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Authors: Elena Kostioukovitch
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their faculties to such a point and reached such a degree of sensitivity that they can recognize the flaws in the oil produced by their parents and grandparents. At the time when these generations were involved in production, they were more concerned with quantity than with quality. People were worried about making a living and could live with a lower overall quality.
The excessive preoccupation with quality and authenticity in olive oil production is a sign of our own times. Each and every consumer aspires to have Italian olive oil fromLiguria, Tuscany, or the lake region on the table. A very rich literature on the subject tells us that Italian olive oil is not 0.5 percent but a good 1 percent polyphenols, substances that protect against cancer and heart attack. High-quality Italian oil prevents gallstones. It protects against atherosclerosis (with unsaturated fats). It helps prevent rickets, since it contains olein, palmitin, and myristostearin, as well as vitamins A and E (antioxidants).
Many objections could be raised, however, regarding the
italianitÃ
(Italianness) of the oil consumed by the masses. There is only enough Ligurian oil for the elite: to procure some, you must be a friend of a farmer. There is only enough Tuscan oil for the elite: to get some, you must be a friend of a count.
Veronese oil from Lake Garda is not even plentiful enough for the locals. Sometimes it is sold in shops, but its authenticity depends exclusively on the reliability of the merchant.
In Umbria, local oil can be bought in small towns.
In Puglia it is easier to buy unblended local oil (nearly 40 percent of all Italian oil is produced here!). Authentic Pugliese oil, probably by virtue of its modest quality, is also sold outside of Puglia.
Italians eagerly discuss the terminological nuances that designate the various types and subtypes of olive oil. The classifications, as one might duly expect, change both geographically and historically. Distinctions used in the last century, for example, are generally inapplicable to todayâs reality, which imposes different expressions and categories due to changes in ingredients and production methods.
But what do we find today on the labels of olive oil in the supermarkets?
There are a few principal categories:
Virgin olive oil, obtained mechanically without preheating. It has several subspecies: extra-virgin olive oil (acidity no higher than 1 percent); virgin olive oil (acidity no higher than 2 percent), ordinary olive oil (acidity no higher than 3.3 percent), lamp-grade virgin olive oil (acidity higher than 3.3 percent).
In addition there are refined olive oil (acidity no higher than 0.5 percent) and olive oil that is a blend of refined oil and other virgin olive oil, except lamp grade (acidity no higher than 1.5 percent).
The poorer qualities include oil obtained from olive residues with the aid of a solvent (crude olive pomace oil) and oil obtained from olive residues using a refining method and a solvent (refined olive pomace oil; acidity no higher than 0.5 percent).
Legislation prescribes the norms, and regulatory bodies pursue those who violate them. But rather than considering adulterations and spurious substances, letâs talk about crystalline purity.
Italian recipes and cookbooks always demand extra-virgin olive oil. It is understood that this oil goes back to the sacred Roman culinary tradition, bestows longevity and health, and protects against disasters.
Some bottles contain the written inscription âThis oil may be assumed to diminish the probability of vascular pathologies.â This increases the bottleâs fascination to buyers. And there is some truth in it: from many scientific studies we learn that extra-virgin olive oil falls into the category of functional food, that is, food that lowers the risk of illness, and ânutriceuticalâ food, or medicinal food.
One can of course suggest to those who sing the praises of âextra-virgin oil
The excessive preoccupation with quality and authenticity in olive oil production is a sign of our own times. Each and every consumer aspires to have Italian olive oil fromLiguria, Tuscany, or the lake region on the table. A very rich literature on the subject tells us that Italian olive oil is not 0.5 percent but a good 1 percent polyphenols, substances that protect against cancer and heart attack. High-quality Italian oil prevents gallstones. It protects against atherosclerosis (with unsaturated fats). It helps prevent rickets, since it contains olein, palmitin, and myristostearin, as well as vitamins A and E (antioxidants).
Many objections could be raised, however, regarding the
italianitÃ
(Italianness) of the oil consumed by the masses. There is only enough Ligurian oil for the elite: to procure some, you must be a friend of a farmer. There is only enough Tuscan oil for the elite: to get some, you must be a friend of a count.
Veronese oil from Lake Garda is not even plentiful enough for the locals. Sometimes it is sold in shops, but its authenticity depends exclusively on the reliability of the merchant.
In Umbria, local oil can be bought in small towns.
In Puglia it is easier to buy unblended local oil (nearly 40 percent of all Italian oil is produced here!). Authentic Pugliese oil, probably by virtue of its modest quality, is also sold outside of Puglia.
Italians eagerly discuss the terminological nuances that designate the various types and subtypes of olive oil. The classifications, as one might duly expect, change both geographically and historically. Distinctions used in the last century, for example, are generally inapplicable to todayâs reality, which imposes different expressions and categories due to changes in ingredients and production methods.
But what do we find today on the labels of olive oil in the supermarkets?
There are a few principal categories:
Virgin olive oil, obtained mechanically without preheating. It has several subspecies: extra-virgin olive oil (acidity no higher than 1 percent); virgin olive oil (acidity no higher than 2 percent), ordinary olive oil (acidity no higher than 3.3 percent), lamp-grade virgin olive oil (acidity higher than 3.3 percent).
In addition there are refined olive oil (acidity no higher than 0.5 percent) and olive oil that is a blend of refined oil and other virgin olive oil, except lamp grade (acidity no higher than 1.5 percent).
The poorer qualities include oil obtained from olive residues with the aid of a solvent (crude olive pomace oil) and oil obtained from olive residues using a refining method and a solvent (refined olive pomace oil; acidity no higher than 0.5 percent).
Legislation prescribes the norms, and regulatory bodies pursue those who violate them. But rather than considering adulterations and spurious substances, letâs talk about crystalline purity.
Italian recipes and cookbooks always demand extra-virgin olive oil. It is understood that this oil goes back to the sacred Roman culinary tradition, bestows longevity and health, and protects against disasters.
Some bottles contain the written inscription âThis oil may be assumed to diminish the probability of vascular pathologies.â This increases the bottleâs fascination to buyers. And there is some truth in it: from many scientific studies we learn that extra-virgin olive oil falls into the category of functional food, that is, food that lowers the risk of illness, and ânutriceuticalâ food, or medicinal food.
One can of course suggest to those who sing the praises of âextra-virgin oil
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