Decent flippin Olive Oil

Greek olive oil is very good. I normaly bring 50 kilos over every year from my grandmother. When that runs out I buy Greek from the local supermarket. I recommend Greek as it is a major produce of Greece and harvested by a generation of people that still regard it as the essence of life, it is cared for and loved for, there is no household without it. There is much less chance that it is blended with oils from other countries when it is bottled in Greece, most well known supermarket brands buy up from all over mix it and sell it as virgin, extra virgin.

FOR THE BEST TASTE - I often visit my grandmother on Corfu. I try to go when its wine or olive season so to help her as she is 80. I help her harvest the olives which we then take to the local press. In season the press owner always has fresh bread so you can run under the freshly pressed oil as it is pouring out from the press - NECTAR! for want of a word.

The olive oil on Corfu has its distinct taste, which most love. It is quite heavy compared to other areas as the trees all over the island have been allowed to grow enormousley so that the villagers have to wait for the olives to over ripen and fall before they can be gathered. The longer it stays on the ground gives the oil a higher acidity value as compared to say oil from the Kalamata, Thessaloniki areas where the trees are kept short so they can be picked from the trees - virgin oil - and picked before ripe - extra virgin. Crete produces some of the finest oils.

Zorba

As mentioned I loved the Olive oil from Paxos, but a stones throw from Corfu

Regards

Diccus

I'm a fan of Cretan olive oil, feeling that Kalamata oils, while excellent, often lack a little bite. I tried some from Lesbos and I was disappointed by how light it was. Now I will have to try some from Kerkyra (Corfu).

Nick

Diccus62, although a stones throw from Corfu I have never been to Paxos. Corfu is my second home and much of our time is spent with my gran and visiting relatives that we never manage to hop on the boat over. We have often said that for a real holiday we would fly to Zakynthos or Cephalonia and work our way around the Ionian islands and then to Corfu for the rest of our stay and fly back from there. Paxos must be nice and a real away from it all.

Nick, I do not know where you can buy olive oil from Corfu over here, but if on your travells you happen to pass through Kerkyra, take the road to Paleokastritsa, visit the monastry, then follow it up the mountain through Lakones, the views are spectacular, stop at the Golden Fox for a Frappe and carry on to Makrades where you should visit an old fort "Angelokastro" built on the mountain peak, again amazing views. Double back and carry on and you will see some locals on the roadside selling their own local produce, olive oil, honey and wine.

Zorba

Paxos is a lovely small island and anti Paxos is a gorgeous tiny island with pretty much just a beach and a couple of Tavernas. I have enjoyed a few holidays there and going round the Paxos on a small motorboat was wonderful.

Nice to hear your stories about Corfu.

Regards

Diccus

Zorba
Thanks for those reminders,we drove around most of the island some wonderful sights. Maybe we will go back mind you Paxos sounds good too.

quote:

Originally posted by zorba:
you will see some locals on the roadside selling their own local produce, olive oil, honey and wine.

That sounds like the best way to buy olive oil. Are there any brands from Kerkyra that one can get in Greek supermarkets, as I visit Athens a few times a year? I also like to stock up on Greek honey such as from thyme or pine flowers.

Diccus, we occasionaly hire out a motor boat which is a real must do for exploring and finding beaches and that you can't otherwise get to. A great day out.

BigH47, I hope you had a great time, a good idea that you hired a car as one is needed to see what the island has to offer. I too will be trying Paxos and anti Paxos on my next visit.

Nick_S, I will do some groundwork and get back to you on that one.

Zorba

Thanks for that. Also stayed once in Kalami which was ok and beautiful scenery on parts of east coast. The capital was also rather wonderful.

Regards

Diccus

Diccus, yes very nice scenery on that side and quite a few well known places to stay such as Kalami which are all quite secluded, although on the east coast nearly all the beaches are pebbled and all sand on the west coast. For you to say it was ok you must have felt a little too secluded as it is quite out of the way to travel by car or bus in to town which is very nice for the evenings and other beaches to break things up a little.

Nick_S I think you will only find Corfu olive oil from Kerkyra. If ever there I can tell you where for a direct a source as possible otherwise souvenir shops.

quote:

Originally posted by zorba:
For you to say it was ok you must have felt a little too secluded

Zorba

No in fact it wasn't secluded enough, it felt a little over commercial for me, I guess that's why I like the seclusion and tranquillity of paxos. There was however a nearby cove accessible by boat with a lovely restaurant which was beautiful. I'm very hard to please

Oh, in that case the further the better and Paxos even better. I'm quite lucky, our village is in the north mountains and the house is on the end which has views of the north valleys and coast. Total village life and isolation with grans' cooking(mmm). We have views of some very small islands two that have people and one that has none. One of them, the largest called Erikousa I so much want to visit, it must hardly have any tourism at all. Also an island that I see every year since a young boy, curiosity I need to satisfy. If I ever manage to go I'll let you know how it was.

That would be good

Does that mean the eclipse in the mediteranean yesterday was caused by Greece landing in Andalucia?

Only squeezing your olive Frank! There is great tasting olive oil from all producing countries. The truth is as you say in your post that all surplus is bought up by the cooperative and sold on to Italy. This big buyer dictates the market price and depending if Italy has made enough oil of its own to satisfy its export market will then buy in. If it needs alot (demand) it pays well, if they have produced enough and require little they pay less.Olive oil can be a villagers only source of income, thay break their backs to harvest it and also employ labourers at increasing costs. They are forced to hold on for a better price to make it worth while.

The problem for us is that they can hold onto it for 2-3 years or more, the acidity goes up and it loses its freshness. That don't matter cos they buy it all up REFINE it and sell it to us.

Bought a bottle at the market here yesterday"Danilo Manco L`Extravergine",tastes very nice cost £6.50.
George

Hi Frank,

I know what you mean regarding tomatoes, I try to buy Spanish ones over here for my salads otherwise they all taste as if they have been injected with water to expand them. Still not close to the taste and aroma of local produce when on holiday. Its amazing what a real tomato can do to a salad, or alone drizzled with olive oil and a little rock salt with feta cheese and fresh bread.

We have a variety of olives in Greece too in much the same way you describe. The ones on the Ionian Islands are of a small type which you do not find in the other areas and have a distinct taste for their oil and for eating.

Best Regards,
zorba.

Hi Frank,

It sure looks good. Do you wait for your olives to fall or do they get picked?

My inlaws are having a bumper harvest at the moment, they have 150 trees in one of their plots and my gran has about 100 on various plots.

My "good" cholesterol rose to normal levels when I moved from the UK to Spain. The secret: my physician recommended olive oil with toast for breakfast.

I'm sure in moderation it can help contribute to your well being, together with all the other fresh vegetables and fruit you must be enjoying.

In Greece at the moment there is a big hoohah for olive leave tea. It is said that it is good for the body and promotes good health although nothing is officially yet proven. The goverment is trying to stop its free sale no doubt as there is a great abundance of these leaves and they want a part of it.

Archives of Internal Medicine just published a study showing olive oil helps in lipoprotein oxidation (heart disease):

"Results After the 3-month interventions, mean (95% confidence intervals) oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels decreased in the TMD + virgin olive oil (–10.6 U/L [–14.2 to –6.1]) and TMD + nuts (–7.3 U/L [–11.2 to –3.3]) groups, without changes in the low-fat diet group (–2.9 U/L [–7.3 to 1.5]). Change in oxidized LDL levels in the TMD + virgin olive oil group reached significance vs that of the low-fat group (P = .02). Malondialdehyde changes in mononuclear cells paralleled those of oxidized LDL. No changes in serum glutathione peroxidase activity were observed."

Madrid, the proof is in the pudding. My grandmother is now 87 and very active with tendering her olive groves and vine yards.

Her diet is only what she grows, local meat, her own fresh eggs, olive oil, bread and wine. The only alarming thing for me is that she does not drink water as she claims it will make her joints go rusty so she only drinks wine - about a bottle a day. To start the day off she also adds a little ouzo to her morning Greek coffee.

Hi Frank,

On Corfu the season starts in October/November and can last all the way to May. This is because due to the size and height of the trees they have to wait for the olives to fall naturally which can take months and means more work.

Thanx munch, she really has been through so much in her life, comming from a time of no shoes to where she now carries a mobile phone.

Regards,
zorba.

quote:

Originally posted by Diccus62:
Ordered this......................



from getoily

Arrived and absolutely gorgeous. Peppery and thick, almost good enough to drink. Highly recommended

I like the peppery and thick description, how does it taste compared to the oil from Paxos?