Olive oil

Olive oil is made by pressing olives (flesh and seeds).

There are different types of olive oil:

- virgin olive oil (virgin)

- refined olive oil, during refining, impurities are removed from the oil by heating and cooling

- Olive oil composed of virgin olive oil and refined olive oil

Olive oil contains a lot of unsaturated fat. This fat is good for health. In addition, olive oil has a high content of vitamin E.

Most olive oil comes from Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, France, Tunisia, Turkey, Syria and Morocco.

Production

An olive tree produces 5 to 10 kilos of olives per year. That is enough for 1 to 2 liters of olive oil. 90% of the olives are used for the production of olive oil.

The olives are pressed 24 hours after harvest. Oil comes from both the flesh and kernels of the olive. The flesh contains 30-50% oil, the seeds 5%. The olive oil press makes olive oil of different qualities and with different purity. After pressing, an olive paste is created. By gently kneading it, the oil separates. This oil then goes into the centrifuge to separate the water from the oil. The last step consists of filtering and bottling the oil.

Preparation

Regular olive oil and virgin olive oil are very suitable for baking and frying.

Extra virgin olive oil is used cold for pasta, salad, vinaigrettes, tapenades and cold sauces. Extra virgin olive oil is less suitable for heating at very high temperatures for a longer period of time. The taste is largely lost after heating. This oil can also dissolve above 180 degrees and unhealthy substances can be created. When preparing, make sure that the oil does not start to smoke or steam.

Source: Netherlands Nutrition Center