Olive Oil: Miracle Of An Immortal Tree (Its Legendary Story, Extraction Process and Varieties)

You set up a table in a warm summer evening. Turkish Art Music tunes play as a background music. The table is set including delicious appetizers. Your mood is lifted.

One thing is missed. When olive oil takes its place on the table, then all the things are set. You may dip your bread into it, then you can feel the mood of the Aegean, the Mediterranean.

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„... I like them all, but especially the olive. For what it symbolizes, first of all-- peace with its leaves and joy with its golden oil.“

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Cemre Özgüzel

Sometimes chocolate or sweet is what makes people happy is not enough. Right then three things make you smile: fragrant thyme, fresh bread and olive oil... If one falls into despair, there are things that some of us will take. Olive oil is such precious, and part of us. And do we know that the olives and olive oil in our breakfast table have thousands of years of history? Do we aware of the labor for getting every drop of it? It is time to recognize, embrace and give credit for this food. Let's start to learn the details about olive oil.

Come on, then! Lean against the trunk of the olive tree and listen to its beautiful story .

There is peace in its branch: The history of olive tree and olive oil
We start with the story of an olive tree touching our hearts.

The tree of life, the tree that does not die, the tree of peace... These are just few of titles that people use to describe this legendary trees. It symbolizes peace with its branches. It grows up life and death in its roots. It even has emotion in his branches. During a fire, it is dimidated into two pieces before burning and rebels against all the evil. Its image catches you, and its smell remains in your nose.

There are dozens of stories and rumours about this beautiful tree. The first narration is based on Noah. Humans are punished by the flood. After a period of time in Noah's ark, Noah feels that disasters are gradually decreasing. He decides to send a white dove to the earth to see if the life in the world returns to its order again. The bird comes back with a olive-loaded branch in its mouth. He realizes that the flood is over and the peace between the world and humanity is restored again. Since then, white dove and an olive branch are regarded as symbols of peace.

Another myth is from Greek mythology. When we look there, a very familiar story meets us. The new guardian of the city of Athens is chosen with an olive branch. According to the story; Zeus convenes the assembly and tries to make a decision about selection of the new guardian of Athens. As a result, they decide to have a contest to choose the guardian. The most ambitious name of this competition, Poseidon (God of the sea) creates a horse faster than the wind. The dazzling horse attracts the attention of the council. Athena, the god of wisdom, comes with an olive branch.

He claims that this branch, representing the olive tree, would live for centuries. From this tree a liquid (olive oil) would be obtained and it would solve all the problems, heal the wounds. Athena wins the competition with an olive branch. The olive trees are planted everywhere and become the symbol of established order and peace.

There are many more narrations and stories. You have witnessed some of the stories of olive trees and oil whose initial findings date back 39,000 years. Now it's time to learn how this oil is obtained. Olives continues their journey here. Come on, let's continue without break.

Each olive is a result of labor and effort: How is olive oil made?
Olive oil. The most precious liquid rich in fatty acids which fascinates us by its fragrance and taste is obtained from a fruit. While processing this fruit, there is a remarkable effort in each stage. Caring or cultivating the olive trees are all different stories with lot of labor in it. So how do you get this oil from these tiny olive grains? You will find the answers to this question right here.

The journey of olive oil begins in the branch of an olive tree. Olives that are harvested by hand, by stick or by machine are collected in one place. The stones, leaves, soil and other particles are eliminated and olives are prepared to be pressed.

Before technology was such advanced like today, the process was starting withcrushing the olives between the two heavy stones twice. With the development of technology, machines mostly took over the mission. Olives collected are delivered to these machines. First of all, the olives go through a sorting process again until all unwanted particles are eliminated. It's important not to have any unwanted particles in the process since even if a piece of soil is left, it affects the taste of olive oil in a bad way.

Then the second process starts. The olives in this process are thoroughly are cleansed and dried to get ready for the third stage. At this stage the seeds of the olives are extracted and only the pulpy portions remain. In this way, olives become easier to be crushed and oils are released more quickly. In this process olives become semi-dough.

The semi-doughed olives are transferred to the kneading unit. In this unit olives become fully-doughed and kneading is started. This process lasts for 20-40 minutes according to the type of olives. This phase allows tiny drops of oil to combine and form large drops of oil. Then oil is drained. Following the kneading process, some water is poured into the dough to separate the olive oil and thus it gets to the top because of the density difference. The olive oil overflows with the help of the tanks and becomes liquid. It is pumped in liquid state and finally olive oil is obtained.

Following this, it is packaged and becomes ready to take its place in our kitchens.

If it is extra virgin use it in your salads and if it is early harvest dip your bread into it: Varieties of olive oil
As we have learned how to obtain olive oil, now it is time to get familiar with its varieties. Olive oils are divided into three different types according to processes. These are; natural olive oil, refined olive oil and riviera olive oil. Pressing techniques are approached in three different ways: Cold pressing, hot pressing and stone pressing.

During the kneading and pressing of the olive paste, an average temperature of 27^oC degrees is applied. The oil obtained at this temperature is called "cold pressing". Again in the kneading section, a heat of 50-60^oC degrees is used to obtain more oil. The oil obtained in this temperature is called "hot pressing". Olive oil obtained by using an old traditional method with the help of stones is called "stone pressing" olive oil.

Going back to the varieties; natural olive oil has very little free fatty acid (low FFA value) and is considered as the most valuable olive oil. Especially if it is extra virgin, it is really very valuable. They are obtained by early harvested olives which are not fully matured. They are cold-pressed. Eat them by dipping your bread into it. Use the natural extra virgin olive oils in your salads and cold appetizers. Add extra virgin olive oil to your vegetable dishes. It is strongly suggested by us.

Refined olive oil is obtained as a result of the separation process (lots of efforts are made for this process) of the olives which are not at the desired quality. The price of refined olive oil is more reasonable when compared with the price of natural olive oil. It is more resistant to heat since it has a higher smoke point. You can use it while grilling or while making the dough of the cakes and cookies.

Riviera olive oil is a mixture of refined olive oil and natural olive oil. Its FFA value is the highest among all the olive oils. It is used especially in marination of food. It has the most affordable price. It can be used in all kinds of food and dessert.

We now have a brief idea about the varieties, production processes and even stories of olive oil. Now it's timeto appreciate the value of each drop of olive oil. Long live olive oil!

This article is taken from yemek.com.