California olive oil must meet global standards by law
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, who authored the new rules, “state law does not define olive oil grades, and as a result the grades commonly seen on olive oil bottles – such as extra virgin – don’t need to meet any standards. … This will help consumers make informed choices based on consistent standards for quality.”
As well as protecting consumers, the new law will help foster California’s new and rapidly growing olive oil industry, assuring export buyers that their products meet international standards.
While the state produces roughly 500,000 gallons of olive oil, a fraction of the 75 million to 80 million gallons consumed in the United States annually, experts expect that to boom to 20 million gallons by 2020. Corto Olive, which has built a large-scale olive press northeast of Stockton, is part of that expansion.
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Olive oil adds a rich note to apple dessert
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, top with fun shapes made out of refrigerated pie crusts and a mint leaf garnish.
Posted in Olive Oil, Recipes by: Olives101
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Make sure you pick the right olive oil
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 olive tree in Europe is in Canneto, Italy. Certified and protected by the European Union, it’s more than 2,000 years old. The olive starts out yellowish green in color, and as it reaches full size, it turns greener.
When fully ripe, most varieties are black or purple-black, but a few turn a shade of copper-brown and some remain green.
Olives are harvested at various stages. For table olives, harvesting is usually done by hand using a fork-like tool that gently removes them from the trees. In Sicily, many families own their own orchards in the countryside and during olive harvest, every family member leaves his or her gainful employment and helps gather the olives.
There is a small window of opportunity to gather every olive in Italy, so the hillsides are covered with workers carrying long. skinny ladders raking olives off the trees and with huge nets spread below the tree catching each delicate olive.
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Posted in Europe | U.K, Health, Olive Oil, Recipes by: Olives101
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Australian Olive oil fears fruitless
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 variety never occurred as growers planted new varieties, used the manzanillo for table olives and learned how to properly harvest oil from the olive.
Australian Olive Association president Paul Miller said there had been genuine concern in the then-tiny industry at the time.
“It does give oil but at a low percentage,” Mr Miller said.
“Equally it makes excellent table olives.”
Some growers may also have chosen to keep the variety as it was a good pollinator for other varieties, he added.
Posted in Australia | NZ, Ecology | Environment, Olive Oil, Olive Tree by: Olives101
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Projet de soutien aux producteurs d’huile d’olive au Liban-Sud
Par Julie Schneider,
La France finance un programme qui vise notamment à améliorer la qualité de l’huile libanaise, principal obstacle à l’exportation.
Au Liban-Sud, quelque 9 hectares, soit 44 % des terrains agricoles de la région, sont destinés à l’oléiculture, ce qui représente 17 % des terrains agraires au Liban. Selon l’ILO (International Labor Organization), la production d’olives au Liban-Sud atteint 10 000 tonnes par an sur les 76 500 tonnes produites chaque année dans le pays.
Dans le Sud, près de 22 000 oléiculteurs, sans compter les saisonniers, produisent environ 5 400 tonnes d’huile d’olive par an, dont seules 600 sont exportées. Le reste est destiné à une consommation personnelle ou locale. Ce phénomène s’explique par la non-labellisation de l’huile d’olive locale – et libanaise en général –, notamment en raison de son acidité et de la concurrence de l’huile d’olive extravierge produite dans les autres pays méditerranéens, en Espagne par exemple.
Posted in en Français, France, Huile d'Olive, Moyen Orient by: Olives101
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