glazed apples. Sugar, a hint of cinnamon and a handful of raisins complete the apple mixture. Finally, [...]

By Chef Nino, There is probably nothing more breathtaking than seeing and participating in olive oil production from the tree to the bottle. Miles of terraced hillsides are meticulously cultivated with the finest olive trees in the world. Olive trees can reach heights of 50 feet and often live for 500-600 years. The oldest living [...]

By Leslie White, FEARS growers may have had to rip out a widely planted variety of olives due to poor oil yields appear to have subsided. In 2000, olive growers were worried the manzanillo variety would disappoint growers who had planted it as an oil producer. However, latest figures indicate the mass removal of the [...]

By Liz Campbell & Sue Wakefield, Jeanne Calment, a French woman, holds the record for the longest confirmed lifespan. She reportedly attributed her over 122 years and remarkably youthful appearance to olive oil, which she poured on her food and rubbed into her skin. This could turn the anti-aging cosmetic industry upside down. In fact, [...]

By Dr. Connie Peraglie Guttersen, R.D., Ph.D. In Sonoma County each year, there’s a special festival called the Blessing of the Olives. That’s how central olive trees and the foods they yield are to the economy and the eating habits of the region. And olive oil is the most treasured gift of these blessed trees. [...]

There are lots of good reasons to stock your pantry with olive oil. Long the most commonly used oil in the Mediterranean (as much as 25 to 40 percent of calories consumed in this region come from olive oil), extra-virgin olive oil’s healthful properties come from rich levels of monounsaturated fat, which promote “good” cholesterol, [...]

If you’ve looked closely at the bottle of olive oil in your pantry, you might have noticed a health claim touting the heart health benefits of using olive oil. Under what is termed a “qualified health claim,” the Food and Drug Administration allows bottles of olive oil to display the following statement: “Limited and not [...]

A 20% increase in olive oil production is likely to present a marketing challenge for the country’s olive growers. Grower organisation Olives New Zealand says groves in Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Kapiti, Nelson and Marlborough performed better than those in Canterbury and the Far North, mainly because of variable weather conditions. Executive officer Alastair Bridge says [...]

Over the next four years olive oil consumption in India is expected to increase nine-fold to 42,000 tonne. Increasing awareness of health issues is the primary driver of this demand, as olive oil is seen as a healthier cooking medium. Is olive oil becoming more acceptable in India? Firstly, it should be noted that olive [...]

The European olive oil market could be set for a shake up if new labelling rules proposed by EU officials come into force. The rules would make origin labelling compulsory for virgin and extra virgin label olive oil, and could come into force as early as July 2009. The move could provide a boost for [...]

The awards, now in their twelfth year, will be chaired by Richard Gawel, research scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute, along with more than 20 accredited judges on October 3 and 4. “As always, it is a great privilege to assist the capable judges in their task of searching out and rewarding the best [...]

By Davide Berretta, Over the past five years, Italy’s biggest olive-oil brands have fallen steadily into Spanish hands. SOS Cuétara SA’s July purchase of Bertolli, one of the world’s best-known olive-oil labels, gave the Spanish food company control of half the Italian market and made it the world’s undisputed leader in olive-oil sales. The Spanish [...]