the olive blog

Greek Baptism

Melbourne's Herald Sun has an article describing the use of olive oil in Greek Orthodox baptisms. The belief is that the oil acts as armour, protecting a baby in life against evil such as a curse. More here.

India reduces customs duty

India has reduced the duty on imported olive oil with predictions that consumers will see lower prices. More here.

sub continent

The Indian Olive Association wants the abolishment of a 45 per cent Customs duty on olive oil. More here. Meanwhile it is reported that Pakistan and Greece are likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in olive cultivation and olive oil production.

anti-microbial activity

The journal Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies reports natural extracts from olive and grape showed better anti-microbial activity against a bacteria and yeast than three synthetic antioxidants, showing their potential as food preservatives. More here.

Lebanon's Olive Harvest

Dating back to the Phoenicians, the production of olive oil is one of Lebanon's oldest industries. This article in the Labanon Daily Star takes up the story.

Israeli price rise

The price of high-quality olive oil produced in Israel is expected to rise by 20 percent. Haaretz reports the reason for the price increase is a poor olive harvest this year, as a result of 2006's dry winter and high temperatures in the spring.

Indian Food and Olive Oil

Can Indian food be cooked in olive oil? Rasheeda Bhagat at Sify reports that when this question was posed to Indian chef Sanjeev Kapur at a promotion campaign for olive oil and table olives organised by the International Olive Council in Delhi this week, his reply was “Of course it can, that’s a no brainer”.

tips on tasting olive oil

Seattlepi has some tips on tasting olive oil in this article.

Coverage of Greek fires

There are now many articles covering the aftermath of the fires in Greece. Elena Becatoros writes Wildfires Devastate Greek Olive Groves for AP.

Bloomberg reports that the fires may have destroyed as many as five million olive trees, cutting production in the world's third-largest olive oil supplier and threatening to reduce output for years.

Fires in Greece

the olive blog is saddened by the fires in Greece and all their aftermath. The loss of life is tragic.