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Post by artisans on Dec 9, 2008 12:04:59 GMT 2
You could be forgiven for thinking these are grapes, but the photo was taken just a few days ago. If this is anything to go by, this year's olive crop will be very good indeed.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2008 14:25:38 GMT 2
I would love a couple of litres of that when it is pressed. Just had my midday tipple of the old Olive Oil.
Yeiamas, Chris
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Post by artisans on Dec 9, 2008 19:55:09 GMT 2
I guess we are spoiled, Chris - staying in Roda for so long and loving cooking so much, 2 litres would last us just 3/4 weeks. We now think of olive oil as a food and we use Corfiot oil for just about everything. The only exception is that last year we received a water bottle of Kalamatan oil and another one of Paxiot oil - those are for dressing salads, and nothing else!
Any ideas anyone - which is the best value olive oil that can be bought in the UK? or Holland? or Germany? or Europe?
Steve
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 0:34:49 GMT 2
There are so many on the market now, it can be a nightmare to choose. I do buy my Olive Oil for cooking from Lidls, they do a nice one, Extra Virgin. Another we use is Iliada Extra Virgin, at £6.99 per litre. Or our favourites are from the Greek Megastore in Weymouth, from their imported list, Digenakis EV Olive Oil and Minerva EV Olive Oil. The latter two are subject to availability.
Yeiamas, Chris
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Post by artisans on Dec 10, 2008 11:56:23 GMT 2
Not sure about Minerva, Chris, I know they do make a cheaper oil where they grind everything including the pits. It is on sale in all Greek supermarkets as a less expensive alternative but I'm uncertain whether they make a top quality oil as well. We often buy Italian oil from Asda, but I suspect it is largely reprocessed oils from wherever, probably including Corfu. We have heard of Italian buyers visiting the Island at the end of the season and buying up all the leftovers from restaurants. They then process it, change the colour, adjust the acidity and sell it as Italian extra virgin. I think the regulations are a bit flexible. Nature simply does not produce the same oil every year and if you can get the real thing in a water bottle, then make sure you do. Here is the real thing waiting to fall, just in time for next summer:
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 13:36:13 GMT 2
I could press off my own Olive Trees. I have four, but they obviously do not produce anything, although I did have a couple of very small Olives on one tree this year. Too cold over here I expect. I got them from the Eden Project in Cornwall.
I am not too keen on the Minerva, but the other is good.
Yeiamas, Chris
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Post by Ian on Dec 10, 2008 21:03:56 GMT 2
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Post by artisans on Dec 11, 2008 11:31:51 GMT 2
PURE HEAVEN This is the full version of an article that appeared earlier this year, complete with the original photograph: "Will the real olive oil stand up please? When you decide which oil to buy in a supermarket, which do you choose? Do you know instinctively which to choose based upon what you want it for? - or do you read the label in the hope it will give you a clue, do you use colour as a guide based on what some TV chef has told you, or is it just be down to price, label recognition or the position on the shelf?
Is there any wonder that we get confused about what to buy when we have to sift through tons of differing information, each label being carefully contrived by the supplier to both impress us and present his product in the best possible light – for him! Enthusiastic labelling incorporates lots of standard phrases which are understood by the olive oil industry, but the problem is they don’t readily share that knowledge with the consumer. Then there is what we have learned about colour, or what we have been told about colour perhaps – but is it all true, can we believe what we have been told, can we even trust our own judgement? It can become very confusing.
So which of these three is the real thing and, if you saw them side by side on a supermarket shelf, all at the same price, which one would you take home? If you wanted to expose your nearest and dearest to the very best oil that has all those wonderful health benefits we know to exist, which is the one for you?
The truth is – any one of the three. These are all bottles of Greek olive oil, all are cold pressed near to where they are grown, none of them have additives, colouring agents and, as you can see, they are usually supplied in recycled water bottles. These are all family produced oils and none of them are available in the shops. But look at the difference in colour, from deep olive green, to pure gold.
The bottle on the left is perhaps one of the most famous oils in the world being from Kalamata. The middle one is from Paxos and the right-hand one is from Roda. The oils from Kalamata and Paxos are perhaps best used for dressings as they are likely to burn at a lower temperature than the Corfiot oil. They are higher in chlorophyll, and the olives may have been picked earlier in the year than the one from Corfu. The oil from Roda is high in beneficial carotenes and is probably more suited to cooking. Most Greek-owned tavernas and restaurants in the village will have their own trees and use such a product in their kitchens throughout the season.
The best olive oils are not always green, albeit an easy rule of thumb to remember. Each of these oils has its own characteristics, its own taste, its own nutritional attributes and its own place on your table. If you want to stay healthy, make sure you get some – whatever the colour!"
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Post by davelinda on Dec 11, 2008 19:44:39 GMT 2
Steve,I think it is all down to personal taste as you say ,we prefer the green one,
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Post by artisans on Dec 11, 2008 20:02:48 GMT 2
Our favourites for eating are Throumbes or Thassos olives They are black & wrinkly and salt-cured dry, one of the few olives not cured in brine. They are rich in flavor with a delicious, chewy texture that adds to salads and stews. Thassos olives are traditionally served with Myzithra cheese. We first found them in a farm shop in Kent.
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Post by artisans on Dec 11, 2008 20:16:55 GMT 2
This thread has prompted me to find out what variety of olive is grown in Corfu. It seems that 93% of all the world's olives are grown in Mediterranean and 2% of the world's olive oil is produced in Corfu. This is the variety responsible:
Lianolia Kerkyras An important oil producing variety, producing excellent quality oil. It flourishes even on barren, stony ground although has greater demand for moisture (being cultivated primarily in areas with a large rainfall). This variety has a lively vegetation and the trees can be very large. It is a late-ripening variety and its fruits are harvested late, after the first spring months. This late ripening encourages a high yield. The large leaves that fold over upwards are characteristic of this variety, whilst the fruit is small, elongated, with a slight tip at the top. It weighs 1.1 - 1.8 grams, with dimensions of 18 x 7 mm and an oil content of around 20%. The stone is relatively large, elongated, with a tip at both ends. The flesh: stone ratio is 3-4 to 1.
Steve
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Post by davelinda on Dec 11, 2008 21:13:39 GMT 2
Steve,We put 2 trees in last year we had about a dozen fruits this year,hope for a few more next year.
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Post by artisans on Dec 11, 2008 23:30:26 GMT 2
Couple of years, Dave, and you'll be pressing your own! Steve
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Post by davelinda on Dec 12, 2008 12:03:32 GMT 2
Once we get a few more in you never know .
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2008 17:16:00 GMT 2
Thank you Northboy. Had a look at the website, and kept it bookmarked for future use.
Out of the 3 oils above Steve, I suppose it is what use is inteneded for them. I actually drink, or dip bread for lunch, with the green one, or a first press. For cooking, so as not to get too much of olive oil flavour, I use the more yellow kind. What I like about Olive Oil for cooking is its tempretures, needs to be very high to burn, so one has more control over it.
Yeiamas, Chris
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