04.25.09
The Multi-Talented Oil…
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
It’s hard to believe that while olive oil has been an integral part of most cultures in the Middle East and Mediterranean for thousands of years, Americans only started producing olive oil since the 1930s. Those were mostly Italian immigrants who did so for their personal use. I learned something new about this at the San Francisco Farmers Market last weekend. The first commercial olive oil producer Sciabica started selling their oil in 1936. And even then, the founder Mr. Joseph Sciabica would take the oil to the east coast to sell to other Italian immigrants in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until 1990 before olive oil came to be considered as a well sought after high quality oil and status symbol. With such a short history in the U.S., we have much to learn about this versatile oil. Today almost every kitchen in California has olive oil in the pantry. But not too many people pay attention to the ABCs of this liquid gold. What makes an olive oil extra virgin? What are the health benefits of consuming this oil? How does one recognize a good olive oil? What characteristics should we look for? Do you know the taste difference between oils made from the Catalonian Arbequina olives, the Frantoio olives from Tuscany, the California Mission olives, or the Greek Kalamata just to name a few? What are the health benefits of olive oil? How should we store olive oil at home? And most importantly, what recipes are great with olive oil? These are some of the reasons why I decided to host a series of olive oil tasting to learn about this complex and tasty oil with those who care to find out.
You can find out more about olive oil tasting events, as well as the upcoming Napa Valley olive tour on Facebook (before my website is ready).
jwilly said,
April 30, 2009 at 12:23 am
yeah, its a shame the americans have generally been behind on everything good… last summer i was looking into growing olive trees in the austin hill country and ran into this guy who started doing just that, how cool would it be to make your own oil? I think the evoo is a bigger cash crop than wine, and possibly easier to grow? anyways check this out: http://www.texasoliveoil.com/AboutUs.htm