Dinge, die Sie nicht über Olivenöl wussten

Knowledge does not take place, so today we bring you a few curiosities about this fundamental ingredient of our kitchen: Our particular liquid gold or olive oil.

• There is no exact date of its origin. However, we already find it in different passages of the Bible up to 300 references to olive groves and olive oil; even much earlier, in The Code of Hammurabi - King of Babylon - (dating back to 2,500 B.C.). In fact, an olive fossil dating back to the Upper Miocene has been found recently (about twenty million years ago).

• The city of Athens has its name in honor of the Goddess Athena, nothing new. But what you surely did not know is that the Athenians made a kind of contest to choose the name of their city when they still did not have one. Athena offered them as a gift an olive tree from which they could obtain wood, fire and food. With this gesture he won the sympathy of the people, and incidentally, also the contest.

• Homer was the first Greek poet to call Olive Oil "liquid gold."

• The Ebro river means "river of oil" and was thus baptized by the Romans. These were the first to classify it as follows: "oleum ex albis ulivis" from green olives, "oleum viride" from olives collected at a more advanced point of maturation, "oleum maturum" from mature olives, "oleum caducum" from olives dropped to the ground and "oleum cibarium" from almost rotten olives, which were intended for feeding slaves. They also introduced it in all conquered territories, becoming more important than the crops of the area.

• Not all Extra Virgin Olive Oils taste the same. Its flavor will influence the variety of olive from which it is obtained, the production area and the crop of each year.

• To obtain a litre of EVOO you will need about 5 kilos of olives. In addition, the “cold extraction” (process that will be carried out to obtain extra virgin olive oil) will always be carried out at temperatures that do not exceed 27ºC. to preserve organoleptic properties.

• The olive tree has 46 chromosomes, the same as us.

• Although it is said that if you consume olive oil you will gain weight, the truth is that the amount of calories it contains is not very high, 9 kilocalories per gram. In fact, its moderate consumption (two to three spoonfuls a day) will strengthen your immune system, will give you more resistance and make your body more protected against viruses, fungi or bacteria.

• Olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties. It is estimated that 50 grams of extra virgin olive oil are equivalent to one tenth of a dose of aspirin.

• As with wines, there are more suitable oils for some dishes than for others. For example, light olive oils are recommended for white fish, chicken, and vegetables. On the other hand, olive oils with a more intense flavor are recommended for blue fish, salads or red meat.

• Spain is the leading producer of olive oil worldwide with an area of ​​2.3 million hectares and about 2,000 olive trees varieties. Within Spain, the main producer is Jaén, which is credited with 20% of world production with its 25,000 metric tons of oil. The smallest producer is Tarragona, with 3,700 tons.

• Interestingly, the country where more olive oil is consumed is Greece with 18 liters per person, compared to the 12 consumed in Spain.

We hope you found these peculiarities interesting. See you next time!