Olive oil uses

'The fruit extract blushed and became olive oil, its rich gold no less than manna from heaven'. And yes it is all that and more, as olive oil is touted as the best 'heart-smart' oil, its taste unsurpassable, and its therapeutic qualities making it popular in the medicinal world. Olive oil benefits would outperform any other natural product. I set out one morning to find the number of uses I could find for olive oil and the number of olive oil products we use unknowingly. I found it in creams and lotions, soaps and shampoos, and realized that it worked as cleanser and softener. In the kitchen, it smelt so good as I basted, steamed, fried and baked with olive oil. Each recipe I read recommended olive oil as the medium. The day wore on and I found a use a minute for olive oil.

The utility of olive oil in the kitchen is limitless. It is one cooking medium that leaves no guilt in the mind of the cook or those who eat the food prepared with it. Residents in the Mediterranean region, who use it the most, have the lowest mortality rates due to coronary heart diseases around the world. It retains its flavor when heated, it smells delicious when added raw, and makes food delectable when simply stirred in. With its long shelf life, it can be stored even up to two years if kept away from the sunlight.
     Below: French olive oil (and some balsamic vinegar) with a side of French bread for dipping; a bottle of French Olive oil, with more French bread.

French olive oil is rated very highly due to its flavor, color and method of extraction. Food is an important part of the lives of the French and French food tastes best when cooked in olive oil. In fact, French food could easily be termed as an olive oil diet, as it uses this oil at every step and for almost everything. A French bread olive oil dip with garlic and basil is the healthiest starter to serve. The list of main course options is endless with olive oil recipes. It could be lamb chops with olive oil, garlic shrimp with olive oil sauce, crispy chicken with olive oil dip, or baked fish basted in olive oil. Vegetables cooked in olive oil retain their flavor and color with no additional odors. For baking, it can be substituted in the same quantity as whatever oil is mentioned in the recipe, and the perfect cakes, puddings and pies come out of the oven.

 When I go to the market, I expect to buy that French olive oil which is sensuous, delicate, refined, and never bitter and has low acidity. The tossed green salads along with croutons that are made from garlic bread soaked in olive oil are lip-smacking. The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda mentioned olives as "Y entre los bienes de la tierra / Aparto / Aceite" (And among the good things of the earth / I set apart / Olive oil).