O is for Olive Oil

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at this miracle substance.

It's supposed to be one of the most healthy natural oils.  Did you know you can also use it for a  hair treatment?  And you can buy olive oil cooking spray.  You can get mayonnaise made with it. You can shine your sink with it.  In a pinch, you can use it for lip balm or to soften your feet at night.

You can buy it in Virgin, or even Extra Virgin.  Just in case you need a virgin around for a rainy day.

The difference between "OO" "VOO" and "EVOO" is....found at WebMd .  Apparently you have to be careful to read labels, because much of what is sold as EVOO is not as pure as it should be. That's probably the stuff I buy, because I don't like the super expensive kind. It kind of hurts the pocketbook.

There's even light olive oil. I always wondered about that.   It's oil, how can it be lighter than oil?  Well, it turns out it is simply filtered more thoroughly, so that it is a lighter color.  Who'd-a-thunk?

Look for where it comes from, not where it is bottled. It could have been grown anyplace, then sent to France or Spain to bottle it so it looks more  Mediterranean.   Ooh-la-la.

You also have to watch for when it was bottled, and if you must keep it in food storage, be sure to rotate it through. It does go rancid after a year or more in storage.  I think the solution is to buy what you can use in a few months, and use it freely, so you always have a fresh supply.  In some countries they actually dip their bread in it instead of using butter.  It's quite tasty--as long as you are absolutely sure it isn't rancid. You can buy it with herbs in it for extra flavor, or soak your own herbs in it for a while and achieve the same thing.

If something says it has olive oil in it, read the label there too. Some things say "Olive Oil" and it's in there, about three ingredients down from canola or soy oil.

Some people keep olive oil in the fridge where it gets partly solid, to delay spoilage.  I figure if I have to heat it to use it, why bother?  Doesn't that make it spoil faster anyhow?  I just get smaller bottles and use it up!  I guess if you want to buy the mega-size bottle and keep just a small portion in the cupboard at a time, that could work too.  Depends which is more important to you, the hassle or the money.  And how many rug-rats you're feeding it to.  A small bottle will last me for months in  my empty nest, but we'd have gone through it in a  minute when I had four teenage sons at home.


An olive branch is a symbol of peace. To "hold out the olive branch" indicates asking for forgiveness, truce, or resolution.

But olive branches woven into a wreath, like laurels in a wreath, denotes victory or a champion.


Olive oil, the new breakfast of champions?