Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives, a traditional tree harvest from the Mediterranean basin. The oil is produced by pressing whole olives. It is commonly used in cooking, either for frying or as a salad dressing. It is also used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps, and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps, and has additional uses in some religions. It is associated with the " Mediterranean diet " for its possible health benefits. The olive is one of the three main food plants of Mediterranean cuisine; The other two are wheat and grapes.
The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, altitude, time of harvest and the extraction process. It is made up mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%), with smaller amounts of other fatty acids such as linoleic acid (up to 21%) and palmitic acid (up to 20%). Extra virgin olive oil is required to have a free acidity greater than 0.8% and is considered to have favorable flavor characteristics; It represents up to 80% of the total production in Greece and 65% in Italy, but much less in other countries.
There are many varieties of olive or olives, each with a particular flavor, texture and shelf life that make them more or less suitable for different applications, such as direct human consumption in bread or in salads, indirect consumption in domestic cooking or cooking. restoration, or Industrial such as animal feed or engineering applications.
Olive oil is the main cooking oil in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean, and forms one of the three staple food plants of Mediterranean cuisine, the other two being wheat (as in pasta, bread and couscous) and grapes, fruits and wine.
Extra virgin olive oil is used primarily as a salad dressing. It is also used with foods that are eaten cold. If it is not compromised by the heat, the flavor is stronger. It can also be used for sautéing.
