By Wendy Musk
Photos Courtesy of McEvoy Ranch and International Olive Oil Council

The Olive Tree has its prehistoric roots in the wild and fertile forests of Asia Minor and its symbolic branches in ancient Islam, where it played the role of the forbidden fruit tree in the Garden of Paradise. Victorious Olympians were wreathed in its leaves and the god Athena claimed to have created the tree to win patronage of Athens for the god, Poseidon. The olive branch signifies a universal offering of peace and its fruit has nourished humankind for more than six thousand years. But it is the oil, dazzling and pure, splashing into our twenty-first century consciousness like liquid gold, that has captured the imagination of a select group of Artisan Producers in the Nouveau-Mediterranean, Northern California.

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HEALTH AND THE MEDITERRANEAN PYRAMID
Olive Oil has found its way into both professional and personal kitchens. The flavor enhances dujour, it is also the recommended source of monounsaturated fat in an American diet bloated with polyunsaturated and saturated fats and their inherent health risks.

With new awareness, curious palette, and a spirit of adventure Americans are embracing the Mediterranean diet, replacing the Four Food Groups of old with fresher fare. Witness a desire for lighter taste, pristine ingredients, cooking methods that bring out the true flavor of organic produce, and olive oil as the perfect medium for grilling, sautÈing, roasting, broiling, basting, marinating and braising. While the proportion of fat within the diet is debatable, the role of fat is not. Energy, growth, metabolic and liver functioning and conveyance of vitamins A, D, E, and K depend upon it. Current scientific studies reveal that monounsaturated fats derived from plant sources do not increase blood cholesterol. Olive oil, additionally, contains substantial quantities of vitamin E with its antioxidant, protective qualities.

The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, a model for one of the healthiest populations of people on the planet, flips the USDA Pyramid on its head. It emphasizing the central role of complex carbohydrates: breads, pasta, rice, bulgur, grains, polenta, couscous, potatoes and frequent servings of fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and legumes and limits portions of red meats to a few per month.
It includes generous daily amounts of cheese, yogurt and olive oil and tri-weekly servings of fish, poultry, eggs and sweets. The psychological aspect of enjoying a meal and the company at the table is a central Mediterranean lifestyle theme and a prime ingredient in the success of the diet.

GRADES OF OLIVE OIL
Worldwide, approximately ten million metric tons of olives are produced annually. One million metric tons are categorized as table olives and nine million tons or 93% of the entire crop, are pressed for olive oil. After an initial six-year development period before fruit is produced, a mature me will supply only I5-20 kilograms or 33-44 pounds of olives each year. Every liter of oil requires five kilograms of olives with one me capable of producing only about three to four litters per year.

Olive oil is graded and classified according to the standards established by the IOOC. The language of the classifications specify the organoleptic (taste, aroma, color) properties of the oil. The analytic characteristics refer to the degree of chemical acidity, that is proportion of free fatty acids per 100 grams of oil.

To qualify as Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the oil must have impeccable taste and aroma with expressed acidity not exceeding 1%. The oil must be obtained from the fruit of the olive solely by physical or mechanical means under superior conditions that preserve its purity. Washing, decantation, centrifugation and filtration are the only treatments applied to the pristine fruit. Distributed nationally and internationally, Extra Virgin Olive Oil commands a higher price than less labor intense oils. Produced in smaller quantities, it offers a wider variety of aromas and flavors, due in part to harvesting procedures and exceptional care.
Virgin Olive Oil is described as having fine flavor with an acidity level not exceeding 3.3 grams per 100 grams of oil. Industry practice sets the acidity level at less than 2 grams per hundred and this may soon be codified through an International Agreement and in the regulations of the European Community.

Olive Oil, formerly marketed as Pure Olive Oil, is the common name for a blend of refined olive oil and Virgin Olive Oil. Its acidity level is set at less than 1.5 grams per hundred with the amount of Virgin Olive Oil determined by taste and aromatic characteristics. Like Virgin Olive Oil, taste may vary from label to label with the intensity of flavor dependent on the percentage of Virgin Olive Oil, typically from 5% to 25% of the blend.