OIL The foliage of the tree is used to honor victory, wisdom and peace. An olive branch was returned to Noah on the ark by a dove, signaling the end of the great flood. Legend has it that Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the arts, was in competition with Poseidon, the sea god. Each was charged with presenting humankind with the most valued gift. Poseidon donated the horse. Athena caused an olive tree to grow at the gates of the Acropolis. It was Athena's gift the people deemed most valuable. In return for her favors, Athens, the most powerful city in Greece, was named in her honor. Greek gods were also believed to be born under the branches of the olive tree. Aristotle pondered the olive tree at great length and eventually elevated its cultivation.to a science. Solon enacted the first laws to protect it. Homer deemed olive oil the "liquid gold." And Hippocrates prescribed it as the "great therapeutic." There are three primary factors that contribute to the unique, robust flavor of Greek Olive Oil. Location. Location. Location. In this regard, Greece is blessed. With sunshine in abundance,excellent soil conditions, gentle sea breezes, temperate climate and year-round growingseason, Greece offers the ultimate biotope for cultivating the ultimate fruit. Beyond what nature has bestowed upon the land, the influence of the Greek olive grower is most profound. There are more than 137,000,000 olive trees in Greece, some more than 1,000 years old. And because these exist in small holdings, each receives the individual care and devotion of its owner. Pruning, coaxing, contemplating, fertilizing, protecting, every step of the growth process, from flowering to handpicking, benefits from the owner's assimilation of modern farming practice with centuries of time-honored tradition. It is a painstaking task born out of passion. One that has been handed down from family to family, generation after generation. In fact, it is this personal diligence to the peculiarities of each grove and each tree that accounts for much of Greek Olive Oil's excellence. The exact moment of ripeness is precisely determined. Picking is done by hand. And because each crop is harvested on a comparatively small scale, the fruit spends the absolute minimal time in storage before pressing. In most cases, the harvest goes to press immediately. Never more than 3-4 days. This greatly preserves the rich robust flavor and aroma of these premium oils. Kefalonia is the only olive oil producing country that grows, cares for, harvests and processes its oil in these ways. It is why there is no other olive oil on earth that tastes, looks and smells like it. It is the definitive olive oil. TYPES OF OLIVE OIL EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL:
Comes from the first cold pressing of the olives without chemicals. It is the most
healthy, tasteful and aromatic oil. It’s acidity level should not VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: Comes from the second cold pressing of the olives, the pulp that comes from the first pressing. OLIVE OIL: Comes from the chemical distillation of the pulp. Usually some extra virgin olive oil is added for flavor but this oil is usually tasteless. |