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Mythology Athens is named for the Goddess Athena who brought the olive to the Greeks as a gift. Zeus had promised to give Attica to the god or goddess who made the most useful invention. Athena's gift of the olive, useful for light, heat, food, medicine and perfume was picked as a more peaceful invention than Poseidon's horse - touted as a rapid and powerful instrument of war. Athena planted the original olive tree on a rocky hill which we know today as the Acropolis. The olive tree which grows there today is said to have come from the roots of the original tree. Types of olive oil Olive oil is unique among vegetable oils in that it is produced, by purely mechanical means, from the fresh flesh of the fruit. In many places the simple process of grinding or milling the olives and then pressing them has changed very little since Roman times - the equipment has simply become more sophisticated. Grading Olive Oil Around 10% of the olive oil produced in the world is top-quality virgin olive oil. The rest has to be refined to remove impurities which affect the flavor and aroma of the final oil. Tests have been developed to test the acidity levels of olive oil. The lower the acidity is, the better the oil is. Acidity in olive oil cannot be tasted as it can in lemons or vinegar. You can only taste this kind of acidity if there is something wrong with the oil and it has gone rancid. Extra Virgin Olive Oil This is the top grade of olive oil. It is virgin, or unprocessed, oil which must have an acidity level of not more than 1g per 100 g or 1 percent. Some extra virgin oils have acidity levels even lower than this. The oil must also have perfect aroma, flavor and color. Virgin Olive Oil This is virgin oil which must have an acidity level of not more than two percent, still with perfect aroma, flavor and color. Olive Oil This is a blend of refined and virgin oil. It must have an acidity level of not more than one and a half per cent. Refined oil has no taste or smell and virgin oil is added to give it flavor. The oils vary in the amount of virgin oil that is added to them and so in the concentration of their flavors. Often used for frying What's on the Label? First, cold-pressed: Exactly what it says - the very first pressing, often obtained using traditional methods and small scale production. An utterly superb product retaining its natural goodness and distinctiveness, but, also often expensive. Cold-pressed / 'traditional manner pressing': Simply extracted without any heat above 28°c or 82°F, but perhaps from the second pressing of the same olives. Still a good product; keeping many healthy qualities and flavor. Estate bottled / single estate oils: Top quality, premium-price, absolutely superb oils, often from hand-picked olives and cold-pressed within hours of picking. Probably from one particular family estate or farm, it may bear the family name and logo. It is grown, extracted and packed on home ground. Affiorito/ flor de aciete / lagrima: Also known as 'flowers' or 'tears'. This is 'free run' oil - wonderful stuff, it will often have been roughly crushed, probably between old millstones, but not pressed: the oil merely runs off and is collected. This is rare and very desirable. Date and year of pressing: This tells you how old the oil is - aim for oil as young as possible. Very new, young oil may have a particularly pungent bitterness, too strong for some palates, but it softens within several months. No oil lasts well for more than one year. Unfiltered: Means one less process - it implies excellent olive oil and careful handling. Often murky but delicious it is described as 'veiled', since 'cloudy' would infer a fault. Single varietals / blends: Sometimes only one variety of olive is used, sometimes a blend. This is up to the producer. Stylish blends are often excellent; so can single varietals be. Designation of origin: Refers to specifics applied to olive oils from designated regions or zones which safeguard particular local traditions, olive types and/or characteristics. The four greatest enemies of olive oil are age, heat, light, and air. You really want to store your olive oil in a cool place and in dark bottles or in the cupboard to prevent it from oxidizing. It all boils down to this: The label doesn't matter as much as finding a taste that pleases you. Olive oil's health benefits Olive oil is a natural juice which preserves the taste, aroma, vitamins and properties of the olive fruit. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can be consumed as it is - freshly pressed from the fruit. The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidant substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil - mainly oleic acid. Olive oil is very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil's protective function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. Olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation. Olive oil and heart disease Studies have shown that people who consumed 25 milliliters (ml) - about 2 tablespoons - of virgin olive oil daily for 1 week showed less oxidation of LDL cholesterol and higher levels of antioxidant compounds, particularly phenols, in the blood. But while all types of olive oil are sources of monounsaturated fat, EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives, contains higher levels of antioxidants, particularly vitamin E and phenols, because it is less processed. Olive oil is clearly one of the good oils, one of the healing fats. Most people do quite well with it since it does not upset the critical omega 6 to omega 3 ratio and most of the fatty acids in olive oil are actually an omega-9 oil which is monounsaturated. Olive oil and colon cancer Spanish researchers suggest that including olive oil in your diet may also offer benefits in terms of colon cancer prevention (5). Their study results showed that rats fed diet supplemented with olive oil had a lower risk of colon cancer than those fed safflower oil-supplemented diets. In fact, the rats that received olive oil had colon cancer rates almost as low as those fed fish oil, which several studies have already linked to a reduction in colon cancer risk. 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