An Oil By Any Other Name (What is Olive Oil?)
Is your mom like mine? Always trying to tell you how to live your life as if you’re still ten-years-old instead of, well, let’s just say old enough to have learned a few things. At least about cooking.
Would you believe Mom thinks any oil is as good as any other for cooking? Sure, she’s heard about the health benefits of olive oil, but she still thinks that something labeled 100% vegetable oil is just as good as that fancy stuff I buy. And it’s a lot cheaper, she tells me. Very smugly I might add. Trust me, this woman who teaches American history and economics, knows the value of frugality.
Well, I must confess, I enjoyed teaching her a thing or two for a change. I took her bottle of vegetable oil. I won’t say the brand name here, but you know the bottle I mean. It’s been on the supermarket shelf since long before I was born. I poured a small amount in a shot glass, and then I poured a small amount of my extra virgin olive oil in another glass. (I won’t bore you with the interrogation–I mean, discussion–of why I had shot glasses labeled with the names of certain, uh, social establishments.)
I put the glasses side by side and prepared to conduct a completely unscientific experiment. “Now, Mom, look at the color difference, and then smell each oil.”
Reluctantly, she said, “Your oil is a pretty color, but pretty is as pretty does.”
I rolled my eyes and asked her to sniff the oils. She admitted olive oil had a slight fresh aroma while her oil basically had no odor. She wrinkled her nose and added, “Unless you mean that kind of greasy smell.”
Then I had her dip her finger into the oils. To my surprise, she said, “You know. They do feel a little different. The olive oil feels heavier or denser. My oil just feels like any old oil.”
Ah. Progress. I grabbed a loaf of French bread, tore off two chunks, and moved in for the kill. “Dip a piece of this bread into the olive oil and eat it.”
“Do I have to? I mean I see people doing that in restaurants, but it just seems gross.”
“Come on. Didn’t you always tell me not to turn my nose up at something unless I’d tried it?” She really hates it when I use her words to win an argument with her.
She sighed, dipped, and popped it into her mouth. Her expression changed completely. “That’s not bad.”
“Yeah, and that’s just plain with no sea salt and herbs like rosemary, garlic, and basil added.” I told her to do the same with her oil.
She did. And started looking for a place to spit.
I laughed. “What do you think?”
“Yuk. That’s awful. They’re both oil, and I’m smart enough to know they both have the same fat and calorie content. So why are they so different?”
Why indeed? Olive oil is actually a fruit oil. The olive is a drupe like cherries and grapes. In a way, you might say olive oil is probably closer to cherry juice than it is to another oil. The oil that comes from olives is particularly high in monounsaturated fat and has been linked to a reduction in coronary heart disease risk. That’s why everyone touts it as the healthy oil. Some people actually take a couple of spoonfuls a day as if it were a tonic.
The other thing researchers have found is that olive oil is also high in polyphenols which are antioxidants, that other buzz word you hear a lot about now. The polyphenols increase the elasticity of the arterial wall. Extra virgin olive oil has the most polyphenol content.
I told Mom all this. Just between you and me, this was the real reason I conducted this little comparison for her. She may be a know-it-all, but she’s my know-it-all, and I want to keep her around for a long time.
I concluded by saying, “Olive oil may cost a little more, but you’re getting not just better taste but also health benefits you won’t find with other oils.”
An oil by any other name just isn’t the same as a good EVOO.
I poured the oil into a saucer, added some herbs, sea salt, and garlic. We tore chunks of crusty bread from the loaf and dipped. Between munching, I said. “You know what Thomas Jefferson said about olive oil, don’t you?”
She paused in mid-chew and shook her head.
He said, “Olive Oil Tree is the most precious gift of Heaven.”
She opened her purse and pulled out her notepad and pen and started copying the brand name from my bottle of EVOO.
I knew that Jefferson quote would cinch the deal. History teachers are suckers for founding father quotations.
Related Posts
- Everything Old is New Again (A brief history of olive oil)
- EVOO helps keep blood clot-free
- Health Benefits of Olive Oil: Part I
- Cut Crystal Drizzle Cruets for Mom
- Faking It
That is SOOOO funny. My mom is very much the same way. Has always used Wesson oil for everything… even the salad bleh!. I’m going to do this with my Mom and Dad we get together for Thanksgiving. (I’ll bring my fav olive oil with me just to stack the deck too!)