Olive Oil
About
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives, a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, altitude, time of harvest, and extraction process. It consists mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%), with smaller amounts of other fatty acids including linoleic acid (up to 21%) and palmitic acid (up to 20%). Extra virgin olive oil is required to have no more than 0.8% free acidity and is considered to have favorable flavor characteristics.
Source
Olive oil is produced by grinding olives and extracting the oil by mechanical or chemical means. Green olives usually produce more bitter oil, and overripe olives can produce oil with fermentation defects, so for good extra virgin olive oil care is taken to make sure the olives are perfectly ripened.
Local
Common Recipes
Varieties
Many different varieties with many different taste profiles. ## Nutritional Information [//]: # (Based on a 100g portion from the USDA Fooddata Central Database if possible) *Based on a 100g portion* [^1] | name | amount | | ---- | ------ | | water | 0 g | | energy | 0 kJ | | protein | 0 g | | fat | 0 g | ## References [^1]: USDA Fooddata Central Database -- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
