Urrah extra virgin olive oil is a blend of the oil obtained from three local varieties of olives. The blend is used in similar proportions by all the farmers of the western Sicily, as the three varieties complement each other to create a distinctive, rounded, peppery flavour.
The predominant variety (<70%) is the prestigious Nocellara del Belice.
Nocellara is well known among experts for its versatility, as the olives are both good for the table, or martini cocktails, and to make a deliciously sweet oil.
Many of our neighbours have consistently won prizes with monocultivar oils at the prestigous New York International Olive Oil Competition. (For the list of winner in the Nocellara del Belice cultivar click here).
Biancolilla is one of the most ancient cultivar found in western Sicily; its colour is light green with yellow highlights and the oil is fruity, slightly pungent and carries sometimes aromas of cut grass, artichoke, almonds or tomatoes. Among the three varieties this is the lighter in taste and its properties fade quicker than the other two.
Finally the Cerasuola, another ancient cultivar of the western region of Sicily, with its dark green colour, with a bitter but pleasant peppery aftertaste. Cerasuola features a substantial body that gives structure and durability to our delicious EVO oil.
Friday, 22 September 2017
Monday, 13 March 2017
A few facts about extra virgin olive oil in your diet
Last year I read my first book about nutrition and I was surprised to find it very readable and entertaining. The author of the book The diet myth, Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London and Director of the Twins UK Registry, popularises the latest scientific thinking on how the microbes in the gut affect (more than previously thought)
the general health of the body. The book is really entertaining as Spector recounts how he doesn't shy away from participating in a lot of experiments, from colonscopies (ouch!), to fasting and "fromage" experiments.
But the most interesting part of the book for me was chapter 5 on unsaturated fats, here is a little excerpt from this chapter:
[...] Until recently the benefits of polyphenols in olive oil were thought to come mainly from its antioxidant properties, whereby they mop up any excess cell-damaging chemicals and have a calming anti-inflammatory effect. Other studies show that olive oil can somehow switch off the genes (possibly by epigenetics) responsible for much of the inflammation in the blood vessels that leads to heart disease. But research suggest a much greater role of our microbes. Over 80% of the fatty acids and nutrients from olive oil reaches the colon before full digestion and comes into contact with our microbes. Here the microbes feed on the rich mix of fatty acids and polyphonols and break them down into smaller by-products, and at this point several interesting thing happen.
Some of the compounds produced act as antioxidants, then use the polyphenols as fuel to produce a range of even smaller bits of fat - short-chain fatty acids. These compounds are more interesting than their name suggests, signalling to the body to lower harmful lipid levels and telling the immune system what to do next. Polyphenols actively encourage some microbes to flourish, such as lactobacilli that mop up and bind fat/lipid particles and clear them from the blood. They also prevent unwanted microbes from colonising our guts. this reduces the incidence of infection from bugs like E.coli that can cause diarrhoea, H.pylori that can cause stomach ulcers, and other bugs that cause pneumonia and tooth decay. event the build-up of unhealthy atheromatos plaque in our arteries is due in part to abnormal and mysterious microbial activity in the damage blood vessel - and polyphenols are likely to help reduce this too. [...]
The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat by Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London and Director of the TwinsUK Registry.
But the most interesting part of the book for me was chapter 5 on unsaturated fats, here is a little excerpt from this chapter:
[...] Until recently the benefits of polyphenols in olive oil were thought to come mainly from its antioxidant properties, whereby they mop up any excess cell-damaging chemicals and have a calming anti-inflammatory effect. Other studies show that olive oil can somehow switch off the genes (possibly by epigenetics) responsible for much of the inflammation in the blood vessels that leads to heart disease. But research suggest a much greater role of our microbes. Over 80% of the fatty acids and nutrients from olive oil reaches the colon before full digestion and comes into contact with our microbes. Here the microbes feed on the rich mix of fatty acids and polyphonols and break them down into smaller by-products, and at this point several interesting thing happen.
Some of the compounds produced act as antioxidants, then use the polyphenols as fuel to produce a range of even smaller bits of fat - short-chain fatty acids. These compounds are more interesting than their name suggests, signalling to the body to lower harmful lipid levels and telling the immune system what to do next. Polyphenols actively encourage some microbes to flourish, such as lactobacilli that mop up and bind fat/lipid particles and clear them from the blood. They also prevent unwanted microbes from colonising our guts. this reduces the incidence of infection from bugs like E.coli that can cause diarrhoea, H.pylori that can cause stomach ulcers, and other bugs that cause pneumonia and tooth decay. event the build-up of unhealthy atheromatos plaque in our arteries is due in part to abnormal and mysterious microbial activity in the damage blood vessel - and polyphenols are likely to help reduce this too. [...]
The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat by Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London and Director of the TwinsUK Registry.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)