A To Z

All
About
Olive Oil

WHAT IS OLIVE OIL?

Olive oil is how we refer to the oil
obtained from the fruit of olive trees.
People have been eating olive oil for
thousands of years and it is now more
popular than ever, thanks to its many
proven health benefits and its culinary
usefulness.
Olives can only grow in certain regions, yet
millions of people are involved in olive oil
production throughout the world and the
culture of olive oil is rich and vital.
Of course, from that simple beginning it
gets a bit more complicated. Here are the
basics you should know.
http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil

HISTORY OLIVE OIL

The olive was native to Asia Minor and
spread from Iran, Syria and Palestine to the
rest of the Mediterranean basin 6,000 years
ago. It is among the oldest known
cultivated trees in the world - being grown
before the written language was invented.
It was being grown on Crete by 3,000 BC
and may have been the source of the
wealth of the Minoan kingdom. The
Phoenicians
spread the olive to the
Olives have been found in Egyptian
Mediterranean
of Africa
and
tombs from 2,000shores
years BC.
The olive
Southern
culture wasEurope.
spread to the early Greeks
then Romans. As the Romans extended
their domain they brought the olive with
them.
http://www.oliveoilsource.com/page/hist
ory-olive

THE BEST OLIVE OIL

http://www.yolenis.us/en_us/olive-products-oil.htm
l

Buy The Best Olive

Oil

HOW TO MAKE
OLIVE OIL
Collecting and grading the
olives
After the ripe olives have been combed from the
trees, they are picked over by hand to weed out
unsound olives. The olives are divided into
categories according to their plumpness, state
of ripeness, and quality. Then the olives are
taken to the press and stored for a short period
of time, from a few hours to several days. The
period is short enough to prevent fermentation
Washing
and
milling
theto get warm
but long enough
to allow
the olives
olives
so that they release their oil easily.
The olives are rinsed in cold water and then
passed along a conveyer belt between rollers
or continuous hammers. This machinery,
often called the olive crusher, breaks down
the cells and de-stones the olives.

HOW TO MAKE
OLIVE OIL
Creating an olive paste through
malaxation
In ancient times, the olives were mashed into a
paste with a simple mortar and pestle. This
principle was expanded upon until the stone
mortars were large enough to require slaves or
pack animals to operate them. In the modern
process, the milled olives travel from the mill
into vats in which slowly turning blades mash
the olives into a homogenized paste.

HOW TO MAKE
OLIVE OIL

Cold-pressing the olive paste to

extract the oil
The oil is extracted by loading the paste into a
hydraulic press. The olive paste is evenly spread
overhemppressing bags or disks covered with
synthetic fibers. Each bag or disk is covered with
approximately 9-13 lb (4-6 kg) of paste. Between
25 and 50 bags or disks are stacked onto a press
plate. Plate guides are inserted at intervals of five
to six bags. The plates serve to maintain the
balance of the stack and to distribute the pressure
evenly.
A piston
pushes refers
up against
stack,
and oil is extracted
The term
cold-pressing
to thethe
fact
that the
the
oil seeps
slowly
the pressing
bagsthe
to purity of the oil. The
without
heating
the through
paste, furthering
insuring
attached
The solid
material
remains
oil that is tubes.
expressed
is a reddish
mixture
of inside
the oil and the inherent
the
pressing
bags.
vegetable
water.
This is the oil that receives the appellation of "extravirgin" olive oil. The paste is removed from the bags and run through
several more presses to obtain the lesser grades of oil that remain.

HOW TO MAKE
OLIVE OIL
Separating the oil from the
vegetable water

Originally, the oil and water mixture was stored

in vats until the oil rose to the top and was
skimmed off. Some fermentation was inevitable,
affecting the taste and smell of the olive oil.
Today, the separation is accomplished swiftly by
pumping the mixture into a centrifuge. The
centrifuge is comprised of a rotating drum and
an auger that are spun on the same axis at
great speed. Because the oil and the vegetable
water are of differing densities, the centrifuge
forces them apart and into separate receptacles.

HOW TO MAKE
OLIVE OIL
Storing and packaging the oil

The oil is stored in underground vats until it is

ready to be shipped. Then the oil is canned or
bottled on an assembly line. Cans or dark-tinted
bottles will keep the deep-green color of the
olive oil intact. Oil placed in clear-glass bottles
will fade to a yellowish-green. However, the
flavor is not affected.
In many cases, olive oil distributors purchase
the olive from the producers and rebottle it.
Packaging has become more ornate as the
popularity of olive oil has grown. It is not
unusual to purchase olive oil in unusually
shaped bottles topped with netting or rope.
Some packagers also hire professional artists to
design their labels.

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

REFINED OLIVE OILS
Only about 30 percent of all olive oil
production ends at extracting the oil from
the olives. Refining involved using solvents
and high heat to neutralize the tastes of
the oil. This allows producers to use olives
that are not in the best condition, and
blend from oils from a wide variety of
sources (even countries) because the bad
tastes resulting from oxidized olives and
the mass production process are chemically
removed. When you see Pure Olive Oil at
the store, or a bottle that says simply
Olive Oil, these are refined.

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

UNREFINED OLIVE OILS
Unrefined olive oils do not undergo
chemical refining. In unrefined olive oils,
such as extra virgin and virgin olive
oils, the process goes no further than
extraction and bottling. Producers of
unrefined olive oils need to use fruit that is
in good condition and carefully manage
various factors, because the oil will not be
treated to chemically hide bad tastes that
would result from oxidized olives or some
other contamination.

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

WHY SHOULD I USE OLIVE OIL?
Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat and the
cornerstone of the famous Mediterranean
diet. Most people choose olive oil because
of its many proven benefits to human
health. Extra virgin olive oils offer even
more: a world of fruity-bitter tastes that
chefs are capturing to elevates dishes to a
level they never thought possible.

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Lowers Cholesterol
Olive oil is rich in oleic acid, a common
monounsaturated fatty acid. Numerous
studies indicate that monounsaturated fat
is about as effective as polyunsaturated fat
in lowering total blood cholesterol and LDL
cholesterol, when used to substitute
saturated fat in the diet. Plus,
monounsaturated fat does not lower the
beneficial HDL cholesterol or raise
triglycerides, unlike polyunsaturated fat,
which, at high intakes, may lower HDL
cholesterol, ie the good cholesterol.

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Fills You Up
Extra virgin olive oil is caloriedense and
falls into the fat food group. One
tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil contains
119 calories and 13.5 grams of fat, exactly
the same as all other types of oils-fat,
which is 21 percent of the recommended
daily value based on a 2,000-calorie diet,
but around 75 percent of the fat from extra
virgin olive oil is monounsaturated, a type
of oleic acid that has been shown to
decrease total blood cholesterol. In
addition, olive oil creates a feeling of
satiety and induces the consumption of

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Can Help Your Bones
Menopausal osteoporosis is caused by a combination
of hormonal imbalances and inflammation of the
joints. While olive oil may not be able to restore your
estrogen levels to premenopausal times, it directly
nourishes your skeletal system in several ways.
Moreover, olive oil is known as a "good fat" and is
commonly preferred over animal fat when preparing
and cooking food. This oil has several benefits, the
most important being its ability to help the body
breakdown calcium so that it can be stored in your
bones. The monounsaturated fat also makes sure that
your bone marrow itself doesn't develop too much fat
- a condition that can prevent calcium deposits into
bones. Last but not least, high quality extra virgin olive
oil, and especially Greek olive oil, is rich in
Oleocanthal, a substance that has strong antiinflammatory action thus combating the inflammation

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Can Help Digestion
When olive oil reaches the stomach it does not
reduce the tonus of the muscular ring or
sphincter at the base of the esophagus. Because
of this, it reduces the risk of the flow or reflux of
food and gastric juice up from the stomach to
the esophagus. Olive oil also partially inhibits
gastric mobility. As a result, the gastric content
of the stomach is released more slowly and
gradually into the duodenum, giving a greater
sensation of "fullness", and favoring the
digestion and absorption of nutrients in the
intestine. Owing to the sitosterol it contains,
olive oil partially prevents cholesterol absorption
by the small intestine. It also stimulates the
absorption of various nutrients (calcium, iron,

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Can Improve Your Skin
Use olive oil as a gentle moisturizer for dry skin.
Olive oil has the same healthy fats as avocado,
and plumps and moisturizes the skin with a
combination of vitamin E and vitamin A.
Furthermore, dry, itchy and inflamed skin is
usually the sign of skin irritations, such as
eczema and psoriasis. Instead of turning to
prescription creams and home remedies, reach
for some olive oil to relieve discomfort and
irritation. Moreover, sun and pollution can
damage your skin. In recent studies, it was
found that vitamin E contained in olive oil was
successful in fighting free radicals, photo aging
and damage to maintain younger looking skin.
In Greece irritated baby skin is always treated

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Can Help Your Hair
The fatty acids that olive oil is made up of will
coat the shaft of your hair, helping to keep it
healthy and protected. Using hair dye, flat irons
and even using hair dryers can damage the
outer layer of your hair. Olive oil will coat the
damaged outer layers of your hair, giving them
a sleeker, smoother, and healthier appearance.
Hair care products are full of chemicals, which
actually can damage your hair in the long run.
Using a high quality olive oil as a hair treatment
will give your hair back its health appearance,
naturally. Using a high quality olive oil is the
best natural treatment that your hair deserves.

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Can Lower Blood Pressure
Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants
that can lower your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol but
leave your "good" (HDL) cholesterol untouched.
The cholesterol-lowering effects of olive oil are
even greater if you choose extra-virgin olive oil,
meaning the oil is totally unprocessed and
contains more heart-healthy antioxidants.

TYPE OF OLIVE OIL

OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS
It Can Lower Blood Pressure
Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants
that can lower your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol but
leave your "good" (HDL) cholesterol untouched.
The cholesterol-lowering effects of olive oil are
even greater if you choose extra-virgin olive oil,
meaning the oil is totally unprocessed and
contains more heart-healthy antioxidants.

THE BEST OLIVE OIL

http://www.yolenis.us/en_us/olive-products-oil.htm
l

Buy The Best Olive

Oil