An Ode to Olives

1. An Ode to Olives Jessica Nickels, MS, RD/LD February 2008 Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

2. History • Not known exactly when the wild olive became a domesticated crop. • A leaf from an olive tree is mentioned in chapter 8 of Genesis when Noah finds one in the dove's beak. • In Greek Mythology, as depicted in the Iliad, olive oil is known only as a luxury of the wealthy--an exotic product, prized chiefly for its value in grooming • Warriors anointed themselves after bathing. • All tradition points to the limestone hills of Attica as the seat of its first cultivation on the Hellenic peninsula. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

3. History cont’d • A pleasing substitute for butter and animal fats consumed by people to the north • Became emblem not only of peace but of national wealth and domestic plenty; wild olive spray of the Olympic victor, olive crown of the Roman conqueror at ovation • Among the Greeks the oil was valued as an important article of diet, as well as for its external use. • Roman people employed it widely in food and cookery--the wealthy as an indispensable adjunct to grooming; and in the luxurious days of the later empire it was said that long and pleasant life depended on two fluids: wine within and oil without. • The oil of the bitter wild olive was employed by Roman physicians in medicine, but does not appear ever to have had a culinary use. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

4. Olive Tree • An evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia, and parts of Africa. It is short and squat (rarely exceeds 8–15 meters in height). • Silvery green leaves are oblong, measure 4–10 cm long and 1–3 cm wide. • Trunk is typically gnarled and twisted. • Small white flowers, with four-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the last year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves. • Fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 cm long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. • Olives are harvested at green stage or left to ripen to a rich purple color (black olive). Canned black olives may contain chemicals that turn them black artificially. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

5. Production • Olive is the most extensively cultivated fruit crop in the world. • The Mediterranean region represents 95% of the world production of olives. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

6. Cultivation • Key characteristic of Mediterranean mixed farming • Played large part in economic development of ancient Greece because of suitability of olive oil as an export crop • Attica, the region of Athens, was a grain importer and olive oil exporter from early historic times. • Athenian pottery industry was stimulated largely by demand for containers in which to export olive oil. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

7. Today • The olive has been spread widely around the world • The Mediterranean lands remain the main source of the oil Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

8. Types of olives Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

9. Types of olives, cont’d • Kalamata – beautiful and dark, its intense flavor stands up to lamb and swordfish, completes a Greek salad, complements a mellow Merlot. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

10. Types of olives, cont’d • Picholine – Creamy, nutty, and perfectly chewy, this is the ideal choice for savory snacks and antipasto platters. Serve with crisp dry white wine. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

11. Types of olives, cont’d • Nicoise – Nutty, fragrant, and firm add this classic olive flavor to fish. • Spanish –Firm and juicy, this versatile classic is equally at home in deviled eggs or martinis. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

12. Types of olives, cont’d • Black Ripe – The American classic. This plump, mild favorite is perfect on salads, pizza, even fingertips, and is best enjoyed with beer. • Dry Greek – Mixed with brandy, this is an excellent cooking olive that adds complexity to pastas, roast veal, and tomato sauces. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

13. Types of olives, cont’d • Green Ripe – Similar, but slightly more salty than the Black Ripe. Absorbs the flavors of the other food while adding color and an earthy, natural touch to a variety of dishes from baked whitefish to tuna salad. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

14. Types of olives, cont’d • Gaeta – Meaty oily, and intense, this Italian olive is well suited to slow cooked stews, braised dishes, and hearty Zinfandels. • Cerignola – Large, fruity, and buttery, this is a great olive to marinate and serve with a variety of appetizers. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

15. Types of olives, cont’d • Sicilian – Crisp, crunchy, and great right out of the jar, combined with swordfish or braised pork. • Amphissa – Tender, earthy, and slightly tart, use this olive in tapenade spreads or meat stews and red sauces. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

16. The Curing Process • Olives are either lye cured, lye cured with fermentation, naturally cured or dry cured. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

17. Lye Curing Method used for Black Ripe & Green Ripe olives. Begins with hand- picked, unripe green olives that are cured in a series of lye and oxygenated water baths for 7 days or until the solution penetrates to the pits and removes bitterness A final rinse follows and, in the case of Black Ripe olives, iron is added to stabilize color. Carbon dioxide is introduced to neutralize the lye, after which the olives are sized, pitted, canned, and topped with brine. Once sealed, they’re cooked with steam. Most similar to home-cured olives, the Green Ripe variety is packed without the introduction of oxygen or iron. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

18. Dry Curing • Starts with ripe, soft olives and results in salty, chewy varieties, such as the Dried Greek olive. • Before curing, olives are gently “smashed” to allow moisture to permeate their skins. • Then fruit is layered and covered with salt for 4 weeks. • After curing, olives are immersed in hot water to remove salt, rinsed in cold water, and spread to dry. • Olives are then coated with olive oil before being packed and sterilized. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

19. Lye Curing with Fermentation • Used for Spanish olives, also start as hand-picked, unripe green olives. • First submerged in a lye bath for a few hours to remove bitterness. • Fruit is then rinsed and soaked in a strong salt brine for 3 months, causing fermentation. • Olives then bottled in salt brine, capped and pasteurized. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

20. Natural Curing Processes • Processes favored for olive bar varieties. • One approach is to soak olives in water that is changed daily, after which olives are cured in salt brine for several months. • Another Natural Curing process used for Sicilian olives involves soaking olives in salt and lactic acid for 1 year. • The same process, minus the lactic acid, is used to cure Kalamata, Amphissa, Niçoise, Picholine, Cerignola and Gaeta olives. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

21. Taste Profiles Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

22. Olive Oil • Great variety of flavors makes it excellent for use on salads, pasta, beans and bread. • Has a relatively high smoking point which means you can brown foods without great danger of burning. (Not suitable for deep frying.) • When olive oil becomes very cold the oleic acid tends to coagulate, seen as whitish globules. • Return to room temperature to liquefy. Store fine extra virgin oils in a cool dark place. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

23. Types of Olive Oil • Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)- top grade, low acidity, comes from first pressing of choicest, handpicked olives. • Mechanically pressed, requiring no heat or chemicals. • Has natural antioxidants which delay rancidity. • Flavor, color & consistency vary due to olive variety, location and weather. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

24. Virgin Olive Oil • Slightly more acidity, pressed from olives that are not necessarily top grade • May be from second or third pressing of pulp, also mechanically pressed. • This and extra virgin are the only truly "cold pressed" oils. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

25. "Pure" Olive Oil • Also called commercial grade. • Extracted from pulp and pits left after second pressing of lower quality olives. • Heat, high pressure and solvents are used. • Sometimes a small amount of better quality olive oil is blended in. • "Pure" refers indicates no non-olive oils are mixed in. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

26. Olive Oil Health Benefits • Research has shown the incidence of heart disease is dramatically lower in Mediterranean countries where olive oil is a dietary staple • Science has now determined that olive oil, as a monounsaturated fat, increases HDL or good blood cholesterol. • Important to remember that olive oil is still a fat and should be consumed in limited quantities, in proper ratio to your balanced diet. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

27. Which is better for your health: extra virgin, virgin, or plain olive oil?? • Answer:   • The difference between the olive oils listed is their acidity level, which affects mostly taste, not nutritional content. • Lower acidity oils, such as extra virgin, tend to have more antioxidants, but that is not reflected in their classification. • Antioxidants may reduce risk heart disease and cancer. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

28. How is olive oil made? • Clean the olives- Stems, twigs, leaves removed and olives may or may not be cleaned with water • Grind olives into a paste • Mixing or Malaxation for 20 to 40 minutes allows small oil droplets to combine into bigger ones which can be removed in the next step.  It is an absolutely necessary step.  • Paste often heated to 28oC during this process.  • Longer mixing times increase oil yield and help oil pick up minor components which can improve flavor but longer mixing allows oxidation which decreases shelf life. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

29. How is olive oil made? • Separating oil and water from the olive paste (pomace) • Paste is pressed. • Materials added to increase yield, they extract additional oil from pomace: • Types enzymes: talc steam hexane, other solvents alkali Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

30. How is olive oil made? • Separating oil from water • 2 methods: • Centrifugal Olive Oil Separator- Like a cream separator in a dairy, the liquid is spun which separates the heavier water from the oil. • Purifier: takes a little water from mostly oil • Skimmer: takes a little oil from a lot of water (if you want to scavenge the wastewater) • Clarifier: takes a little solid from a liquid phase (removes particles from oil before final filtering) • Gravity Olive Oil Decanter- The oil and water is put into tanks where they separate by gravity Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

31. How is olive oil made? • Processing the olive oil • Refining- reduces acidity and improve flavor • Bleaching- reduces chlorophyll, carotenoids, residual fatty acid salts and pesticides • Deodorization- reduces odor Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

32. How many olives does it take? • Trees yield 10—500 lbs of olives depending on how big the tree, how old, variety, whether it is watered, whether it is an "off" or "on" year, weather, etc.  • 5 gallon bucket will hold about 30 lbs of olives. • Most common types of olives in California, the Manzanillo and Mission, contain anywhere from 15—30% oil by volume. • 1 ton of olives yields 35—50 gallons of oil at a mill.  Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

33. How many olives do I need to eat to equal 1 tablespoon of oil? • Depends on size and oil content of the olives • The large black canned olives are actually quite low in oil - sometimes only 7%, which is why they are table olives and are not used generally to make oil. • Some smaller olives used primarily for oil making can have up to 35% oil content. Olives can range from 1—14 grams in weight. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

34. There is about 1 tablespoon olive oil in: 20 medium Mission olives that have an oil content of 20% 40 small ripe black olives 20 jumbo ripe black olives 7 super colossal ripe black olive There are fewer calories in 1 tablespoon oil than any of the above because olives also have carbohydrates which add additional calories. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

35. Guidelines for tasting oils • Can be done 2 ways: with oil spread on unsalted white bread, or sipped from tasting glasses. Either way, taste milder smelling oils first.  • When using tasting glasses, take a small sip of approximately 2 to 3 ml. • Distribute the oil throughout the whole mouth cavity, because the perception of the four primary tastes (sweet, salty, acid and bitter) varies in intensity depending on the area of the tongue, palate and throat. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

36. Guidelines for tasting, continued With lips semi-closed, inhale rapidly 2 or 3 times in succession to atomize the oil in your mouth. The air, mixed with the oil, sprays onto your tongue and palate. Memorize the flavors, then spit the oil out. If necessary, repeat the tasting, but only after you’ve rinsed your mouth with clean water. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

37. Guidelines for tasting, continued • It may help to chew a slice of apple between samples. • The stronger the oil flavor, the longer you need to wait before the next tasting. • A well-made reasonably fresh oil should exhibit firstly a definite olive-fruity note, followed by pungent, green and bitter. • No negative attributes or defects should be present.  Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

38. References • Wikipedia • Lindsay Olive Company - http://www.lindsayolives.com/olives101/index.html • California Olive Oil Association Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service