Healthy Traditions Press Release

Do You Trust Your Olive Oil?

Do you trust the label on your Extra Virgin Olive Oil? Numerous scandals have been uncovered over the last twenty years which have revealed that many extra virgin olive oils being sold in the United States do not meet the high standard for this product. Many have been adulterated with lower grade olive oils or with nut and seed oils. Others simply have serious flavor and aroma defects, which should prevent them from being called “extra virgin.” The controversy continues to this day. (See: Extra Virgin Olive Oil Fraud: A Guide to Purchasing Olive Oil.)

Estate-bottled Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Chile

Our superb estate-bottled cold pressed extra virgin olive oil is from SANTIAGO, CHILE. The Mediterranean climate of this region is perfect for growing olives. The valley where the olives are grown is nestled between a small Pacific coastal mountain range and the larger Andes Mountains. This unique setting allows for warm days and cool nights to help produce the wonderful taste of this fruity oil.

What is Unique about an Estate-bottled olive oil?

The big producers buy oil from around a region and blend it for a uniform, generally bland flavor. This is the composition of most oils on grocery store shelves. Estate bottling means that the oil is pressed from olives grown at one location. Much more attention to detail is paid in the growing and harvesting of the olives.

This estate practices sustainable agriculture principles and no chemical pesticides or fertilizers are used on the olives or the trees. As an added assurance the oil has been tested for the herbicide glyphosate.

TASTE: Our olive oil has a wonderfully sweet, fruity flavor with just a hint of pepper. People often characterize it as incredibly rich and buttery. It finishes off with a slight peppery quality, what someone who is not used to a good, tasty olive oil might call bitter. The Italians call this flavor “piccante” or spicy. We believe that our olive oil combines the perfect amount of fruitiness with flavor.

ANTI-OXIDANTS: There is something hidden in this estate-bottled extra-virgin olive oil that you can neither see nor taste. It happens to have an extraordinarily high polyphenol count. The polyphenols are what make an extra virgin olive oil a great source of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidant levels are highest in cold-pressed extra virgin olive oils, and also can depend on the region. A great extra virgin olive oil typically has a polyphenol count of between 100 and 250 milligrams per liter. This estate-bottled organic extra virgin olive oil has a polyphenol count of 416 milligrams, which is very high for an extra virgin olive oil with fruity notes. Polyphenol counts this high are usually reserved for the more robust oils.

PACKAGING: We use a dark glass bottle that protects the oil from both harmful ultraviolet rays as well as oxidation, the two processes that cause the healthful properties of extra virgin olive oil to deteriorate. Proper storage for any oil is the key to long shelf life and usability. We suggest storing your oils in a cool dark location away from large temperature changes.

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