Olive Oil

The olive tree is surely the richest gift of Heaven. I can scarcely expect bread.

Thomas Jefferson

If olive oil comes from olives, then where does baby oil come from?

Jane Wagner

As Pliny says at the beginning of his chapter on oil: “There are two liquids especially agreeable to the human body, wine inside and oil outside.’

When you take a bath, is it in a tub of hot water, maybe with a lot of bubbles? Well, what if I told you that in ancient Greece they dipped themselves into olive oil! Then using strigils to scrape their bodies clean.

Tilly: Ah! The original exfoliator – still used by men to shave. Probably why they often have such good skin in later years. A Greek girl, whom I met years ago, uses olive oil to moisturise her face and neck – and still has the most flawless skin.

So what is olive oil? Olive oil is obtained from a fruit and not the seeds of a fruit. In Arabic, it is called “azzait”.

Tilly: As you mention the Arabic world, try this: jar of queen olives, drained of brine and put in a glass jar. Crush six cloves of garlic, slice a fresh red chilli, crush 1 tspn cumin seeds, and add to the jar, with a tbln sweet pimenton. Stir and cover with 100ml olive oil.

Olive oil is a major component of the Mediterranean diet, which is one of the healthiest diets today. UNESCO in 2012 declared the diet an “Intangible Cultural Heritage”.

No one knows the true origin of the olive, but many historians believe it to be Syria or the sub-Saharan Africa.

Tilly: Early historical records point to ancient olive oil use in Iran, Turkistan, Greece, Italy, and Egypt.

What they do know is that for more than 6,000 years the olive developed with many of the civilizations in the Mediterranean area. Today, more than 23 million acres in the Mediterranean area alone grow olive trees.  Olives are now also grown in California, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa, Asia Minor, and of course Australia. How the olive got to Aussie land is anyone’s guess.

Tilly: Ships, Olive, ships … and migrants will have taken cuttings and olives.  In 400 B.C.,

inventory logs carried by ancient trading ships contained the first written records of olive oil, which was transported through the Mediterranean area from one port to another.

So just how is olive oil made? Well, according to Cato (2nd century BC: Rome.)

Olive: Tilly, first and most important is to grow an Olive tree. You can do that on that North Atlantic Island you live on?

Tilly: I have two olive trees – in pots, mind you – and they do produce a few olives. And Belazu Food Company (the largest importer of Olives in the UK), have demonstrated that olives can be grown in the UK. They grow them, ripen, harvest and process them to create English table olives and Essex Extra Virgin Olive Oil. An English couple in Kent were the first to grow olives: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2564445/My-wife-thought-I-mad-Meet-family-opened-Britains-olive-farm-Kent.html

When ripe “they should be gathered as early as possible, and stand as little as possible on the ground or in the loft. Make green oil as follows: collect windfall olives as quickly as possible. If dirty, wash them, clean them of leaves and manure. Make the oil one or two days after picking. Pick olives when black. The more bitter the olives you make the oil from, the better the oil will be. It is most profitable for the owner if oil is made from ripe olives. If there are frosts when you are harvesting olives, make oil two or three days after: add salt to these olives, if you wish.”

• Cato: On Farming. De Agricultura: A modern translation with commentary by Andrew Dalby [Prospect Books: Devon] 1998 (p. 147)

Olive trees have been a representation of peace between those ancient nations. It also was used in religious and social roles. Athens in Greece is named after the goddess Athena, because of her gift of an olive tree. It was then considered more valuable than that Poseidon fellow’s gift of a salt spring.

Tilly: The full story! Legend has it that Poseidon and Athena, competing for the sovereignty of Attica, challenged each other on who would offer the most beautiful gift to the people of Athens. Poseidon made the horse rise from the ground, fast and strong, an animal able to help the Athenians during their battles. Athena, on the other hand, by striking a rock with her spear, caused the first olive tree to spring forth from the earth. Thanks to its fruits, the Athenians could illuminate the night, medicate wounds and feed the population. Zeus, judge of the challenge, chose the more peaceful element: the olive tree, thus attributing the victory to Athena, who became the goddess of Athens

Today, olive oil is still used in religious ceremonies, a legacy from Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican beliefs. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Judaism, olive oil is the anointing oil used by priests, prophets, and many others.

Tilly: Maybe because it is mentioned numerous times in the Bible, signifying joy, health, and blessing.

So what is it used for today?

1. Exfoliate your hands, face, and body.
2. Remove gum from your hair.
3. Shave your legs.

Olive: Tilly, this sounds so Roman.

Tilly: Apparently, olive stones can be used to exfoliate.

4. Season cutting boards to prevent splits, cracks and stains.
5. Make wood furniture polish: 3 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice.
6. Do you have squeaky doors… Dab oil on a cloth and wipe the hinges.
7. Use on garden tools. The dirt slides off.
8. Unstick a ring. Rub olive oil all around the ring and gently wiggle it off your finger.

What would you use it on?

9. Use it as a hair conditoner.

Tilly: Well, I’d stuff the stoned olives with garlic, chilli, anchovies, red pepper, almonds, cheese, or whatever else took my fancy, for nibbles. Olives and olive oil are an excellent source of Vitamin E, virtually cholesterol free and about 37 calories per seven olives. What’s not to love?

Ditto tapenade – 250g drained black olives, 6 anchovy fillets in olive oil, clove garlic (large!), 6 tbls capers, drained, handful parsley, 3 tbls virgin olive oil, zest and juice I lemon. Blitz it all to a rough-textured paste. Add more lemon or garlic to taste. Can also make a tapenade with green olives and sun-dried tomatoes, with basil instead of parsley.

There are myriad tapenade recipes, all delicious.

Greek yogurt with some olive oil stirred in can transform many dishes. – Yotam Ottolenghi

I made lemon spaghetti in an early season of ‘Everyday Italian,’ and to this day people still come up to me and say they love it. It’s very, very simple. Basically, you cook the pasta and mix together Parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice and zest and pour it over the pasta. – Giada De Laurentiis

What is the charge for beating someone with a bottle of olive oil

and a can of chick peas ? Attempted Hummus-ide.

Olive and Tilly