12 May

I am in awe of olives

By Gillian Hirst, I THINK at last count I had 10 different styles of olives in my pantry. They are the perfect snack food. We enjoy them with wine and cheese, add them to salads, roast them with vegetables and use them in pastas. I have a beautiful (if I do say so myself) recipe […]

14 Sep

Sicilians olive oil maker losing faith in United States

By A. Craig Copetas, Beneath the precious fruit of an olive tree planted in 1776 outside the mountain hamlet of Sambuca di Sicilia, Giovanni Di Bennardo mops summer dust from his brow and explains how he’ll make it to America. “I will only go when I’m a rich man,” said the 29-year-old manager of Di […]

01 Jun

The Olive – A Tree Of History

The olive is possibly the oldest cultivated tree in the world. It is believed that people in the Mediterranean region were cultivating olive trees before written language was properly developed. Certainly the ancient Egyptians had olive groves. From at least the time of Ramses II (1179 – 1165 BC),olive oil from the many groves aorund […]

23 May

Pure delight

California’s emerging olive-oil industry hears a call for quality surpassing “extra-virgin” that will stand out in a troubled, competitive market. By Jim Downing, Picture by Florence Low, Will American consumers pay more for olive oil that claims to be even more pristine than extra-virgin? Will they even be able to tell the difference? With the […]

18 Apr

Olive Oil: did you know that …

People living in the Mediterranean area who use olive oil as their main source of fat have the world’s lowest mortality rate due to cardio-vascular illness. Finland and the United States, where people consume the highest amounts of saturated fat, have the highest. Olive oil contains more monounsaturated fatty acids than any other fat or […]