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GREEK OLIVE OILAN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN GREEK CULTUREby Madelyn MillerTexans owe their fortune to oil.
The oil tree has tree has been grown in Greece for thousands of years and its oil has been used as a food as well as for medicinal, cosmetic, lighting and sacred purposes.
These wonderful, shimmering, cool olive groves of Greece stretch in gleaming rows up the mountain slopes and hillsides and along the shore, shiny young trees together with the old and gnarled, just like the people who tend them and give them life.
HISTORY OF GREEK OLIVE OILAccording to mythology, the goddess Athena caused the olive tree to spring up so that she could win the favor of the inhabitants of Acropolis. Hence, the Acropolis is always depicted with an ancient olive tree growing on it. The olive tree was known to the Armenians and the Egyptians. But the Greeks were the first to be involved in the full-scale cultivation of the olive. Between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC ancient philosophers, physicians and historians undertook its botanical classifications and referred to the curative properties of olive oil. This knowledge is being "rediscovered" today as modern scientists research and find news why the Mediterranean diet is so healthy. The olive and its oil also held a special position in the Orthodox religion; it was a symbol of love and peace, an essential part of several solemn rites, from the service of baptism to the oil lamps used in churches and the little shrine that is part of every Greek household. The love and high esteem of the Greek olive-grower for the olive tree is passed on from generation to generation and from family to family, With the birth of a child an olive tree is planted which will grow and develop along with the child. When the child starts school at the age of seven, the olive tree is ready to produce its fruit. The blessed tree grows up with the family, only it will have a much longer life and will still be around to be tended by the next generation, and the one after that. Each year, it yields its annual crop of olives in return for the labor and love expended on it CHOOSING AN OLIVE OILTaste, aroma and color are all indications of the quality of olive oil. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. Virgin olive oil with an extremely fine taste and an acidity of not more than 1% VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. Also described as "select". This oil has an exceptionally fine taste and its acidity level does not exceed 2%. OLIVE OIL: obtained by mixing refined and virgin olive oil. It has an acidity of up to 1.5% COOKING WITH OLIVE OILOlive oil somehow manages to preserve, better yet to bring out the true taste of the ingredients while adding its own personal touch. When a recipe calls for olive oil, how do you know what kind to use? Let your own taste preferences be your guide. As a general rule, cook with "olive oil" and season or drizzle with "extra virgin" Light and delicate dishes like poached or sautéed fish, chicken or veal, go well with a milder, less fruity olive oil. Full flavored robust dishes such as hearty stews, soups or tomato-based sauces welcome a more fruity, flavorful olive oil, as do steamed vegetables and salads. For roasted, barbecued and braised dishes which require high or prolonged heat "olive oil" is best because it is less expensive yet has the same health benefits as virgin olive oils. In frying, a crisp caramelized crust is formed that will allow but a small amount of oil to soak into the food. In vegetable dishes, its herbal hues blend excellently with the greens. Pies are best made with sweet olive oil. HEALTH BENEFITSThose interested in healthy living have rediscovered olive oil. Doctors and dieticians are drawing our attention to the need to include olive oil in our diets, not only as a basic nutritional food, but also for preventive and therapeutic purposes. At the recent International Congress on the Mediterranean Diet, doctors presented current results of studies that show how helpful olive oil can be for people with medical problems such as high cholesterol, poor metabolism, obesity and breast cancer. It is useful in combating liver problems and is a natural remedy for constipation and gall bladder ailments. Recent research has proved that olive oil inhibits the formation of gallstones. It took olive oil 3,000 years to become the subject of scientific inquiry. In the meantime, the Mediterranean people have been enjoying its benefits and taste. According to Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos, along with vegetables, legumes, fresh fruits, nuts and whole grain products, and modest quantities of dairy products fish and poultry, it has contributed to a dietary combination that meets health criteria as defined by science today GREEK GUIDEBOOKSPassport's Illustrated Travel Guide to Greece GREEK COOKBOOKSThe Food and Wine of Greece The Foods of Greece The Complete Book of Greek Cooking The Greek Wine Guide FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GREEK FOODS, WINE OR SPIRITS:The Greek Food and Wine Institute Note: request their free culinary newsletter : GASTRONOMIA Photo by Madelyn Miller |
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So do Greeks. But it's a different kind of oil. Greeks regard
olive oil as a holy gift that is as valuable as gold. Their wealth is centered
around it and the golden liquid has become their gold.
You would think that the olive was specially made for
Greece, so well does it thrive in most regions of the country. It loves the sea
and the sun. The coastal regions have the perfect climatic conditions it needs
and a suitable ecosystem for the tree to grow and bear fruit.
Since ancient time olive trees found a home on the rocky
slopes of the Aegean, in places where no other tree would endure. To Greeks it
has become the very symbol of endurance, of the will to cling to life. And the
precious juice of its fruit became the symbol of health.
The plant was so venerated that rare was the ritual where
olive oil or an olive branch or an olive wreath was not present. Olive oil was
widely used as a cosmetic, Hera, the wife of Zeus, never failed to use it in
her attempts to seduce him. Homer said that Odysseus made his bridal bed out of
an olive tree. And when children went to bed at night, the candle wick burning
on virgin olive oil was more that just a light to help them sleep, its soothing
presence was the symbol of a guardian flame