Olive oil: The liquid of life

For years I’ve taken for granted olive oil, since it is just one grocery item you can get from any supermarket shelf. A bottle of extra virgin olive oil is a premium deli item, used sparingly on salads and pasta dishes. Regular olive oil is used with a more liberal hand, although its steep price, compared with regular palm or vegetable oil, means reserving it only for really special dishes.

On a recent gourmet tour of Spain, I was part of a group of Filipino journalists who were given an overview of some of Spain’s culinary specialties. What we learned about olive oil gave us a new picture of what many Filipinos consider to be a gourmet oil.

Olive oil is considered to be Spain’s great leveler. Despite regional differences in culture, temperament and taste, all Spaniards, no matter their status in society, agree that olive oil is the basis for a varied, delicious and original national cuisine. It has been a part of the Spanish way of life for centuries.

Eva Ruiz of the Olive Oil Exporters Association of Spain (Asoliva) says Spaniards consume as much as 14 liters of olive oil annually, just a fraction higher than the 12 liters of olive oil consumed by Italians. In the Mediterranean, Greeks hold the record at 24 liters annually. Compare this with the 1.4 liters of olive oil consumed by Australians annually, and you realize the gulf of olive oil that literally separates Europe and the rest of the world.

If you think Spain’s consumption is high, its production is so much more. In 2001, Spain produced 1.4 million tons of olive oil, a record considering that it only started a campaign to steadily raise olive oil production during the mid-’90s.

In fact, olive trees far outnumber Spain’s population. Olive groves cover more than five million acres of the country, accounting for 27 percent of the total world land surface devoted to olive trees.

Ruiz says 80 percent of the total production is bulk exported abroad, with Italy a major buyer. Only 20 percent stay in the country and are packed for local sales. It has only been lately that Spain developed the savvy of packing its oil in fancy containers, as practiced in Italy, belatedly entering the gourmet oil export market.

What is so special about Spanish olive oil?

Olive oil is the only oil used in cooking that is pressed from a fresh fruit. Its delicate flavor and aroma make it distinct from all other oils. The widely varying climatic conditions in the peninsula that affect the composition of the soil in the country is the reason why Spain produces a variety of olives, giving its olive oil its distinct taste. Of the olive varieties grown, the typical are the picual from Jaen, accounting for half of Spain’s olive crop, the hojiblanca of Andalucia, and the arbequina from the Catalan province of Lerida.

The olive was brought to Spain by the Phoenicians and the Greeks. With the arrival of the Romans, production techniques were improved so much that olive oil from Hispania was prized as a superior commodity in ancient Rome and throughout the empire.

Estrabon, the Roman geographer, described Spanish olive oil as "unsurpassable, not only in quantity, but also in quality." The 7th century saint and writer Isidoro of Seville recommended sweet oil pressed from perfectly ripe olives as a condiment and new-season green or late-season common olive oil as a condiment. One of Diego Velasquez’s portraits of everyday life in Seville, painted in 1618, shows an old lady, wooden spoon in hand, frying two eggs in olive oil.

Apart from its distinct taste, olive oil is popular because of its health benefits. Nutritional studies found that a Mediterranean diet based on olive oil cooking is healthier than a diet that is based on animal fat.

Olive oil is characterized by a balanced fatty acid content. It has a high level of oleic acid, a monounsaturated acid that heaps steady the body’s cholesterol levels. Since virgin and extra virgin olive oil undergo no chemical treatment, this benefit remains intact. Many doctors also maintain that olive oil is an antioxidant, easing cardiovascular flow and helping delay the cell aging process.

If all that fact doesn’t convince you of olive oil’s special properties, then the proof is in the eating.

We were presented with a typical miller’s lunch during our visit at the Nuñez de Prado oil mill in Baena, Spain. In ancient times, workers knocking off at about midday from the late night shift had a meal of bread, made from a wood-fired oven, drizzled with oil and accompanied with garlic, tomatoes, salted cod, olives, some cold cuts and, during the 19th century, even oranges. All these were eaten with wine or coffee.

Felipe Nuñez de Prado of the Nuñez de Prado family of olive growers served us a number of appetizers to allow us to enjoy the distinct taste of their firm’s flor de aceite extra virgin olive oil. These included jamón ibérico, manchego cheese, green olives, a pate of black olives mixed with olive oil, almonds that have been deep-fried in olive oil, ham and cheese croquettes and prawns served with two dips of mayonnaise that have been made separately with flor de aceite pressed in 2001 and 2002.

First to go were the prawns. We couldn’t make up our minds whether we preferred the milder flavor of the 2001 flor de aceite mayonnaise or the fresher and more tangy taste of the 2002 flor de aceite mayonnaise. The 2001 flor de aceite had more bite that only further tickled our palates. When we ran out of prawns, we took turns dunking the slices of freshly-baked bread into the mayonnaise.

Nuñez de Prado explained that as the flor de aceite matures, it becomes milder in flavor. A bottle of 2002 flor de aceite is a turbid green, while the 2001 flor de aceite is already clear and golden in color.

We moved to the table for lunch where we were served a dish called el arroz caldoso al estilo del maestro de molino, a soupy hot rice dish that is full of vegetable and meat chunks that looked like our local arroz caldo. The meat course was ibérico pork tenderloin medallions marinated in extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic and parsley, with a side dish of patatas a la pobre, potatoes sautéed to a golden brown with garlic.

The meal’s piece de resistance proved to be the dessert items. They were orange slices with olive oil and honey and extra virgin olive oil ice cream.

Olive oil and honey? Olive oil ice cream? Together, they make perfect sense. Think mantecado ice cream but with the distinct flavor of flor de aceite extra virgin olive oil. On the other hand, the honey added a sweet taste to the sour-sweet orange slices, that was balanced by the fruity flavors of the olive oil.

The curious can try it at home. We’ve managed to steal the recipe for the oranges, culled from the book Paella! Spectacular Rice Dishes from Spain by Penelope Casas.

Unfortunately, Nuñez de Prado flor de aceite extra virgin oil is not available in the country. It retails at £8.25 for a 500ml bottle at gourmet shops in London. Use your best extra virgin olive oil as a substitute.

Oranges In Honey And Olive Oil "Nuñez De Prado"

6 oranges, preferably navel oranges
2 Tbsps. honey
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbsps. orange juice
2 Tbsps. fine extra virgin olive oil, preferably Nuñez de Prado
2 Tbsps. orange liqueur

Remove a thin peel from two oranges and cut in very fine julienne strips. Clean the pith from all the oranges, removing as much as possible. Place the julienne strips in a small saucepan with water barely to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and run under cold water.

In a saucepan, bring to a boil the honey, sugar, orange juice and 1/2 cup water. Boil slowly until the liquid is syrupy, about 10 minutes (230°F on a candy thermometer). Add the orange julienne strips and turn off the heat. When cool, stir in the oil and the liqueur.

Slice the oranges and arrange in a large shallow bowl. Pour on the syrup and let sit at room temperature for one hour or more. To serve, divide the orange slices among four dessert dishes and spoon the sauce and orange julienne strips over them.