Have you ever wondered what is extra virgin olive oil?
Here we hope to solve your doubts
The legislation of the European Union (Regulation (EC) 1234/2007) on olive oils is very clear in its definitions, cataloging as extra virgin , only the juices that it’s obtained directly from olives in good conditions , solely by mechanical processes, with impeccable taste and smell and free from defects,and may not exceed the degree of acidity of 0.8 ° , expressed as a percentage of free oleic acid.
The median of the defects must be equal to 0 and the fruity greater than 0.
In conclusion, extra virgin olive oil it’s the juice obtained from olives, depending on their conditions, it’s treatment and manipulation on Extraction of the oil gives some organoleptic characteristics and with an experts tasting , obtained as a result a valuable product of the Mediterranean diet, such as extra virgin olive oil.
About the benefits of olive oil for health
Extra virgin olive oil is the fundamental basis of the Mediterranean diet, not only for its organoleptic qualities also for the multiple benefits that your consumption has for your health. In recent years, many studies thave show the nutritional qualities of extra virgin olive oil and the benefits it has to protect against cardiovascular diseases.
But this is the most popular benefit of our liquid gold, here will show you many more.
The fatty acids that have extra virgin olive oil, specifically its high content of oleic acid, help to fight ldl cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), improves blood circulation and lowers blood pressure, as it increases its vasodilation.
Reduces the secretion of gastric acids and protects against gastrointestinal diseases, also has a mild laxative effect and helps a better intestinal absorption of nutrients.
The consumption of saturated fats leads to overweight and obesity, Risk factors for the onset or worsening of type II diabetes.That is why are recommended to people suffering from this type of diabetes, individually and depending on the characteristics of the patient, the consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid. And extra virgin olive oil has a high content of this acid.
It’s very important for childrens the exclusive use of extra virgin olive oil in their diet, since it helps in the development of their bones. also it’s important in elderly nutrition to limit the loss of calcium during aging, since it can lead to pathologies such as osteoporosis.
Having a high content of phenolic antioxidants, especially vitamin E, protects us against the oxidation of our cells.
A lower incidence of several types of cancer in the main consumers of olive oil is demonstrated by scientific studies, Mediterranean countries compared to the United States and northern Europe. For example, breast cancer, which is closely related to the consumption of saturated fats of animal origin.
Olive oil is mainly composed of oleic acid (monounsaturated fatty acid), helping to reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. It also protects our cells against oxidation, decreases blood pressure and inflammation and the tendency of our blood to form thrombi. With which is very good recommendation to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
All these properties are attributed especially to extra virgin and virgin olive oils, since refined olive oils, with the chemical process, lose almost all the healthful properties of this natural olive juice.
We already know that extra virgin olive oil helps eliminate bad cholesterol and potentiates good cholesterol, if we add lemon juice to these powers, we obtain a detoxifying potion for the liver and gallbladder.
lemon helps lower the levels of bad cholesterol in the liver (a study published in the European Journal of Nutrition supports this.
Taking a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice in the morning,we activate the functions of the liver and the gall bladder and lubricate the digestive mucous, helping the body to eliminate all those toxins that we don’t need.
Taking extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice is a widespread practice in Spain or at least in olive oil producing areas such as Córdoba.
By taking olive oil on an empty stomach, we multiply its benefits, since the body absorbs nutrients much better.
A spoonful of olive oil (always top quality) is 5 ml and approximately 40 calories, Being extra virgin has a more concentrated amount of natural polyphenols and antioxidants.
By adding the properties of olive oil with those of lemon we obtain an antidote to detoxify the organism, stimulate the gallbladder (expel stones), lose weight and improve the functioning of the digestive system.
How to take it:
You can do it every morning directly on a spoonful, add extra virgin olive oil and
squeeze a few drops of lemon juice.
Or if you prefer, you can leave it prepared in a jar that closes hermetically, pour 250ml of extra virgin olive oil of superior quality, add the zest of a lemon ( like a spoonful of dessert ) and the juice of 3 lemons. every morning before pouring it into the soup spoon, you move it well so that it mixes and you have your natural syrup ready for each day.
Extra virgin olive oil is capable of killing cancer cells without damaging good cells , According to the latest study by a team of scientists from the University of New Jersey rutgers and Hunter College in New York, published in the journal Molecular and cellular oncology.
The ingredient responsible for this “miracle” is oleocanthal, a natural organic compound isolated from extra virgin olive oil and the responsible for that particular spicy flavor of the oil.
Experts have found that the oleocanthal’s own enzymes kill cancer cells by breaking down vesicles that store cell debris without damaging healthy cells and in a very short time, between 30 minutes and 1 hour lasts the process.
The oleocanthal perforates the vesicles inside the cancer cells that store the waste of the cell.
The surprising thing is that it does not damage healthy cells, but temporarily paralyzes its life cycle, as if it had left them sleeping. 24 hours later, these cells resumed their natural life cycle.
https://www.muyinteresante.es/salud/articulo/el-aceite-de-oliva-virgen-extra-mata-las-celulas-cancerosas-361424095880
We all know the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil, our liquid gold, but in children, What is the advantage of a diet made exclusively with olive oil? We explain.
For example, arteriosclerosis is a disease that begins to develop in the childhood stage, although it’s not until adulthood when the development of this disease begins to be seen.
Arteriosclerosis is a disease that narrows blood vessels and hinders blood circulation, being able to cause myocardial infarctions or strokes.
According to a study by the University of Navarra, Mediterranean diet enriched with extra virgin olive oil can reverse this disease in 12 months.
Therefore, if we feed our children a healthy Mediterranean diet, using only virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, we can prevent this disease.
The amount of olive oil recommended for children depends on age, but to give you an idea, nutrition experts recommend 2 or 3 tablespoons per day, it can be in salad, on toast, in stews, in fried, etc.
It also provides children with the fatty acids and the good cholesterol needed to form cell membranes or important tissues, such as nervous system, in addition to providing children with an important reserve of energy.
Children should consume oil even before they are born. A pregnant woman whose diet contains olive oil (especially virgin or extra virgin) promotes good fetal development and provides vitamin E. It also protects future children from asthma and some allergies and helps to better develop their brain, vision and the baby’s psychomotricity .
In addition to preventing diseases such as arteriosclerosis, consumption of virgin olive oil during pregnancy helps to better absorb calcium and minerals, which makes the pancreas and stomach work much better.
How to take it?
Experts recommend that pregnant women consume 1 tablespoon of raw virgin olive oil a day, preferably on an empty stomach, this will help to absorb their nutrients better, helps to reduce the stomach burn and to improve constipation.
Applications of olive oil for beauty
For hundreds of years, Hindus have used this beauty trick to keep their hair strong and shiny. In the West this can cause rejection, because we know the benefits of olive oil for health, but we do not know the benefits of this for hair and skin.
It is recommended to apply olive oil to the hair at least once a week. With this, we will not only hydrated hair, but we detoxify it by eliminating chemicals such as parabens and sulfates that have some of the hair washing products, we will avoid the irritations and scales of the scalp and we will prevent it falling, besides providing an extra brightness.
It is a tradition of Ayurvedic philosophy that will give you many benefits if you are constant.
How to apply it?
Preferably at night, extending it from the roots to the tips. Then, pick up your hair in a bun and wrap it in a towel (this is so as not to stain the pillow)
Next day, when you wake up, wash your hair.
So that you don’t get heavy hair or have traces of oil in the root you have to give yourself two shampoos, leaving the product a second time to act a little before rinsing. Then wash it with almost cold water and it will stay looser and brighter.
You have to let the oil act at least 2 hours, if you don’t have time or don’t feel like doing it to sleep, you can also do it during the day.
You can also apply it if you go to the beach or the pool, thus in addition to the aesthetic benefits will help protect your hair from the sun and salt.
You can use many oils, but it’s better to use virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, since it has a high content of vitamin E perfect for dry hair, contains vitamin C that helps the formation of collagen and vitamin A that promotes the cell regeneration, in this way also rejuvenate your hair.
In our current epoch, there are already many treatments for the skin that include olive oil. But what are the advantages of using virgin olive oil directly on the skin?
We explain it to you here.
Olive oil is a totally natural product, from the tree to your home. It does not have chemical products that intoxicate your body and in this case saturate your skin.
Due to its high content of vitamin A and E, it offers everything from skin rejuvenation to relief in irritated skin areas.
Other benefits:
It is moistening, this means that moisturizes dry-skin zones
Make-up remover. is a very effective and gentle makeup remover. Remove even the waterproof makeup.
Relieves the itching caused by psoriasis and eczema, when applying we manage to calm the discomfort caused by itching.
fights the aging of the skin, the free radicals that contain many products, the contamination and the sun exposure, cause a premature aging of the skin. It’s proven that vitamin E repairs the adverse effects of these exposures. Extra virgin olive oil contains 12 mg of vitamin E per 100 g, so the consumption of 2 tablespoons of olive oil per day (25 g) gives us half the recommended dose of vitamin E.
For shaving, if we try to moisten the skin that we are going to shave only with olive oil, we will see that the blade slides much better, it will not irritate the skin, nor will there be redness and cuts,we also manage to hydrate it with a single step.
In this section I leave several facial masks for different uses made with olive oil and other natural products.
Olive oil and honey (ideal for sensitive skin):This is a multivitamin mask that helps relieve the dryness and imperfections that cause toxins in the skin. In addition, due to its anti-inflammatory effect, it is ideal to soothe allergies and burns.
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of olive oil (25 g) and 1 tablespoon of honey.
Mix the ingredients in a bowl, apply a thin layer of product on the entire face, leave on for 30 minutes and rinse with plenty of water. Ideally to do it 2 or 3 times a week to see the results.
Olive and coconut oil (for all skin types):The fatty acids of olive oil, along with the antioxidants of coconut oil, provide us with a 100% natural anti-aging mask. They help to preserve the firmness of the skin and create a protective barrier against the aggression of the sun and free radicals.
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.
Mix the two oils and you will get a homogeneous cream to cover the skin of the face. It is best to use it at night, apply it and let it work all night so that the nutrients are absorbed well. Use 3 times a week.
Olive oil and oats (natural exfoliant): With this mask, we eliminate the dead cells and the impurities that adhere to the pores.
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of oats.
Mix the ingredients in a bowl until you get a thick paste, rub the product in a circular motion across the face and let it act for 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water. Recommended use 2 times per week.
Olive and avocado oil (moisturizes and repairs the skin): By having a dense content of fatty acids, vitamin E and other antioxidants, accelerates the process of cell regeneration and helps reduce the early appearance of wrinkles.
Ingredients: 1 ripe avocado and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
Grind the peeled avocado and mix it in a bowl with the oil, apply the resulting paste on the entire face, neck and décolleté. Leave it on for 30 minutes and rinse with warm water. Repeat your application 2 times per week.
Olive oil and egg white (firming and repairing):Thanks to its nutrients revitalizes opaque and flaccid skins.
Ingredients: 1 egg white and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Beat the egg white and mix with the oil. Apply it all over the face and let it act between 30 and 40 minutes (depends on the needs of your skin). Rinse the face with warm water and circular movements to better remove the remains. Repeat 2 or 3 times a week.
For this hair mask we will need:
- Extra virgin or extra virgin olive oil
- The juice of 5 lemons
- A container to mix everything
Squeeze the five lemons and put them in the bowl, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil, mix well and pour a little on the scalp, rubbing as with the usual washing products, then pour the rest through the hair. leave for 15 / 30 minutes. After rinsed thoroughly with shampoo to remove any remaining
This remedy is good to eliminate and prevent dandruff, since the lemon is astringent helping to loosen the dandruff leaving the olive oil to penetrate and repair the area.
Extra virgin olive oil is ideal for the redness of babies’ diapers, it can be used from newborns since it’s 100% natural and will not cause allergies or side effects, like some creams that we can use.
In diaper changes, you can apply with a clean cotton, giving small touches in the affected area. It works better than creams because, in addition to forming a protective waterproofing layer, it moisturizes irritated skin and does not allow the diaper adhere to the area.
In addition, its use is also very widespread especially in production areas, such as córdoba, for bruises and blows in children.
When they are hit, it’s applied with a cotton soaked in virgin olive oil and a gentle massage is given without squeezing. After a while you will see that the swelling has disappeared and there are no traces of bump.
In summer it’s when we have more exposed feet. That is why they suffer the greatest contact with all external agents that can cause hardness, cracked heels or dry fingers.
To combat all this, I leave a couple of tricks to take care of our feet with olive oil:
-Massage with olive oil: you can simply massage with olive oil directly on the feet, with special emphasis on the heels and fingers which is what most often suffer. In this way you will moisturize the feet in depth.
-Exfoliate with sugar and olive oil: mix in a bowl 3 or 4 tablespoons of sugar with a splash of extra virgin olive oil. It will become a paste with which we will scrub our feet thoroughly. In this way we will achieve that the granites of sugar eliminate the dead skin and help us with the hardnesses, in addition to hydrating feet with the oil.
You can apply one or both remedies the same day, the ideal is after doing it, cover the feet (if you do better at night since it will act all night) for a few hours with a finite sock to cause heating effect and penetrates the oil best.
You will have soft, hydrated feet to show off all summer.
About extra virgin olive oil
The best olive oil to dressings salads is the extra virgin. But within this, there are many types of extra virgin olive oils that can be used.
For us the ideal is a coupage of picual, picuda and hojiblanca, since the picuda gives a touch with character, that apple and almond flavor, the picual that will give a small bitter and spicy touch, with green grass and tomato flavor and finally hojiblanca which has a more neutral flavor, and softens this wonderful mixture.
If you like to experiment, we also have the option of our extra virgin olive oil sprays with natural aromas.
Without gas or pressurized air, 100% natural. With it spray dispenser, dosed the right dose, also dressing better salads. Clean, comfortable and easy to use.
In our blog, you can see different, healthy and tasty salads recipes. Made with our aroma sprays.
We are all aware of how good olive oil is for health and better if it is extra virgin. But very few use it for frying, instead they use sunflower oil or other seeds.
This is due to people think it’s a shame to fry with an oil as good as olive oil, which masks the flavor of the dishes or even because burn the fat molecules at a lower temperature than other oils, that release harmful substances for health.
And anything departs from reality.
Here we are going to give you reasons to start taking care of your health and your fried foods with olive oil.
Starting from the base that the fried ones should be minimized as much as possible, because they contribute an excess of calories, when we consume them, they should be fried in extra virgin olive oil.
-It is rich in oleic acid, vitamin E and polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that protect the oil from oxidation, which helps it does not decompose at high temperatures and does not produce substances toxic to humans.
-It is a very stable oil, therefore it can be used for more fried foods than refined seed oils.
-It increases in volume with the heat, which means that with less olive oil the same foods are fried than with other oils.
We recommend using the same oil approximately 3 or 4 times (keep the oil that you have to fried fish separated from the oil that you have to fried other foods, in separate jars)
How do you know when you have to discard the oil and use to fry new oil?
-when colour it’s dark
-when you heat it up and it smokes
-when its smell is something rancid
-When it is more fluid than new oil
Well, they say that for tastes are the colors and in the case of oil, that’s a bit like that.
It is widely recommended by doctors and nutritionists, start the day with fruits, cereals, milk and extra virgin olive oil.
Gives you energy for the day of work, it provides the recommended daily antioxidants (3 tablespoons) due to polyphenols and vitamin E and a long etcetera.
What extra virgin olive oil is best for breakfast? Everything depends on your habits.
If you are a sybarite of oils and you like oils with personality, we recommend one with a greater amount of picuda olives, since it will give you that spicy and bitter touch of fresh oils.
If you do’t have an advanced level in the consumption of olive oil, we recommend a softer blend, where the hojiblanca predominates, which lacks the itchiness and bitterness of the picuda, and have a softer sweet touch for the less accustomed palates.
We also have the option of olive oils with aromas. The oil with garlic aroma is one of the most used in breakfasts. It saves the hassle of having to rub the garlic on the bread, with the consequent inconvenience of the smell that leaves in the hands. Also the Chile or pepper, for a slice of bread with cheese or iberiam ham, will be something captivating and novel, that you will not forget.
Extra virgin olive oil it’s a preservative in itself. In fact, we usually use it to preserve cheese, fish, vegetables and even previously cooked meats. Therefore, it is a product that has no expiration date, but preferential consumption.
But as of this date, how do we know when the product is no longer good? Here are some tricks to identify it.
The smell. This is the main characteristic that changes, when the oil no longer retains all its properties. In our land, Baena, we say “atrojado”, which is like rancid, a negative attribute in oil. It is an odor that is distinguished as a cheese crust, but unpleasant.
The color.This aspect for a person who does not understand oils, is more complicated to distinguish. When oil has been in a store for a long time exposed to sunlight or an intense light source, the color may change to reddish. Remember that the range of colors of a good quality extra virgin olive oil ranges from an intense dark green to a golden yellow. When this reddish, you can see that oil is not good.
All this does not mean that this oil is harmful to health if consumed, but may be that it no longer retains the beneficial health properties that this fat normally has and that, obviously, the taste of the meals will not be ideal.
EVOO is the acronym for extra virgin olive oil, simply. It’s a relatively new term, that is why there are many people who don’t know the meaning of these acronyms.
Because it has begun to use this acronym of extra virgin olive oil, the truth, I have not been able to find its beginnings, but personally I think it has helped a lot to the oil culture, since it used to happen that, we don’t write extra virgin olive oil, put olive oil and finish. And it is not the same, of course it is not the same an olive oil as an EVOO.
The olive oil is a refined product and the EVOO is an authentic olive juice, without refining or chemical processes or anything at all.
The zone of the Cordoba subbetica is characterized for having mostly limestone soils, very rich in calcium carbonate, ideal food for olive tree proliferation. We also have a climate of mild winters and summers without much excess heat, making it possible to grow different varieties of olive trees.
The most characteristic of the area is the picuda, which gives our personal stamp to the oils. Although we also cultivate, hojiblanca, picual, chorrúa, lechin, among others.
We have an extensive olive-growing history, pre-Roman and Roman traces they attest. This experience helps us to make the best extra virgin olive oils of superior quality.
Both are 100% olives juice, obtained by mechanical procedures, have not undergone at any time refining process or chemical processes.
The juice extracted from the olive by this process is called virgin olive oil, which later, depending on its quality, is classified as extra virgin olive oil or virgin olive oil.
Until now I imagine that you have stayed with the same doubt. I explain the differences in quality.
The extra virgin olive oil is superior quality, its acidity can not exceed 0,8 ° in any case and with respect to the organoleptic qualities, it can not have defects. In the tasting panel its defect must be equal to 0 and its fruity superior to 0.
On the contrary, the virgin olive oil can be allowed an acidity of up to 2º and its defect in the tasting panel can not be higher than 2,5 and its fruity superior to 0.
In summary, the extra virgin olive oil is perfect, it can not have any defect and the virgin olive oil if it can afford some defect.
Olive oil is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride is formed with three fatty acids bound together by the molecule called glycerol. When the oil is part of a healthy olive, its acidity is neutral, that is to say 0º, since the fatty acids are not released, they are still part of the triglycerides.
For these to be released, a change in oxidation or an aggressive environment is required and all three fatty acids stay free, degrading the oil.
These free fatty acids don’t change the taste of the oil, they have no flavor. There is a widespread belief that the higher the acidity, the greater the flavor it will have. But it’s not like that.
The acidity only indicates that it’s an oil of better or worse quality and with more or less free fatty acids.
Before starting with which oil is better, I explain the two varieties.
Monovarietals are those olive oils that are made from the juice of a single variety of olives. That is, we can find arbequina evoo, the most common, which is made exclusively from Arbequina olives.
Coupage are those oils that are made from the juice of 2 or more types of olives and in different proportions. To make these oils you have to be a master, almost a perfumer, since getting all the campaigns the same taste is complicated. The advantage of these oils is that we get a taste “of the house”.
What oil is better? Coupage or monovarietal? Well, it depends on the tastes. The monovarietal oils tend to be stronger and more marked, since being only a variety of olives, it is the only flavor that the oil has. However, a coupage is more versatile, depending on the olives that predominate, it will be more spicy or less spicy, more bitter or less bitter, softer or less soft. We call this the art of mixing oils.
Cold extraction is the process by which producers separate the oil from the mass of the olive. To speak of cold extraction, it’s necessary that the temperature is lower than 27º.
Why is cold extraction so important? The compounds that give aroma and flavor to the oils, are volatile, they evaporate with the heat, therefore, if the temperature is high, some of the aromas and qualities of the oil can be lost.
In addition, at lower extraction temperature, lower oil acidity and we already know that the lower the acidity, the better the oil will be.
These differences don’t mean that one oil is better than another, they have simply gone through different processes.
The filtered oil is passed through filters to remove the remains of olive pulp that may still contain.
Unfiltered or raw oil contains those residues in suspension.
The filtered oil looks golden brilliant and clean colour, and unfiltered provides a more cloudy and more opaque.
Over time the unfiltered oils decant (the remains are deposited in the bottom of the drum or bottle) with which they can have the same appearance as a filtered oil.
One disadvantage of unfiltered oil is that those deposits that are created in the bottom of the container with the remains of olives, can lead to damage the taste and properties of the oil, that is why this type of oil is recommended to consume in year.
What is lampante virgin olive oil?
Lampante olive oil is the worst quality oil.
Olives in bad conditions as a result of frost, shock or too mature.
The legislation prohibits its sale to the public since it lacks nutritional properties and can also harm health. To consume it you must refine it in advance.
It is an oil with a very high acidity that exceeds 2º
About tHermanos Marichica olive oils and their sale online
Olive oil, in addition to other compounds, has a high amount of triglycerides and monounsaturated fatty acids,among which is the oleic acid, the most abundant.
The oil is made up of different molecules, and not all have the same freezing point.
Oleic acid begins to solidify at 5.5 °, palmitic acid at 18 °, linoleic acid at -2.8 ° and stearic acid at 23 °. This is the main composition of extra virgin olive oil and that is why it begins to curdle irregularly.
This peculiarity DOES NOT AFFECT the quality of the olive oil.
To recover its natural appearance, we just need to raise the temperature of the bottle a little, placing it in a warmer area, under the tap with warm water. Remember that extra virgin olive oil is best stored at low temperatures.
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The way in which these security systems work is once you complete the process of entering data from the card, you must confirm the payment by means of an SMS that you receive on your mobile, a pin that you have predetermined, with the creation of a virtual card, etc.
It is possible that your credit card does not support these security systems or has simply not been created.
In this case, we recommend you talk to your bank.
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