Cultivating the Palate

Olive Oil in Iron Age Britain

While the Roman Empire may have been instrumental in the spread of olive tree cultivation and and oil processing facilities around the Mediterranean basin, archaeological evidence now points to the consumption of olive oil in the first pre-Roman planned town discovered in Britain.

The modern village of Silchester in Hampshire is located just one mile from the remains of the Roman town Calleva Atrebatum, under which lie the remains of the Iron Age settlement known as Calleva, a Celtic place name which can translate to “woody place”.

Probably founded in the second half of the first century BC, Calleva was a populous settlement and archaeological evidence shows there were wide ranging contacts both within Britain and overseas with France, Spain, Italy and the Mediterranean. The diverse imported goods apparently included olive oil, wine and fermented fish sauce called garum for cooking.

Two thousand years after the demise of Calleva, we are fortunate to be able to uphold tradition and continue to consume olive oil in modern Britain today!

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14555449

The Birth of Athena

“I begin to sing of Pallas Athene, the glorious goddess, owl-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart, pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia.  From his awful head wise Zeus himself bare her arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they gazed.  But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis, shaking a sharp spear: great Olympus began to reel horribly at the might of the owl-eyed goddess, and earth round about cried fearfully, and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves…”

Homer

Let there be Peace

Peace puts forth her olive everywhere.

William Shakespeare
Henry IV, Part 2, Act 4.

The Olive branch: a traditional symbol of peace.

Man shall not live by bread alone

In this section we shall also dine on Inspired Words, those penned by the Light of the Soul, as is the case of the illustrious Don Quixote, whose words on poetry are worth reading once again:

(…) for, according to a true belief, a poet is born one; that is to say, the poet by nature comes forth a poet from his mother’s womb; and following the bent that heaven has bestowed upon him, without the aid of study or art, he produces things that show how truly he spoke who said, ‘Est Deus in nobis,’ &c. At the same time, I say that the poet by nature who calls in art to his aid will be a far better poet, and will surpass him who tries to be one relying upon his knowledge of art alone. The reason is, that art does not surpass nature, but only brings it to perfection; and thus, nature combined with art, and art with nature, will produce a perfect poet (…) the pen is the tongue of the mind, and as the thought engendered there, so will be the things that it writes down. And when kings and princes observe this marvellous science of poetry in wise, virtuous, and thoughtful subjects, they honour, value, exalt them, and even crown them with the leaves of the tree (…)

(Don Quijote de La Mancha – II, Chap. XVI
Trans. John Ormsby, 1885)

La Cultivada is the fresh juice of the olive fruit. It is life for the body. The essential character of La Cultivada also bestows on it a symbolic nature: Joy for the Soul.

Oil to Light the Way

It is said that the Phoenicians invented the lamps in which, according to Herodotus, salt was mixed with oil and then lit.  The Greeks then inherited this system of lighting.  Olive oil fuelled the lamps by which Aristotle would polish his speeches, whose accomplishment was a reflection of the long waking hours he worked on them and which were defined by his contemporaries as “smelling of lamplight”.  In turn the Romans received lamps of bronze, clay and oil lamps.  Such lighting required much attention as the oil had to be frequently replenished.

The Romans made an art of producing and decoration these lamps, which they did with exquisite taste.  They were often to be found in the catacombs and thence their subsequent use in Christian cemeteries and chapels.  In the cathedral of Seville there were as many oil lamps as days in the year.  Similarly in the Great Mosque of Cordoba, during its time of greatest splendour, every year a thousand arrobas (about 12.5 litres) of oil were burned for light.

The Israelites also turned to oil for light, using only the purest quality for their votive lamps.

Times have changed and we find new uses for both oil and its receptacles.

The Olive Tree in ancient Greece and Rome

The Olive was a wild tree which with careful cultivation would bear fruit.  For its origins we have to look to the East.  The transformation of the wild olive (Lat. oleaster, Gk. agricalso, kotinos and phylia) into a cultivated tree was the work of Syrian peoples, and from the Southeastern corner of the Mediterranean basin it entered and spread through Europe.

In his poems, Homer cites olive oil as a rare and expensive product reserved for the wealthy who would send for it from the East.  The cultivated Olive tree is mentioned in all ancient civilisations as being one of the most important in existence.  It was brought to Rome by the Greeks of Campania.  The Greek for oil is Elaion, while Elaia is the cultivated olive tree.  In Spain it can be found in the Mediterranean region, especially in Turdetania and in Baetica. During the times of the Roman Empire, the olive came to be cultivated throughout the Mediterranean.

The religions, let us say Mythology, of the ancient Greeks and Romans placed particular importance on the Olive, the tree and its branches being adopted as a symbol of various qualities and attributes.

Arbequina olives in Autumn.

“Oil”… Once upon a time only for Olive Oil

Words often encompass a wealth of history, and this is indeed the case with the two that concern us, olive and oil. The etymological roots of these words both in English and other languages point to their geographical origin and propagation.

In English, olive came via the Old French olive, derived from the Latin olive (olive, olive tree), which in turn came from the Greek elaia.  The juice of the olive fruit, referred to by the poet Homer as “liquid gold”, was known in Greek as elaion. From this came oleum, the Latin word used by the Romans which was eventually to migrate to huile in French, oil in English.  It is interesting to note that until the beginning of the 14^th Century, the word oil referred purely and simply to olive oil alone.  It was after this time that its usage began to include other fatty substances.

In Spanish, on the other hand, the word for olive is aceituna, a legacy of the Arabic of the Moors: az-zaytun.  The Moors improved greatly on cultivation and production techniques for obtaining az-zait – the juice of olives.  And similarly to English usage, the Spanish word aceite is no longer used exclusively for olive oil but for all types.

Thus is the journey of today’s Olive Oil chronicled in its very name.

Beginning at the beginning: Just what is Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is truly nothing more and nothing less than the pure juice obtained from the fruit of olive trees.

But why “Extra Virgin”?  In order to be classed as such, an olive oil must meet certain chemical and sensorial standards.

First of all, the oil must be produced solely by mechanical means and without the addition of any chemicals or solvents.  Temperatures will be kept at less than 30ºC so as not to degrade the oil during the process of extraction.  In chemical terms, it must have a “free acidity” of not more than 0.8%, which serves as an indication of quality standards maintained during production.

If the olive juice meets these conditions, it will undergo a further sensory evaluation carried out by an official tasting panel.  They will study the aroma and flavour profile of the oil, and should it be found to be flawless, free from defects, and to have the necessary “positive attributes”  it will be classed as Extra Virgin – the highest quality of all the olive oil classifications.

These positive attributes which make an oil “Extra Virgin” include its fruitiness: having aromas and flavours which are reminiscent of fresh, green or ripe olives, fruit and vegetables which can range from bananas, apples, almonds right through to tomatoes, artichokes and even cut grass.  Extra Virgin Olive Oils will also often have attributes of bitterness and pungency, the latter creating a peppery sensation in the mouth and throat.  All of these should come together harmoniously on the palate and create a well balanced, rounded flavour sensation.

Extra Virgin Olive Oils vary greatly from one to another since their quality and taste depend on many factors including the variety of olive, the terroir and local climate, on early or late harvesting of the fruit and methods of production.  Neither can we forget the care and dedication of individual producers to their olive groves.

Next time you open your Extra Virgin Olive Oil, take a minute to breathe in the aromas, savour the taste and discover the world of flavours brought to you by this liquid gold.

Olive Oil: “The only really good food we are still allowed”

In an article on bonappetit.com online magazine, Mark Kurlansky pointed towards how many of the pleasurable foods in life are seemingly to be sacrificed as we seek to be healthier.  He continued,

“Sometimes it feels as though we would be better off being less healthy and enjoying life.  But then, miraculously, there is olive oil.

Olive oil, it often seems, is the only really good food we are still allowed.”

Indeed, the health benefits of Olive Oil  are many and varied.   This is especially true of Extra Virgin oils, the natural fresh juice of the olive fruit which is extracted at cooler temperatures and not chemically refined.  A study carried out in 2006 and published in the “Annals of Internal Medicine” showed that consuming Virgin Olive Oil had a greater positive effect on heart disease risk factors when compared to refined oil.

So take heart, literally, and try making Extra Virgin Olive Oil a vital ingredient in both your cooking and health!

www.bonappetit.com

www.annals.org (María-Isabel Covas et al)

Olive Oil: From medieval England to modern times

The Forme of Cury,  a vellum scroll now kept in the British Library, is one of the oldest known manuscripts about cookery written in English, Cury being the Middle English word for cookery.  It is thought to have been written in the latter half of the fourteenth century by the master cooks of Richard II, covering both everyday meals and the food of banquets.   It was approved by Maisters and phisik and of philosphie of the court: Masters of medecine and philosophy, pointing to the link these maintained with the culinary arts.

Importantly for us, it is the first text to mention olive oil in relation to British food.  Over 600 years later we can continue to incorporate Extra Virgin Olive Oil into our diet.  As well as for the usual salad dressings, try a drizzling a little Extra Virgin over a variety of dishes to see how they are transformed into the sublime.  Soups, vegetables, rice and pasta dishes, grilled meats… the possibilities are endless.

So go ahead, dare to experiment – just like the Royal master cooks were doing back in the 1390′s!

www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/booksforcooks/med/pygghome/sawge.html