oliveoil

The Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Filed under: Dining

Olive oil is a healthy choice, at least as far as fats are concerned, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"Olive oil contains monounsaturated fat, a healthier type of fat that can lower your risk of heart disease by reducing the total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol levels in your blood," says Mayo Clinic nutritionist, Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consuming about two tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil a day may reduce your risk of heart disease. "You can get the most benefit by substituting olive oil for saturated fats rather than just adding more olive oil to your diet," says Zeratsky.

All types of olive oil contain monounsaturated fat. Extra-virgin or virgin olive oils are the least processed forms, so they're the most heart healthy. Those types contain the highest levels of polyphenols, a powerful antioxidant that also can promote heart health, she adds.

Tags: food-pedia, luxist-awards, main-pedia, mayo clinic, MayoClinic, olive oil, OliveOil

The Farmhouse Table Sicilian Culinary, Wine & Cultural Tours

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

Travelers with a sense of adventure and an appreciation for wining and dining will want to check out two upcoming trips to Sicily in the fall arranged by Cynthia Nicholson of The Farmhouse Table. Nicholson, a former food editor at Country Living and Real Simple magazines, has a flair for seeking out the culinary and cultural gems that only insiders know about. While the first trip is more food oriented and the second focused on wine, the two itineraries have a healthy dose of both and feature a cooking class, along with many opportunities to absorb unique Sicilian culture.

The culinary trip from Sept. 26 - Oct. 3 includes a stay at Buseto Palizzolo (above) near Palermo which produces its own olive oil, honey, wine, and organic fruits and vegetables, and a visit to an artisanal bakery where the ovens are fired with almond husks rather than wood. The second trip presented in conjunction with Swirl Wines runs Oct. 11 - 22 and includes a day trip to Solicchiata for a tasting and discussion with winemaker Frank Cornelissen. Full details on both itineraries can be found here and and you can sign up for The Farmhouse Table's mailing list here.

Tags: cooking, Cynthia Nicholson, CynthiaNicholson, Italy, olive oil, OliveOil, Palermo, Real Simple, RealSimple, Sicily, Swirl Wines, SwirlWines, The Farmhouse Table, TheFarmhouseTable, tours, wine

CocoaVino Olive Oil BonBons

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Need a fabulous Valentine candy for the vegan in your life? CocoaVino makes hazelnut and sea salt bonbons that are made from a dark chocolate ganache blended with extra virgin olive oil, roasted hazelnut and flavored with with hazelnut liqueur and Mediterranean sea salt. CocoaVino makes an entire line of artisanal chocolates and confections including drunken figs, a decadent treat that is made of an organic fig, stuffed with chocolate and port-style wine and dipped in dark chocolate.All the chocolate they use is both organic and fair trade certified. A box of 12 olive oil bonbons sells for $35.

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Tags: bonbons, chocolate, cocoavino, olive oil, OliveOil

O&CO Olive Oils

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

A bottle of olive oil for a holiday gift? These days, olive oil can be as welcome a gift as a special bottle of wine. Especially when the oil is from a specialty estate like Moulin Fortuné Arizzi in Provence, France. Their award-winning extra virgin olive oil is produced on the plantation and processed in their mill. The taste is fresh and sweet with notes of almond and artichoke. The oil sells for $45 and is just one of the tempting olive oils from Tuscany, Sicily and other locales around the world offered by O&CO, the company of Olivier Baussan, the founder of L'Occitane.

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Tags: culinary gifts, holidash, moulin fortune arizzi, olive oil, OliveOil, olivier and company, olivier baussan

Adopt An Olive Tree

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Green

Here's a great chance to both do something great for the environment and get something fun to show for it: adopt yourself an olive tree! Nudo, an olive grove in Italy, is offering people the chance to support small scale artisanal farming (instead of the large mechanized operations that damage the earth) by adopting a specific olive tree. And when you adopt an olive tree in the grove for one year not only do you get the satisfaction from the environmental effort, but you also get all the produce from your tree. You'll get a Spring Package with the olive oil from your tree, and then an Autumn Package of more olive oil and some handmade olive oil soap. $130/year.

via DailyCandy

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Tags: adopt, earth, eco, eco friendly, eco-friendly, EcoFriendly, environment, environmental, green, italian, italy, nudo, olive, olive oil, olive tree, OliveOil, olives, OliveTree, tree, trees

Fresno State Olive Oil

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Napa Community College isn't the only California college working on commercial products. Fresno State not only operates a commercial winery, now they are offering student-produced Estate Reserve Olive Oil. The oils is part of the university's “olives-for-oil” project and is priced at $10.95 for a 500 ml vintage bottle. The Estate Reserve is a blend of Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki oils and proceeds from olive oil sales will benefit Fresno State's teaching and research program in agriculture. The olives were grown in super high-density plantings and then harvested and processed by the California Olive Ranch.

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Tags: california agriculture, fresno state, olive oil, OliveOil, olives

Round Pond Olive Oil

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

An article about the booming olive oil market in California led me to discover Round Pond, a winery that has also entered the olive oil market. Round Pond has a 12-acre olive orchard and they have their own mills, a granite mill which is meant to bring out the mellow, buttery flavor of Spanish-style and a hammer mill that uses sharp blades to mince olives for the more pungent Italian-style oils. Round Pond also makes oils that infused with blood oranges and Meyer lemons. These intense, delicious artisan oils sell out each year so if you want to get in on the 2006 vintage you probably need to get on their mailing list. A bottle sells for $22.

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Tags: california olives, gourmet food, napa, olive oil, OliveOil