Olive Oil Drops: Recent Episodes
Marco Antonucci
This is a Podcast by Milena & Marco for people who want to know everything or almost everything about olive oil and olives!
Cucumber, dried mushroom, winey and earthy notes: sensory attributes or olive oil defects?
Do you remove the pit to make extra virgin olive oil? And what do train wheels have to do with destoning techniques? Does removing the pit really enhance aromas?
Funnel or vacuum bottling? And when it comes to preserving extra virgin olive oil, is nitrogen, argon, or a protective air layer the best choice
Cotton filters, natural decanting, freezing, or crystallization: Which method harms extra virgin olive oil the most?
Why oil needs decanting like wine, how 2 and 3 stage decanters differ, and what “differential speed” really means
An enamel bathtub and olive oil — what could they possibly have in common? And do we really need all those coils, reels, and metal spirals to make extra virgin?
Do you have to stab olives to make olive oil? Or bash them with a hammer? Maybe squeeze them between disks and cones? How are olives actually crushed?
Do olives need to be washed? Is certified weighing required? How an Olive Mill Works: The Scales, the Washer, and Leaf Remover
How do you design the space that houses an olive mill? It takes more than just a site visit!
How are liqueurs and dietary supplements made from olive leaves? Are they really that profitable?
How do you process olive leaves? How much can you make? Sold whole or in tea bags? And how are they used?
How does Slow Food's Extra Virgin Olive Oil Guide work? Who writes it and chooses the oils? How does a producer get into it? What is Great Slow Oil? And the Slow Food Snail of Approval award? Who deserves it?
1308/2013, 2022/2104, 2568/1991, 2022/2105… EU regulations come and go, but in the end, nothing really changes. Just more legal texts saying the same things in different ways!
"‘I sell unpasteurized, unfiltered olive oil, no modifications in the cellar.” But is this really the right approach to selling extra virgin olive oil online?"
Is it better to keep the leaves during the milling process, even adding more if necessary, or should the olives enter the mill completely leaf-free? What is the correct school of thought: leaf or no leaf?
Should olives be piled up to dry, like our grandparents did, or sent straight to the mill in a refrigerated van?
Is it possible to precisely determine the right time to harvest olives and make oil? Why is it wrong to harvest olives when they change color?
Can a virgin oil with defects be considered genuine? And what about an oil extracted using talc powder? Is the adjective 'typical' really an assurance of excellence or quality?
How to Use Pizza to Increase the Value of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Want to Double Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil Profits and Boost Pizza Prices by 20-30%? Invest Just 10 Cents per Customer!
Can you increase olive oil yield and improve flavor without fraudulent practices? Absolutely — and sometimes, it’s necessary!
Just as garlic wards off Dracula, kaolin clay repels olive flies. Discover how this natural, affordable mineral keeps pests away through a simple physical barrier.
Zeolititte: find out how this versatile rock, when added to soil or sprayed on plants, delivers remarkable benefits!
How does one become an olive oil expert? How many olive oils do you need to taste before you become skilled? And how many books must you read to know everything about olive oil and its production?
An oil expert is often thought to say nothing new or, worse yet, to repeat things that are already known. But is this really the case? Could an oil expert actually be a source of innovative ideas?
“I’d rather not harvest olives than unite with my neighbor!" Is this really the best way to approach the olive oil market? "My neighbor sells oil for €15.00? Then I’ll sell mine for €10.00 to spite him!!" Is undermining your neighbor the best way to sell oil?
With all the fats there are, why is margarine used if it is detrimental to health? More importantly: is it truly harmful? And can it be made at home?
Hydrogenated and Saturated Fats, Colorants, Emulsifiers, Preservatives, and Fractionated Oils: Should We Opt for Butter Instead?
Want to lose customers? Write “hand-harvested” or “vegan” on the label, use one-liter bottles, don't indicate cultivars... Here are the most common and odd mistakes to drive consumers away!
Consumers are defined as individualistic, populist, inconsistent and emotional. They base their choices on personal experience and beliefs. Do we, as consumers ourselves, align with this stereotype?
"0 km food", mass distribution, internet, institutions, globalization: are these really the basic tools for selling oil?
Aspirina, Orfanello, Gentile di Mafalda o Lardaia extra virgin olive oil? Or cured white olives? Let’s discover forgotten cultivars, their rich histories and inherent economic potential
Why not try making olive oil soap at home using your favorite oil? It requires only a few ingredients and is easy to make.
What cultivars are typical of foreign countries? Oblica, Azapa, Hardy's Mammoth, Nikitskaia, Chemlal de Kabylie, Zaity, Soury,…
If "cultivar" is a subspecies of the olive tree, what is "variety"? And how many "breeds" of cultivar are there?
Why is the tasting glass cobalt-blue or garnet yellow color? How is it washed? How is it warmed? What material is made of?
GL 71: Do I really have to write it on my glass oil bottle? And where do I write it? And how do I write it? Environmental sustainability also comes through the environmental labeling of packaging. It is not merely one more obligation for producers
Question: “Since you are an expert, would you taste MY oil and give me an honest opinion?” Answer: “Do you want to keep the friendship, or do you really want me to taste your oil?"
If I were faced with three identical bottles of extra virgin olive oil priced at €3.99, €8.99, and €13.50 respectively, which one would you buy? Would you choose the average price as you would for a used car or…
“Off” and “on” year: it is a belief amongst olive growers rather than a real feature of the olive tree!
We do not care about extra virgin olive oil’s acidity because it cannot be tasted in the mouth and it is useless as information for a consumer.
Polyphenols. Are they just natural preservatives in extra virgin olive oil, or is it true that they also have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-aging, and anti-oxidative stress properties?
On the market one can find extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, olive pomace oil and olive oil based dressing. But no virgin olive oil. Why?
From amphora in terracotta to bag-in-box, an oil container has evolved over time. But still, in many parts of the world, olive oil is sold in plastic. Let’s find out why!
What does caustic soda have to do with cocktail olives? How are table olives made? Is it true that the chemical curing process for table olives was invented in the 19th century?
May I write the name of the cultivar on the label? Yes, no, don’t know…The correct answer is: not always!
Ancestral traditions and ritual dances do not eliminate the olive fly. Neither do pre scheduled treatments. Knowledge and prevention are the best tools in the fight against olive fly.
Caprese, Panzanella and Gazpacho: three easy and simple recipes. Impossible to make without extra virgin olive oil! But which one to choose?
It is not always mandatory to include a nutrition declaration on the olive oil’s label! And if you really need to do it….In Italy, you can easily download it free of charge from the institutional websites.
Is it true that truffle oil can only be produced chemically? Is it true that truffle flavored oil cannot be made using the precious tuber?
First cold pressing, genuine, mellow, robust, vigorous, with sweet almond notes, cold extraction, rustic, whole…Are we really sure that these words can be written on the label?
Fresh or dry aromas? Cold or hot oil? And what about botulinum? Let’s learn to make flavored extra virgin olive at home in a safe and simple manner.
The less we write, the less mistakes we risk making… but what information must extra virgin labels contain?
Is it possible to glue a crooked label? And can it be tied with a string? May I place the label on the bottom of the container? What is “the same field of vision”? And “a normal mode”?
Is it possible to make table olives for aperitif at home? Do olives need to be green or black? Big or small? Dry or packed with oil? Do I need to use caustic soda? Can I add some spices?
What is “a container measuring bottle”? Is it true that the container too must have a label?
Why is it mandatory to have a Declaration of Compliance of the bottle in order to sell oil?
Through Marco’s personal memories, I tell you a common story of generations of Italians
Olive oil yield? It is the fault of nitrogen, talc, vacuum pressure pump, microwaves, temperature and..Is it possible to get 22-23 liters of oil from 100 kilograms of olives? Yes, it is possible to get many more if you are interested in oil yield only… If, on the other hand, you are also interested in aromas and flavors…
Why can the oil yield vary by 100% for the same number of olives? And the millers: Do they really use low yields to cheat gullible olive growers out of their beautiful olives?
Is an olive oil cruet really so dangerous that it had to be outlawed? Yet, it has been in use since Ancient Rome and still today it is a sought after design object and social status symbol.
By hand or mechanically? By day or night? But first and foremost: How are olives harvested?
What type of containers shall we use for olive oil? Do containers need to be new or can we reuse the same containers as they” become impregnated with good olive oil flavors”? What about plastic?
Four recipes with extra virgin olive oil and mascarpone: paring olive oil with cheese is not often done in contemporary cuisine. However, with 538 olive varieties in Italy alone, how hard it can be to pair them with Italian cheeses, including mascarpone!
Why is it wrong to pick olives when they change color? When are olives for making oil harvested: when green or black or when they change color? In September or January? What is the difference between oil made of ripe olives and oil made of green olives?
Why buy first cold pressed olive oil? Because you cook with slogans and season salad with words? What if instead you really are interested in buying excellent quality extra virgin olive oil…
Would you buy milk or white wine with sediment on the bottom? And mineral water with sandy sediment on the bottom of the bottle? No? Would you buy cloudy extra virgin olive oil with sediment on the bottom?
What does Monica Bellucci have to do with the scent of olive oil? What is “olfactory memory” and how is it created?
Is it true that scents do not exist? And how can we memorize them if they do not exist?
Is it true that we can fry without oil? Is it better to use extra virgin olive oil, olive oil or vegetable oil for frying? How do we get “light” fried foods? Is there such a thing as “heavy” fried foods?
If we leave an olive oil bottle open, will it spoil just like wine? No: It will spoil even more as it contains no preservatives.
What costs more: A liter of olive or engine oil? If it is true that olive oil at 4 Euros a liter is a scam, then how can engine oil at 30 Euros a liter be a steal?
Can we be sure that extra virgin olive oils with protected designation of origin are actually better?
Each cooking temperature has its oil: ice cream, aperitif, sauce, mayonnaise, deep-fry, cutlet, salad, roasts…What about grilled bread? Would you drizzle seed oil onto grilled bread?
If olive oil needs to be kept in the dark, why are a great number of bottles at supermarkets transparent and placed in upper shelves near the ceiling lights?
How to choose olive trees to plant? Where to buy them? What cultivars to select? How important is the climate or my customer’s taste for these choices?
Does Extra Virgin olive oil indeed have anti-cancer properties? Does it really contain substances that lower cholesterol and is its fat component beneficial for our health as they claim? Or is it only good for making soap?
At what temperature should we keep olive oil at home? What happens when it freezes? Is it better to keep olive oil in the cellar or in the kitchen cabinet above the stove? And at the supermarkets: is olive oil stored in a proper place?
Is there such a thing as a glass made deliberately for olive oil tasting? How do we taste olive oil? What it should taste like in the mouth? What it should smell like? If it “tingles” in the throat, should I be concerned?
Are olives green and black like grapes are white and red? What is a monocultivar oil? Are there oil olives and table olives?
What’s the difference between “extra virgin olive oil” and “olive oil”? Is “refined olive oil” particularly sophisticated olive oil or simply a product of industrial refining?
Which came first: olive oil or butter? Who “invented” olive oil and why? It is true that the olive is an African plant?
This is Milena, welcome to Olive Oil Drops; podcast created by Marco Antonucci in Italian for people who want to know everything or almost everything about olive oil and olives. All the content and much more is available on www.oliveoildrops.com.