Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 4 Icons Used in This Book 4 Beyond the Book 5 Where to Go from Here 5 Part 1: Introduction to Olive Oil 7 Chapter 1: Exploring the Story of Olive Oil 9 Defining the Olive Tree throughout its History 10 From wilderness to farm 10 From ship to shore 12 Shaping ancient empires 12 Religious and culinary influences 17 Recognizing the New World of Olive Oil 21 Groves going west 21 Expansion into Asia and beyond 23 Olive oil in Africa 23 Chapter 2: Understanding Olive Oil Classifications 25 Recognizing the classifications of olive oil 26 Olive oil categories 26 Classification standards 29 Defining Other Olive Oil Standards 31 Australia 32 Naooa 32 Oocc 32 Pdo/dop 33 Igp/pgi 34 Slow Food Presidia 35 Organic 35 Chapter 3: Appreciating the Production Process 37 Producing the Best Product 38 Tree care and maintenance 38 Keeping enemies at bay 39 Environmental challenges 39 Harvest time 40 Processing at the Mill 44 Juicing the fruit 45 Waste not, want not 46 Storing at the mill 47 Maintaining "Green" Groves 48 Built-in sustainability of olive trees 48 Sustainable farming 49 Modern mills 50 Chapter 4: Explaining Quality and Comparisons with Other Oils 53 Recognizing Quality Olive Oil 54 Olive oil fraud 54 Defective olive oil 56 Testing Criteria for EVOO 57 Tasting panels and laboratory tests 58 Sensory categories 59 Comparing EVOO to Other Oils 61 What makes EVOO different 61 Bioactive compounds in EVOO 62 Part 2: How Olive Oil Improves Health 65 Chapter 5: Choosing Healthy Fats 67 Identifying Different Types of Fat 68 Correlating fats to cholesterol and health 69 Understanding how fats relate to calories and weight 72 Determining the Benefits of Eating Healthy Fats 74 Olive oil: A fat for life 75 Other foods that contain nutrient-rich fats 76 Chapter 6: Incorporating Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Polyphenols 79 Understanding Polyphenols 80 Plants have a survival instinct 81 Polyphenols and inflammation 83 Knowing the Extraordinary Polyphenols in EVOO 86 Naturally high in polyphenols 86 Conditions that effect the levels of olive polyphenols 87 Chapter 7: Recognizing Olive Oil''s Role in the Mediterranean Diet 89 Focusing on Olive Oil as the Primary Ingredient 90 Reflecting on the extraordinary benefits 90 Measuring the effects of the diet 95 Considering Olive Oil as Medicine 97 Ancient olive-oil treatments 97 Mediterranean cultural practices 98 Chapter 8: Maximizing the Health Benefits of Olive Oil 101 Examining the Benefits of EVOO 102 The protective power of olive oil 103 Discovering the compounds in EVOO 108 Tasting the polyphenols of EVOO 111 Knowing Your Daily Intake 112 Increasing the Efficacy 113 Combining EVOO with other nutritional foods 113 Having a healthy gut 114 Part 3: Incorporating Olive Oil Into Your Daily Life 117 Chapter 9: Tasting Olive Oil Properly 119 Considering the Flavor Profiles 120 Enjoying the flavor 120 Understanding flavor features 121 Matching taste with health benefits 126 Working with the Best EVOO 127 Becoming a defect detective 128 Taking a deeper dive into EVOOs chemistry 128 Chapter 10: Deciphering the Taste of Different Varieties 131 Checking Out Varieties of Olive Oil 132 Discovering cultivars in different countries 133 Blending flavors 142 Considering total polyphenol levels 142 Beginning to Combine EVOOs with Foods 144 Chapter 11: Pairing Extra-Virgin Olive Oil with Food and Wine 147 Understanding How to Complement Flavors 148 Pairing EVOO with Food 148 Matching EVOOs with Wine 151 Part 4: Choosing Extra-virgin Olive Oil 157 Chapter 12: Buying Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 159 Deciphering the Labels 160 Nutrition labels 160 Legal necessities 162 Unnecessary or misleading phrases on labels 163 Harvest and "best before" dates 164 Acidity and other values 165 Getting to Know Your EVOO 167 Region of origin 167 Telling the origin story 167 Health claims on labels and advertising 168 Chapter 13: Recognizing Proper Packaging and Storage 171 Recognizing a Good EVOO Label 172 Looking out for quality indicators 172 Having attractive presentations 173 Maintaining EVOO''s Quality 175 EVOO retail packaging 176 Advances in EVOO packaging 178 Maximizing storage at home 179 Chapter 14: Purchasing, Price, and Affordability 181 Prioritizing the Purchase of EVOO 182 Comparing affordability: Western diet versus Mediterranean-style diets 182 Supporting the cost of EVOO 183 Evaluating purchasing options 184 Examining prices and value 189 Choosing the quality of EVOO 189 Understanding the EVOO market 192 Getting the Most Out of Your EVOO 193 Part 5: Creating Dishes with Extra-virgin Olive Oil 195 Chapter 15: Cooking, Frying, and Preserving with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 197 Cooking with EVOO for Flavor and Nutrition 198 Understanding the science 199 Exploring the cooking methods 200 Frying in EVOO 202 Preserving Food in EVOO 205 Chapter 16: Baking and Pastry-Making with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 207 Swapping Out Butter for EVOO 208 Choosing EVOO for Breads and Sweet Treats 210 Part 6: Cooking with Extra-virgin Olive Oil 215 Chapter 17: Base Recipes 217 Chapter 18: Breakfast and Brunch 231 Starting Your Day with a Shot of EVOO 232 Working EVOO into Your Morning Routine 232 Chapter 19: Appetizers 243 Chapter 20: First Courses 255 Chapter 21: Second Courses 265 Chapter 22: Desserts 277 Part 7: Diving Deeper and the Future For Olive Oil 287 Chapter 23: Enrolling in Tasting/Sommelier Classes and Oleo Tourism 289 Tasting at a Whole New Level 290 Sampling olive oil in an informal setting 291 Approaching EVOO like a pro: sommelier training 291 The language of aroma and flavor 292 Discovering Oleo Tourism 293 Planning your visit to a grove 294 Combining travel experiences 295 Tasting at the mill 296 Chapter 24: The Future of Olive Oil 299 Cultivating Better Production and Quality 300 Identifying new innovations 300 Improving standards and traceability 301 Spreading the Great News of EVOO 302 Promoting the health benefits of EVOO 303 Creating opportunities for further education 304 Part 8: the Part of Tens 309 Chapter 25: Ten Other Uses for Olive Oil 311 Bathing in olive oil 313 Removing Makeup 313 Glossing and Nourishing Your Hair 314 Shaving Oil 314 Making Facial Masks 314 Treating Your Hair 316 Exfoliating Your Skin 316 Conditioning Your Hands 317 Moisturizing Your Skin 317 Cleansing Makeup Brushes 318 Chapter 26: Ten Easy Ways to Consume More Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 319 Cooking with EVOO 320 Drizzling for Added Flavor 320 Prioritizing Your Health 321 Eating More Vegetables and Salads 321 Consuming EVOO throughout the Day 322 Substituting with EVOO 322 Introducing Children to EVOO 323 Exploring New Tastes and Varieties 323 Redefining the Value of EVOO 324 Continuing Your Journey through Travel 324 Appendix: Metric Conversion Guide 325 Index 327.