OLIVES & OLIVE OIL. Cutting Olives from the Olive trees. To get olives for the sallads and olive oil, we have to cut the olives from the olive trees. Here on the island of Kos we start this half october beginning november after the tourist saison. What we need for cutting olives? - We need nets, sacs, ladder, rakes or machiens for cutting olives. Olive Oil extraction. Olive oil is produced by grinding olives and extracting the oil by mechanical or chemical means.Green olives usually produce more bitter oil, and overripe olives can produce oil that is rancid, so for good extra virgin olive oil care is taken to make sure the olives are perfectly ripened. The process is generally as follows: The olives are ground into paste using large millstones (traditional method) or steel drums (modern method). If ground with mill stones, the olive paste generally stays under the stones for 30 to 40 minutes. A shorter grinding process may result in a more raw paste that produces less oil and has a less ripe taste; a longer process may increase oxidation of the paste and reduce the flavour.After grinding, the olive paste is spread on fibre disks, which are stacked on top of each other in a column, then placed into the press.Pressure is then applied onto the column to separate the vegetal liquid from the paste. This liquid still contains a significant amount of water.Traditionally the oil was shed from the water by gravity (oil is less dense than water).This very slow separation process has been replaced by centrifugation, which is much faster and more accurate. The centrifuges have one exit for the (heavier) watery part and one for the oil.Olive oil should not contain significant traces of vegetal water as this accelerates the process of organic degeneration by micro organisms.The separation in smaller oil mills is not always perfect, thus sometimes a small watery deposit containing organic particles can be found at the bottom of oil bottles. In modern steel drum mills the grinding process takes about 20 minutes. After grinding, the paste is stirred slowly for another 20 to 30 minutes in a particular container (malaxation), where the microscopic oil drops unite into bigger drops, which facilitates the mechanical extraction.`The paste is then pressed by centrifugation - the water is thereafter separated from the oil in a second centrifugation as described before.The oil produced by only physical (mechanical) means is described is called virgin oil.Extra virgin olive oil is virgin olive oil that satisfies specific high chemical and organoleptic criteria (low free acidity, no or very little organoleptic defects). Sometimes the produced oil will be filtered to eliminate remaining solid particles that may reduce the shelf life of the product.Labels may indicate the fact that the oil has not been filtered, suggesting a different taste. Unfiltered fresh olive oil that has a slightly cloudy appearance is called cloudy olive oil. This form of olive that was popular only amongst olive oil small scale producers is now becoming "trendy", in line with consumer's demand for more ecological and less-processed "green" products. The remaining paste (pumice) still contains a small quantity (about 5-10%) of oil that cannot be extracted by further pressing, but only with chemical solvents.This is done in specialized chemical plants, not in the oil mills.The resulting oil is not "virgin" but "pumice oil".The term "first press", sometimes found on bottle labels, is technically meaningless, as there is no "second" press.Similarly the label term "cold-filtered" on extra virgin olive oils has lost any significance since "cold" is not defined and all extra virgin olive oils are extracted without heat. The acidity of this olive oil was 0,02/g Olives, ripe, canned (small-extra large) Scientific Name: Olea europaea NutrientUnitsValue/100grSample Count PROXIMATES:--- Waterg79,992 Energykcal1150 Energykj4810 Proteing0,842 Total Lipid (fat)g10,682 Carbohydrate, by differenceg6,260 Fiber, total dietaryg3,20 Ashg2,232 MINERALS:--- Calcium, Camg882 Iron, Femg3,302 Magnesium, Mgmg42 Phosphorus, Pmg32 Potassium, Kmg82 Sodium, Namg8722 Zinc, Znmg0,222 Copper, Cumg0,2512 Manganese, Mnmg0,0202 Selenium, Semcg0,92 VITAMINS:--- Vitamin C, total ascorbic acidmg0,92 Thiaminmg0,0032 Riboflavinmg0,0002 Niacinmg0,0372 Pantothenic acidmg0,0150 Vitamin B-6mg0,0092 Folate, totalmcg02 Folic acidmcg00 Folate, foodmcg02 Folate, DFEmcg DFE00 Vitamin B-12mcg0,000 Vitamin A, IUIU4032 Vitamin A, REmcg RE400 Vitamin Emg ATE3,0000 LIPIDS:--- Fatty acids, total saturatedg1,4150 4:0g0,0000 6:0g0,0000 8:0g0,0000 10:0g0,0000 12:0g0,0000 14:0g0,0001 16:0g1,1791 18:0g0,2361 Fatty acids, total monounsaturatedg7,8880 16:1 undifferentiatedg0,0861 18:1 undifferentiatedg7,7701 20:1g0,0321 22:1 undifferentiatedg0,0000 Fatty acids, total polyunsaturatedg0,9110 18:2 undifferentiatedg0,8471 18:3 undifferentiatedg0,0641 18:4g0,0000 20:4 undifferentiatedg0,0000 20:5 n-3g0,0000 22:5 n-3g0,0000 22:6 n-3g0,0000 Cholesterolmg00 AMINO ACIDS:--- Threonineg0,0264 Isoleucineg0,0314 Leucineg0,0504 Lysineg0,0324 Methionineg0,0124 Phenylalanineg0,0294 Tyrosineg0,0234 Valineg0,0384 Arginineg0,0674 Histidineg0,0234 Alanineg0,0434 Aspartic acidg0,0924 Glutamic acidg0,0934 Glycineg0,0494 Prolineg0,0404 Serineg0,0314 Olive Oil Brings More than Flavour to Your Diet! Antioxidants work by neutralizing highly reactive, destructive compounds called free radicals. Free radical production is actually a normal part of life, part of the equation of simply breathing in oxygen. Usually, the body's natural defence systems neutralize free radicals that develop, rendering them harmless. However, environmental assaults on the body, such as UV-radiation, pollutants and alcohol, can overpower the body's ability to neutralize free radicals, allowing them to cause damage to the structure and function of the body's cells. There is good evidence that this damage contributes to aging and leads to a host of illnesses, including cancer and heart disease. Consuming more antioxidants helps provide the body with tools to neutralize harmful free radicals. It is estimated that there are more than 4.000 compounds in food that act as antioxidants. They are present in foods as vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and polyphenols, among others. An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. Extra virgin olive oil is an important source of antioxidants. The most important are polyphenols antioxidants and tocopherols (vitamins E). There are as many as 5,5 mg of polyphenols antioxidant and 1,6 mg of vitamins E in every tablespoon of olive oil. The FDA recommends 120 mg of antioxidants each day for a 25-year-old male. That means that extra virgin olive oil could be 12% of the daily source of antioxidants in your diet if you just use two tablespoons of it in your salads. And it could be almost 30% if you drizzled it over fish or meat or roasted vegetables or used it as dipping oil with bread. If you do the same with refined vegetable oils, there is no antioxidant intake. Why is it important to consume antioxidants? They are associated with several health benefits in humans... Antimicrobial Activity: Olive polyphenols have been demonstrated to inhibit or delay the rate of growth of bacteria, such as Salmonella, Cholera, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, and Influenza in vitro. Heart Disease: Vitamin E may help prevent or delay coronary heart disease by limiting the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol. It may also help prevent the formation of blood clots. Cancer: Recent studies have shown that the abundant phenolic antioxidant fractions of olive oil have a potent inhibitory ability on reactive oxygen species associated with colon and breast pathologies. Some polyphenols antioxidants, such as resveratrol, inhibit occurrence and/or growth of mammalian tumours. Skin Damage and Photo protection: Polyphenolic components of olive oil have been compared to traditional antioxidants used by the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry to prevent skin damage. Results show polyphenols as having the highest activity as radical scavengers. Another beneficial health effect attributed to consumption of foods rich in Polyphenolic antioxidants are anti-aging consequences such as slowing the process of skin wrinkling. Written by: The Olive Cellar. Back to the Top of the page! Take me back!
To get olives for the sallads and olive oil, we have to cut the olives from the olive trees. Here on the island of Kos we start this half october beginning november after the tourist saison. What we need for cutting olives? - We need nets, sacs, ladder, rakes or machiens for cutting olives.
Olive oil is produced by grinding olives and extracting the oil by mechanical or chemical means.Green olives usually produce more bitter oil, and overripe olives can produce oil that is rancid, so for good extra virgin olive oil care is taken to make sure the olives are perfectly ripened.
The olives are ground into paste using large millstones (traditional method) or steel drums (modern method).
If ground with mill stones, the olive paste generally stays under the stones for 30 to 40 minutes. A shorter grinding process may result in a more raw paste that produces less oil and has a less ripe taste; a longer process may increase oxidation of the paste and reduce the flavour.After grinding, the olive paste is spread on fibre disks, which are stacked on top of each other in a column, then placed into the press.Pressure is then applied onto the column to separate the vegetal liquid from the paste. This liquid still contains a significant amount of water.Traditionally the oil was shed from the water by gravity (oil is less dense than water).This very slow separation process has been replaced by centrifugation, which is much faster and more accurate. The centrifuges have one exit for the (heavier) watery part and one for the oil.Olive oil should not contain significant traces of vegetal water as this accelerates the process of organic degeneration by micro organisms.The separation in smaller oil mills is not always perfect, thus sometimes a small watery deposit containing organic particles can be found at the bottom of oil bottles.
In modern steel drum mills the grinding process takes about 20 minutes. After grinding, the paste is stirred slowly for another 20 to 30 minutes in a particular container (malaxation), where the microscopic oil drops unite into bigger drops, which facilitates the mechanical extraction.`The paste is then pressed by centrifugation - the water is thereafter separated from the oil in a second centrifugation as described before.The oil produced by only physical (mechanical) means is described is called virgin oil.Extra virgin olive oil is virgin olive oil that satisfies specific high chemical and organoleptic criteria (low free acidity, no or very little organoleptic defects).
Sometimes the produced oil will be filtered to eliminate remaining solid particles that may reduce the shelf life of the product.Labels may indicate the fact that the oil has not been filtered, suggesting a different taste. Unfiltered fresh olive oil that has a slightly cloudy appearance is called cloudy olive oil. This form of olive that was popular only amongst olive oil small scale producers is now becoming "trendy", in line with consumer's demand for more ecological and less-processed "green" products.
The remaining paste (pumice) still contains a small quantity (about 5-10%) of oil that cannot be extracted by further pressing, but only with chemical solvents.This is done in specialized chemical plants, not in the oil mills.The resulting oil is not "virgin" but "pumice oil".The term "first press", sometimes found on bottle labels, is technically meaningless, as there is no "second" press.Similarly the label term "cold-filtered" on extra virgin olive oils has lost any significance since "cold" is not defined and all extra virgin olive oils are extracted without heat.
Antioxidants work by neutralizing highly reactive, destructive compounds called free radicals. Free radical production is actually a normal part of life, part of the equation of simply breathing in oxygen. Usually, the body's natural defence systems neutralize free radicals that develop, rendering them harmless. However, environmental assaults on the body, such as UV-radiation, pollutants and alcohol, can overpower the body's ability to neutralize free radicals, allowing them to cause damage to the structure and function of the body's cells. There is good evidence that this damage contributes to aging and leads to a host of illnesses, including cancer and heart disease. Consuming more antioxidants helps provide the body with tools to neutralize harmful free radicals. It is estimated that there are more than 4.000 compounds in food that act as antioxidants. They are present in foods as vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and polyphenols, among others. An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. Extra virgin olive oil is an important source of antioxidants. The most important are polyphenols antioxidants and tocopherols (vitamins E). There are as many as 5,5 mg of polyphenols antioxidant and 1,6 mg of vitamins E in every tablespoon of olive oil. The FDA recommends 120 mg of antioxidants each day for a 25-year-old male. That means that extra virgin olive oil could be 12% of the daily source of antioxidants in your diet if you just use two tablespoons of it in your salads. And it could be almost 30% if you drizzled it over fish or meat or roasted vegetables or used it as dipping oil with bread. If you do the same with refined vegetable oils, there is no antioxidant intake. Why is it important to consume antioxidants? They are associated with several health benefits in humans...
Olive polyphenols have been demonstrated to inhibit or delay the rate of growth of bacteria, such as Salmonella, Cholera, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, and Influenza in vitro.
Vitamin E may help prevent or delay coronary heart disease by limiting the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol. It may also help prevent the formation of blood clots.
Recent studies have shown that the abundant phenolic antioxidant fractions of olive oil have a potent inhibitory ability on reactive oxygen species associated with colon and breast pathologies. Some polyphenols antioxidants, such as resveratrol, inhibit occurrence and/or growth of mammalian tumours.
Polyphenolic components of olive oil have been compared to traditional antioxidants used by the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry to prevent skin damage. Results show polyphenols as having the highest activity as radical scavengers. Another beneficial health effect attributed to consumption of foods rich in Polyphenolic antioxidants are anti-aging consequences such as slowing the process of skin wrinkling.
