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Extra Vergine Olive Oil
[Utdrag fra en brosjyre om olivenolje utgitt av Consorzio Nazionale Olivicoltori, funnet på Ultra. Jeg orker ikke oversette – beklager]
Introduction
It helps children grow regularly, it facilitates intestinal absorption of vitamins, it aids digestion and it regulates the cholesterol content in the blood. These are just some of the properties of olive oil, the prince of the Mediterranean diet. ….
Extra vergine olive oil
Extra vergine olive oil is without doubt the foodstuff that best symbolizes the Mediterranean diet and all that it stands for. It’s a valuable nutrient with numerous benefits for people of all ages. Extra vergine olive oil is the fruit of simply pressing olives. Its origins are in ancient history. Cultivation of olives dates back at least 6,000 years, as testified in the fifth book of the Old Testament Bible (Deuteronomy).
The olive probably originated in the western Asia but rapidly spread throughout the Mediterranean region and become a sacred symbol of wisdom. Today, medical science has confirmed the health-giving and nutritional properties of extra vergine olive oil and consumption of it has grown worldwide.
How it’s made and classified
Extra vergine olive oil is the only oil obtained from a fruit simply by mechanical extraction. It’s a genuine ‘fruit juice’ obtained by separating out the oil by centrifuging or pressing or straining from the pomace of healthy, fresh olives picked at the right stage of ripeness.
Its low acidity, less than 0.8%, and unmistakable aroma make it the undisputed ‘prince of the table’. The quality of an oil is measured not only in terms of acidity though, as an oil may have a low acidity level but also serious organoleptic defects. A ‘sensorial’ analysis is therefore needed to determine and certify an oli’s organoleptic characteristics: taste, smell, colour and appearance.
The analysis – known as a ‘panel test’ – involves the tasting of a product by a group of expert tasters using the official methodology to assess and classify the oil.
In this respect too, extra vergine olive oil is the very best, as it has to prove entirely without defects of any kind.
Extra vergine olive oil indispensable for everyone
Thanks to its acidic composition, extra vergine olive oil is a highly digestible food, making it especially suitable for feeding breastfed babies and infants.
It is the preferred oil for frying too, thanks to its critical temperature (210°-220°C), which is higher than other oils. Seed oils starts at lower temperatures than this to form peroxides and polymers that can harm the liver, stomach and cardiovascular system. Extra vergine olive oil, on the other hand, even after prolonged high temperature heating will only slightly modify its fatty acid composition.
[Dette strider mot hva jeg har lært tidligere om at olivenolje ikke bør varmes opp over 120°, så dette tar jeg med en klype salt. Jeg holder på mettet fett til steking slik jeg har lært, med Cocosa eller klaret smør]
It’s also recommended for the elderly, not only because of its excellent digestibility but also because it helps assimilation of mineral salts and vitamins and because it prevents calcium loss by stimulating mineralization of the bones.
Rich in anti-oxidants, extra vergine olive oil combats free radicals thus helping to prevent ageing of the organism. It is also ideal for people who do sport, as it can meet athletes’ high energy requirements.
Extra vergine olive oil and health
What makes extra vergine olive oil really special is its preventive function with respect to a great many pathologies. In particular, this nutriment has salutary effects on:
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the digestive system -
cardiovascular disorders -
cancer.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
It facilitates the various phases of digestion. It reduces the secretion of gastric acid, thus tending to inhibit the onset of gastric and duodenal ulcers. Statistical studies have shown that giving olive oil to patients suffering from ulcers considerably reduces lesions and causes cicatrisation in most cases.
One or two spoonfuls, on an empty stomach in the morning, can have satisfying effect on simple acute constipation.
Thanks to its balanced composition of fats, it is a potent detoxifying agent for the liver.
It also helps improve the tone and activity of the gall bladder, producing a powerful yet gentle and prolonged effect. And lastly, it facilitates the work of the bile (emulsionating fats), thereby reducing the risk of cholesterolic biliary calculosis.
CANCER
In Europe, cancer is responsible for around 20% of all deaths. It is estimated that a substantial percentage of total cancer deaths are attributable to dietary factors.
Our states of relative health and illness involve delicate balances between oxidants and anti-oxidants. This balance is vital to good health. Today, it is thought that free radicals attack the DNA and chromosomes to become a cause of cancer and that antioxidants block them. Cancer may therefore be prevented by changing our eating habits.
Numerous studies show that the Mediterranean diet can prevent certain types of cancer- Extra vergine olive oil is rich in oleic acid and many other substances. It’s the only oil pressed directly from a fruit that provides phenols and vitamin E, all antioxidants.
Various epidemiological studies show that regular consumption of extra vergine olive oil is inversely related to certain types of tumour. These studies show that the incidence of cancer in the colorectum and breast is much greater in the northern than southern Europe.
A teaspoon (ie 10g) a day of olive oil is sufficient to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
It has also been discovered that the presence of olive oil in a diet helps protect against cancer in the colorectum by acting on the structures of the secondary biliary acids in the colon, which in turn influence the metabolism of the polyamines in the colon enterocytes in ways that reduce the transformation of normal mucous into adenomas or carcinomas.
Extra vergine olive oil also plays a protective role against cancer in the primary digestive tract (mouth, pharynx, oesophagus), the endometrium and the ovaries. And lastly, it reduces the onset of prostate cancer.
CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS
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A diet rich in extra vergine olive oil helps keep down the level of LDL (the bad cholesterol) without reducing the level of HDL (the good cholesterol, the so-called artery cleaner). HDL is protected by monosaturated fatty acids, which extra vergine olive oil has plenty of.
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Further, the antioxidant properties of the polyphenols and vitamin E in extra vergine olive oil:
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reduce the formation of the free oxygen radicals involved in infarction and cell ageing -
help prevent the development of arteriosclerosis
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Extra vergine olive oil also acts positively on diabetes. A diet that’s hyperlipidic due to the preservation of extra vergine olive oil is a valid alternative to carbohydrate rich diets because it improves the blood’s glucide level, it makes for better control of lipid metabolism and by supplying antioxidant agents it limits the formation of harmful substances.
Olives
Botanically speaking, the olive is an elongated oval shaped stone fruit. It has three parts:
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the skin, or epicarpus -
the flesh, or mesocarpus -
the pit, or endocarpus, containing the seed
The oil is mostly in the flesh (96-98%). Only 2-4% of the oil is in the seeds. The oil [olive?] consists of 15-25% oil and a quantity of wather between 30% and 60%. There is also a high sugar content, around 19%. The rest is fibre (5-6%), protein (1,6%) and ash (1,5%).
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Oilve oil
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In the milling process the olives are chrushed by mechanical means, either traditional mill stones or modern crushers, followed by a separation of the tree: phases-oil, vegetation vater and pomace – using a press or centrifuge. The oil may then be filtered to make it transparent, a quality consumers have so far appreciated, even though this somewhat detracts from certain of its most prized properties.
[Brosjyren beskriver smaking også, men det tror jeg at jeg kommer tilbake til senere]
Typisk næringsinnhold per 100 ml:
Fett 93g, hvorav enumettet 72g, mettet 12 g og flerumettet 9g
Vitaminer E 180mg, A 40 mg
