Search for perfect olive oil in virgin territory

Our favorite oil man hails from Delphi, not Dallas, and his oil is made for people to guzzle, not cars. Descended from a long line of Greek olive growers, George Petrou uses the old traditional methods to make some of California’s finest olive oil that he occasionally sells at our Laguna Beach Farmer’s Market, as well as 28 others around the area.

His grandfather taught him the craft that he had learned from his own grandfather, who learned from his grandfather, etc. He guesses his family has been growing olives for 500 years. His grandfather had 10,000 trees near Delphi and he has 20,000 trees in Modesto, California. He lost his first farm in Chino to the fruit fly and had to start all over again.

He says that his olive oil is better than medicine. In fact, he donates quantities of his organic, unfiltered extra virgin oil to Scripps Institute doctors who, according to George, give each of their patients a teaspoonful a day.

George has two daughters, both of them physicians, and a son who is a law-enforcement officer but helps him out from time to time. So who is going to continue the Petrou olive oil dynasty?

Today, high quality oil is only available in relatively small quantities, usually from family-owned farms. With all his vast experience, George says he teaches “everyone” how it’s done. He shuns the modern methods of oil extraction, favoring hand-picked olives, stone pressed within two days of harvesting. He uses only Mission olives that he says are the best.

The cultivation of olives began in the Fertile Crescent 7,000 years ago, spreading from Crete to Syria, Palestine and Israel. Commercial networking then brought it to southern Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt.

Until 1500 B.C., Greece was the area most heavily cultivated and, as its colonies expanded, olive culture reached Southern Italy, Northern Africa, and later to southern France.

Known for their titanic resistance to natural forces, olive trees produce a fruit that is prized for its nutritional and medicinal properties. Its leaves and branches have been used ritually to symbolize peace, abundance and power.

The trees were considered so sacred in ancient Greece that a person who cut one down would be condemned to death or exile. Homer called olive oil liquid gold. In fact, the wealth of Greece was centered on its production. Through the ages, the oil has been used for food as well as for medicinal, cosmetic, lighting and sacred purposes.

For our purposes, olive oil is one of the “good” fats, a mono-unsaturated oil. It is the most digestible of the fats, helping the body to assimilate vitamins A,D and K, slowing down the aging process and facilitating bile, liver and intestinal functions.

For health purposes, there is no real difference in the various kinds available. However, for culinary uses, very few of us know exactly what the differences are among the most commonly available types: extra virgin olive oil, pure olive oil, and extra light olive oil. Terry has always been mystified by what an “extra” virgin could be, anyway.

Your intrepid Gossiping Gourmets, ever in pursuit of truth and knowledge for our loyal readers, will attempt to unravel this mystery.

All “extra virgin” means is that its the first cold pressing of the fruit (no heat is used to extract the oil). The acidity level is supposed to be less than 1%. It should have a strong and distinctive flavor that may be too overpowering for some dishes.

Cooking also distorts its taste, so it is recommended that it be used for salads, dressings or drizzling over food. Pure olive oil either comes from the second cold pressing or the chemical extraction of the olive mash left over from the first pressing.

“Pure” refers to the fact that no non-olive oils are mixed in. It is lighter in color and blander in flavor.

“Extra-light” contains the exact number of calories as regular olive oil. It has been specially refined to have a milder flavor and lighter texture, allowing the flavors of other foods to come through. With a higher smoking point, it is suitable for deep or shallow frying, as well as baking.

What does all of this have to do with taste? Nothing. For starters, although extra virgin oil is the most expensive, it does not necessarily taste better, just stronger. The designation does not indicate quality. There are good ones and bad ones. They vary in flavor depending on many variables: Country of origin, location of the groves, time of harvest, water, soil, sunlight etc.

Olive trees seem to thrive in the same regions as wine and, like wine, the only way to know if you like it is to taste it. Stores that sell olive oils often offer samples ? for example, Williams Sonoma in Crystal Cove Center.

Here are some tips for tasting extra virgin olive oil that are very similar to tasting wine but will never get you drunk, though possibly well-oiled.

Look at the color. It can range from champagne to greenish golden to bright green. In general, the deeper the color the more intense the olive flavor.

Pour a little oil into a small glass. Swirl it around so it sticks to the side of the glass and warm the glass with your hands.

Sniff deeply. You will actually smell the difference in aromas. The premium oils will have a rich fruity smell.

Taste. Roll it around in your mouth for a while and then spit it out. Premium oils will leave a slightly bitter sensation in the middle of your mouth and a peppery bite in the back of your throat. Your mouth should feel clean and there should be no aftertaste.

Between tastes, drink lots of water and eat a small piece of bread.

Because olive oil loses flavor with age, you should buy small quantities at a time and store in dark containers out of the light and away from heat. Air, light and heat will cause olive oil to turn rancid.

Be sure to stop by George Petrou’s market stand where he offers olives, balsamic vinegar, flavored olive oils (garlic, lemon and blood orange) organic unfiltered and our favorite, the organic extra virgin.

We are sorry to report that after all our research, we still don’t know what an extra virgin might be.