Monday, August 29, 2011

Olive Oil is a Food Additive Extraordinaire

By Michael Josephs


Olive oil is a popular liquid that can be mixed with other foods. Having many known uses it is simple to maintain and utilize. Of a light texture and known in fried food, the oil provides a satisfying component to a variety of dishes.

Olive oil can add moisture to dry foods and reduce the acidity of those foods that need it. Additionally, it can be utilized in any form of baking from frying to barbecuing. Of course using the best quality oil for the particular cooking style adds untold flavor to the food.

Spanish olives appear to be the best plants that produce the most excellent type of oil in existence. Spain has been blessed with centuries of cultivation and production of olive oil and its production factors have been seemingly helped with the frequent cultural and political upheavals that plagued the area; this had the unexpected result that olive oil producers shared knowledge of their product with one another.

The original olive trees from which the modern day plant descend are an enigma for modern man. Many different locations are chosen today for the incipient plant from Iran to the Egyptian delta or even Jerusalem; all of these had ancient uses of the tree but none can be accurately identified as the home of the olive tree.

Looking back into the past, one can clearly see that the Nile gods were worshipped by acolytes using olive oil in ancient rites. Even back then there were methods of removing the product of the olive that today are still used in oil production in a similar fashion.

Many different regions and peoples have utilized the oil in their alimentation and ceremonies from the Southern Europeans to the North Africans to the Near Eastern cultures. The organic process by which olive oil spread found an easy host in these cultures by which it could propagate and diversify even further.

If one searches the record of ancient cultures one finds Hebrew biblical accounts of its usage as well as the tales of Greek gods and more. In spite of the contributions from other peoples, it is to the Spanish peninsula that modern society owes the spread of this useful additive since they had been using it since ancient times.



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