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View Full Version : Do You Think that's Olive Oil in Your Olive Oil?



PunkRotten
12-08-2011, 05:16 PM
(Copy-Paste from another website)




Four years ago writer Tom Mueller published a fantastic article in the New Yorker entitled, Slippery Business, (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller) detailing the monkey business going on with olive oil imported into the U.S. If you enjoy olive oil but haven't read the article, then I urge you to do so. It's a well written fact based piece of journalism. The author has written a book, there's an article about the book and a book signing at the BerkeleySide website (http://www.berkeleyside.com/2011/12/08/author-you-may-not-like-whats-lurking-in-your-olive-oil/). The author has created a website tied to the book called, ExtraVirginity.com (http://www.extravirginity.com/), that discusses the issue and says it will be posting a list of recommended oils.


...more likely than not it is a blend of oils, some made from olives, and some not.

In fact, a recent study by UC Davis that tested a number of the best-selling olive oils in California, including Bertolli, Star, and Colavita, found that 69% of the extra virgin olive oil imported into the U.S. did not meet the standards for extra virgin.

“It’s a big hoax,” said Tom Mueller, who will be talking about the issue, and his new book, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, on Saturday from 2 to 6 pm at Amphora Nueva Berkeley Olive Oil Works on Domingo Avenue. “What’s written on the bottle does not guarantee what is inside.”

speltrong
12-08-2011, 06:12 PM
I only ever buy olive oil from local and well respected companies. My fave is Bariani unfiltered, and my second favorite is McEvoy Ranch. Though to be honest, I don't really think olive oil is all that ideal of a food, so whenever possible I try to just throw a few olives in rather than oil.

Saria
12-08-2011, 06:26 PM
it's rediculous how much the food companies lie to us. Thank you for sharing that because I personally never really thought twice that when I buy some olive oil I might actually be about to eat some other form of oil....who knows what form that it....doesn't sound very nice to me. I recently bought some organic olive oil at Whole Foods, I'll have to check that list and make sure the brand I bought is good. I use my olive oil mostly for things other than eating, but I still want to make sure it's pure because I'm sure I will be eating some of it!

punpkin
12-10-2011, 11:58 AM
How do you get off oil? Sounds like a silly question, but I am unclear as to what I would put on my once or twice a day salad- I would love to not be ingesting so much oil ( I typically use a lot more than a few drops) every single day of the week, but what kind of dressings to people use who don't use oil as a base? Use avocado as a base?

speltrong
12-10-2011, 01:41 PM
Yep, you can use avocado as a base. Or nuts. Sometimes if I'm craving something rich, I'll put some cashews, garlic, basil, vinegar and water into the blender and use that as a salad dressing. Sometimes I just put some really good vinegar on my salads with no oil at all. Sometimes I'll just sprinkle it with some lemon juice & salt & pepper. Or I'll throw a few olives into the blender along with the rest of the dressing ingredients. There are a lot of restaurants around us that do oil free dressings using orange juice as a base, but I'm not a big fan of orange flavored dressing. Point being, there are lots of options if you wish to avoid oil.

Saria
12-10-2011, 08:40 PM
My favorite dressing is a ginger-based one. I use balsamic vinegar sometimes too, not 100% sure it's raw though...Anyone know? Your recipes look really good, I'll have to try them Thursday when I start eating salads again!

speltrong
12-10-2011, 09:09 PM
Nope, balsamic isn't raw, but I still use it anyway in some things. :-)

streetsurfer
12-10-2011, 09:20 PM
Saria, try coconut secrets coconut vinegar from whole foods.....lately I'm mixin it with with flax oil. Yum.