The gnarled olive tree has been the purveyor of health and wealth since times of great antiquity. The Mediterranean shores were its earliest home, and in Homeric times olive oil was the luxury only of the very wealth, who used it mainly as an ointment after bathing. Later in Italy, every single part of the olive tree found its use: the olive itself, ripe or unripe, as a delectable item of food; the oil as an adjunct to cooking; the oil as fuel for lamps; the oil as applied to the skin; the leaves and bark as a tonic tea; the resinous olive “gum” as a medicinal and perfume. During the heyday of the Roman Empire, a prescription for the pleasant life called for “wine within and olive oil without”.
Olive culture has now spread to many parts of the earth, and California, China, and Australia have joined North Africa, Spain, France, Italy, and Greece as producers of olive oil. Italy remains, however, the high priestess of the olive, and little can equal the highest quality pure Italian olive oil. Olive oil varies tremendously in quality, depending on the type of olive used, the methods of refining, and whether it has been mixed with other cheaper oils. The term “virgin” is so widely and loosely applied that it no longer is any indication of quality; originally it meant that an oil was from the first pressing of the fruit, as opposed to the second or third pressings, whose oil is of inferior quality. Olive oil when unrefined has a greenish tinge and a very pungent flavor. It is preferred in certain areas to the refined oil, and certainly its healthful qualities are more intact – but you might have to cultivate a liking for the strong taste.
Olive oil oxidizes less rapidly than other oils; therefore, it does not need to be refrigerated to prevent rancidity. It is somewhat more saturated than certain other vegetable oils, but many a centenarian Italian has attributed his long life to the virtues of olive oil – and we side with the centenarians over the saturationists, and cherish our pure olive oil!
Use olive oil in cooking as you would butter. For a truly gourmet flavor, use half olive oil and half butter when sautéing or starting a sauce. Try sprinkling olive oil and lemon juice over hot vegetables, rather than the customary butter – it’s delicious, it’s healthy, and what is left over is great as a cold salad. Olive oil is incomparable in salad dressing. Here follows the way to dress a salad.
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SALAD DRESSING
Have on your table:
A vial of pure olive oil
Sea salt
A vial of wine vinegar
A pepper grinder
A large bowl, no more than half-filled with freshly prepared salad
1. Pour olive oil over the salad. (A quart of salad will take about 3 tablespoons oil, but this is variable; you want enough to coat all parts of the salad with a thin layer of oil, with none left in the bottom of the bowl). Toss the oil into the salad until everything is well coated.
2. Then put ½ - 1 teaspoon salt in a large spoon and fill spoon with vinegar (ratio of vinegar to oil should be about 1 to 3). Stir gently until the salt is dissolved in the vinegar, then sprinkle over the salad; add more vinegar if necessary. Grind pepper over salad. Toss well and serve.
3. Salad should be served either before (health food style) or after (European style), never with the meal. With this method of preparing salad, the nutrients are sealed in by the oil so that the vinegar and salt cannot leach them out. The salad stays crisper, and salt, vinegar, and pepper are evenly distributed throughout rather than being deposited in clumps. Make a ritual of your salads!
