the olive blog

1935 World's Fair

The organizers of the World's Fair in 1935, held in California, planted some olive trees. They continue to thrive when all else has long disappeared. More here.

Porto

A study of the major antioxidants in olive oil has identified the one that has the most health benefits.

University of Porto scientists found that the antioxidant DHPEA-EDA gave the greatest protection from heart attack and stroke.  More here.

tabAnti-HER2 (erbB-2) oncogene effects of phenolic compounds directly isolated from commercial Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Researchers from the Catalonian Institute of Oncology in Girona and the University of Granada in Spain have discovered that extra virgin olive oil appears to have a preventive effect against breast cancer. In a study just published in the scientific journal BMC Cancer, the scientists report polyphenols -- powerful natural antioxidants found in abundance in extra virgin olive oil -- have bioactivity against breast cancer cell lines. The article is here.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Apparently Leonardo Da Vinci designed an olive press. There is a photo of a working model here.

Indian olive oil statsitics

India imported 1,500 tonnes of olive oil in 2006, 2,300 tonnes in 2007, and 4,500 tonnes in 2008, and by 2012 the demand will be close to 42,000 tonnes, according to V.N. Dalmia, President of the Indian Olive Association. More here at the Hindu Business Line.

olive stones as fuel

Cleantechnica reports here on the latest developments in turning olive stones into fuel.

Shrimp Linguini

The Examiner has some the recipes for President elect Obama's favourite meals here. The one below is said to be his favourite.

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs fresh shrimp (shell on)
• Several garlic cloves
• Sun-dried tomatoes (sliced in olive oil)
• Chicken broth
• 1 box linguini
• Fresh basil (julienned)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Clean, de-vein shrimp. Remove shells and let soak in hot chicken broth.

Thinly slice garlic. (The more garlic, the better the flavor of the dish).

Cook pasta and set aside. (Important not to over cook pasta)

In large sauté pan, heat olive oil on high heat and sauté garlic cloves until they begin to brown slightly.

Add fresh shrimp and cook until just beginning to turn pick. Add salt and pepper to flavor shrimp.

Add sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook for another minute.

Add pasta. Mix pasta into the garlic, shrimp and sun-dried tomato mixture until pasta coated entirely with mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slowly add a bit of the shrimp shell and chicken broth liquid to remove reserves from bottom of pan.

Remove pan from heat and let sit for a few moments.

Add basil over top of dish before serving.

Google insights

Some maps from Google insights showing the relative weight of searches for olive oil (Trinidad and Tobago leads!), extra virgin olive oil  (United States in top posiiton), and olives (France in top posiiton). The top 10 related searches to olive oil below:

Top searches
1. olive virgin oil 2. olive oil hair 3. garlic olive oil 4. olive oil skin 5. olive oil recipes 6. olive oil pasta 7. olive oil soap 8. olive oil cooking 9. olive oil benefits 10. health olive oil

 

anti-food piracy

Italian authorities say 20 members of an anti-food piracy unit have been trained to know counterfeit extra-virgin olive oil by its taste. More here.

carbon neutral

A carbon-neutral farm with olive trees and vines is starting in Italy.  More here at the BBC.

Maltese festival

The Maltese Times reports Żejtun has an olive festival on this weekend. Freshly pressed oil will be spread on ftajjar, the maltese bread pictured, and given out for tasting. More here.

EC and Labels

The EC may soon make Europe's olive oil producers mark their best-quality brands with origin labels to stop consumers being misled about where the oil comes from. More here.

Indian Market

An interview with V N Dalmia,president of India Olive Association can be found here.

4%

Gary Picariello, pointing to several sources, notes that despite being Europe's second largest producer only 4% of the olive oil branded Italian is sourced in Italy. Large Italian brands import and re-export Tunisian, Greek, Turkish and Spanish oil to make up the difference.

Olive and olive oil bread

Olive and olive oil bread recipe from the NZ Herald here.