Probably brought by the Greeks around 2500 years ago, the olive tree with its distinctive gnarled trunk and dusky green leaves has increasingly carpeted the rolling hills of Andalucia ever since. Today the region produces 20% of the world's supply of olive oil, providing more than 70 million working days during the harvest and production process which in many places has changed little over the centuries.

As cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet, this delicious healthgiving oil is treated with the same respect and attention throughout its life as a good wine. Experts classify it by aroma, texture and taste and it is distributed under rigidly exacting classifications of area, type and acidity. Official olive-producing regions have been declared, mostly in the provinces of Jaén and Córdoba, from where many of the best oils come. Local, unregulated oil can still be bought from the small mills but, like wine, you must know what to look for or you might be disappointed.

Olive Oil and Health

Considered by many to be one of the world's wonder foods, the fruit of the olive is not only tasty but extremely healthy. A tablespoon of olive oil contains 120 calories, 14 grams of mostly unsaturated fat and no cholesterol. The aroma and taste stimulate the digestive process and the body rapidly and completely assimilates the oil. Virgin olive oil also contains the important anti-oxidants beta-carotene and Vitamin E.

Health claims are many and varied, and a lot have been proved, if not in the laboratory then certainly in practice. Olive oil has been associated with the prevention and curing of ailments from senility to cancer. It works marvels on the digestive system, particularly the stomach and pancreas, reducing acidity and helping prevent disorders such as ulcers and gastritis. It can also eliminate serious constipation quite satisfactorily. Once in the blood it continues its valuable work, helping to reduce cholesterol and the resultant risks of heart attack, angina, thrombosis and so on. In general it improves the metabolic functions of the endocrine system, stimulates the absorption of Calcium thus increasing bone growth, works as a tonic and protector to the skin and helps prevent cellular aging throughout the whole body. Being very similar in certain aspects to mother's milk, olive oil is also considered the best fat for infant nutrition.

Every winter, thousands of famillies pick up their sticks, nets and baskets and set out into the campo to start the annual olive harvest. For many, methods haven't changed in a thousand years and collecting the fruit is a laborious and exacting process that lasts from November until March.

The most care is taken with the different varieties of eating olives which mustn't be bruised or damaged in any way and are often hand-picked. These are the most valuable and worth the extra effort. For the rest of the crop which is going to the mill for making into oil, long sticks are used to knock the fruit from the branches onto a net below. This arduous task has been made easier in some places by the introduction of an automatic 'tree-shaker' which does two hours work in about five minutes.

Having picked the tree, it is then quite drastically pruned. This ensures an abundant crop for the coming year. If left unattended, an olive will quickly go to seed and lose all meaningful productivity.

In the mill, the olives are classified and processed. The best oil comes first and is virtually a natural supuration of the fruit which needs little pressing. This is the famous cold-pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Successive pressings then produce correspondingly inferior grades of oil until there remains only a pulp of stones and skin. Seemingly useless, this still contains enough oil to justify further extraction, this time passing through an array of heat and chemical processes which produce a very highly refined product that is gastronomically and nutritionally useless. Nowadays the tradional presses are being replaced in the larger mills by modern systems which extract using a centrifuge.

The best olive oils do not keep long and should be consumed within a year of pressing. To help preserve their unique properties, they should be stored in opaque glass containers, well sealed and away from the light and heat.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra). This comes from the first cold pressing of the olive and must have an acidity of 1% or less. The lower the better. Extra Virgin has all of the health benefits, flavour and aroma attributed to olive oil.

Virgin Olive Oil (Aceite de Oliva Virgen). This comes from the second pressing and, although generally of good flavour, may have higher acidity of up to 3.3%

Refined Olive Oil (Aceite de Oliva Refinado). This comes from a chemical and heat process to extract the remaining oil from the waste pulp and stones. The resulting oil bears no relationship whatsoever to a cold-pressed oil, being completely lifeless both nutritionally and gastronomically. It is not sold for cooking unless blended with Virgen Oil to produce what is simply called Olive Oil..

Olive Oil (Aceite de Oliva). Sometimes called misleadingly Pure Olive Oil, this is Virgin oil mixed with Refined oil. The former is added to try and put some colour, flavour and aroma into what is essentially a dead product. Unfortunately the result is pretty tasteless and of reduced nutritional value. This is the standard olive oil found in the shops.

Tasters drink it, some people pour it on their toast at breakfast and no self-respecting salad is seen without it. Virgin Olive oil is at hand in every Spanish kitchen, on every restaurant table - and it's there to be used liberally. Good restaurants cook with nothing else.

The Virgin oils are good for cold and hot dishes. They have a relatively low burning point so it is always advisable to cook with them slowly which helps preserve most of their flavour and nutritional value. The standard Olive oil is more suitable for deep frying and cooking at high temperatures which would otherwise burn a less refined oil. It's also a fair bit cheaper.

It's all a matter of taste. Olive oil can be used as a substitute for almost any eating fat. Cold Virgin oil makes good salad dressings, marinades and mayonnaise. It can even replace butter in most cases and is decidedly tastier on bread or toast.

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