Interesting facts about the Olive & Co

Originally, the wild olive tree from Asia Minor or Anatolia, and was already 8000 years before Christ used to oil extraction. From the 6.JTvC. The olive trees were already domesticated in the Mesopotamian Fertile Crescent. The earliest findings of Olivenölamphoren come from 3.JTvC. Homer called it "liquid gold", the athletes in Greece ritually rubbed all over your body with olive oil. For the peoples of the Mediterranean olive oil was always more than just food. An endless source of fascination, a medicinal and magic and also a source of wealth and power. The olive tree is very robust and its lifespan can be measured in centuries. Its wide and deep root system ensures its survival without additional watering, even in the driest years. Even the increased salinity in the soil by the often frequent proximity to the sea can not affect the olive tree. If other harvests of staple foods are over and there is no more agricultural work, are the fruit of the olive harvest and processing. The minimum maintenance of the olive tree is alone to promote the annual pruning of the tree by the fruit for the coming autumn. Just because the care of the tree, the harvesting and processing of fruit already possible with minimal equipment to mechanical technology, the olive tree has always been like grown and maintained. Even the easy storage of the olive oil is a blessing. It will remain for many years high quality, rich aroma and taste invariably when it protects against light and heat.
Besides the use as food was the olive oil for rituals, highly valued as a medicine, as a fuel in oil lamps, and the manufacture of soaps and ointments.

Commercial production
the production of the olive oil always begins with the transformation of olives in olive paste. This paste is then malaxed (slowly churned or mixed) to concentrate the microscopic oil droplets. The oil is extracted by means of pressure (traditional method) or centrifugal (new method). After extraction of the residue (pomace) still contains a small amount of oil.

The quality classification of the olive oil is as follows:
"Virgin" means the oil is physically produced (press or centrifuge) and no chemical treatment.
"Refined" means that the oil has been chemically treated to neutralize a strong taste and acidity (free fatty acids). In general, the refined oil is considered to be qualitatively less than the native oil.
"Oliventresteroel" means that the oil from the remaining pomace using solvents (usually hexane) and heat was extracted.

The taste quality in blind tasting by a panel of professional tasters evaluated (similar wine, tea, etc.)


interresant to know:

Total production of olive oil around the world: 3.2 million tons, including eg in Spain 1.5 Miot., Italy 0.5 Miot., Turkey Miot 0.1. and Croatia Miot 0.05.