CUISINE

CUISINE

Cultivation of Olives in the Mediterranean OLIVE OIL AND THE MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE Olive oil was and still is the cornerstone of Mediterranean cuisine, whose presence is dominant in the diet of Mediterranean peoples especially in dishes coming from the oil producing areas. Raw or cooked in different ways and diverse culinary techniques (grilling, oven, pan) is consumed daily. Good oil in combination with correct cooking methods or proper use allows the flavors and aromas of other materials involved in the dish to shine and finally emerge in a better way. Many people argue that to cook a good oily food needs more art than any other high culinary food. In fact, the tradition of cooking oily foods is very long and it was well known in the past by women and cooks in the old wine taverns and restaurants.
Raw • The extra virgin olive oil has strong organoleptic characteristics: color, flavor, aroma, texture, and is ideal for use in raw salads with raw vegetables, combined with vinegar or lemon. • Use in salads with fresh, steamed vegetables and wild herbs. In boiled or roasted potatoes, peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, notch weeds, radishes. • In more complex salads, such as those that are based on potatoes, bread, eggplant, garlic, parsley and yoghurt. The oil is absorbed perfectly by all these materials and the result is a dish with velvety texture and pleasant taste. • On raw or grilled cheese with oregano, marjoram or thyme. • In cooked meats, including poultry. • On toasts, particularly barley or toasted bread. • In combination with fish and meat marinades. • In conjunction with various herbs and greens in the middle of the table, accompanying bread ( instead of butter).
In the oven • Olive oil has the ability to keep meat, fish and vegetables baked in the oven tender. The same applies to a whole range of vegetables, pulses, cakes which are baked in the oven with olive oil. • Olive oil is a material that can easily be mixed with butter or margarine, if desired, particularly in food and pastries baked in the oven. • Also, it is used in desserts baked in the oven as olive pies in the pan, biscuits and cookies. Olive oil has the ability to keep the interior of the pies and cakes tender and "wet" and offers a uniquely crunchy texture in biscuits and cookies. Olive oil gives a distinctive flavor in breads and sweet foods, in festive cookies. The oil acts as a substance for baking pans and a natural substance that protects the outer dough and gives it a ruby crust. It also allows the spices found in breads, cookies, pastries and various pies to bring out their aroma.
Barbeques and Grill. Meat, poultry, fish and vegetables can be marinated with herbs, spices and olive oil . The result will be spectacular and definitely very tasty, since their flesh remains soft and they will avoid the unpleasant burning of their external surface. If you want you can resort to more simple and traditional ways, such as that of direct spreads of food cooked on the grill with olive oil. Put inside a bowl some olive oil, salt, herbs and spices, a little lemon or vinegar, and dip in steaks, liver, chicken, fish or vegetables to be cooked on charcoal or grilled. The taste will improve, they will not stick to the grill, they will not turn black and they will get a nice pink color.
In pot (Casserole) The Mediterranean cuisine has lists of dozens of oily foods which are cooked in the pot. The main ingredients of these dishes are except from olive oil, vegetables, herbs and legumes. Meat can be cooked in a saucepan with olive oil called "giachnista" and usually accompanied by potatoes, a vegetable or herb, like zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, spinach, leeks, fennel, sorrel, or pasta. There are plenty of recipes where the meat is cooked in olive oil along with its juices. Oily casserole dishes require special attention, particularly in the proportion of oil and water. They are cooked at low temperature and you must open the lid to evaporate the water.
Olive oil and the frying pan It is known that all fats in general are oxidized by temperature, especially when it is high. Olive oil (thanks to its natural abundance of monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic) and its natural lack of polyunsaturated acids and its richness in antioxidants) is clearly in a very advantageous position, as it requires very high temperatures to be deteriorated. Varela in 1980 studied the kinetics of penetration of oil in the food during frying, and evaluated the oil in comparison with other fats such as vegetable oils. The products selected to be fried in olive oil and vegetable oils were potatoes, fish and bananas. More specifically, the fats used were olive oil, refined oil, soybean oil, soybean oil mixture, peanut oil, cottonseed oil, margarine, butter and lard. It was found that food fried in olive oil formed a thin crust on the outside surface with high fat content, whereas all other fats formed a thick crust, but poorer in fat. Olive oil proved to be superior to other fats because it gives foods a more subtle but crisp crust for longer.
This study has also demonstrated that olive oil does not penetrate the food but it remains on the surface while all other fatty substances penetrate it fully. In addition, the valuable oleic acid remained unchanged even after the frying process. Olive oil if used correctly is the best fat for frying. In cases where foods are floured before frying the result is safer. When, for example, the flesh of fish or crustaceans, meat and vegetables, after being dipped in the flour suddenly come into contact with hot oil they automatically form a "protective" crunchy crust around them. Thus, fish, meat and vegetables retain their juices, moisture and naturally all their flavor and vitamins. Olive oil (if hot enough) does not permeate the "flesh" of fried food, because it contains a certain amount of moisture which is released gradually, keeping the oil temperature to 100 ° -150 ° C. Only when all liquids evaporate, the food is inevitably soaked fried in olive oil. Fried oil remains palatable even after 10 consecutive uses, although many experts argue that it is good oil not to be used more than 5-6 times during frying.
In many experiments, however, olive oil has continued to maintain its good absorption from the stomach and intestine even when used in repeated frying. Volunteers were given 40 ml raw or warmed up virgin olive oil through the duodenum. The researchers found no difference between raw and warmed oil in the bile and its biling properties. Corn oil heated to 160 ° C and sunflower oil at 170 ° C form toxic derivatives, ie products called total polar components (TPM). The TPM can unfortunately occur in unheated oils too due to poor storage conditions. Olive oil is overheated to 200 ° -210 ° C. In the olive oil during frying, the formation of peroxides and free radicals (all of which adversely affect the functioning of the central nervous system) is significantly restricted. The safe conclusion from all these surveys is that olive oil is the best fat even for frying, and presents a greater resistance to deterioration due to oxidation. We could even say that the cuisine of Greece and the Mediterranean countries in general revolves around a huge frying pan! The vegetables are fried, as are meat and fish, crustaceans and shellfish, cheese and potatoes, fried dough, donuts, pancakes and omelettes. Thus, we could confidently say that after the bbq and grill, the pan is one of the oldest and most popular ways of cooking in the kitchens of the Mediterranean region.
FINALLY, WHY OLIVE OIL AND NO OTHER OIL? The pure natural juice of the olive tree is clearly superior to any other fatty substance used in the human diet, whether it comes from animal fats (lard, butter) or vegetables (corn, soybean, palm, palmoil, sunflower). • The olive oil has a unique flavor, herbs, nutrients and biological components, which make it excellent and irreplaceable food in relation to all the above. • Olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil, is the natural juice produced by the olive fruit using natural methods (crushing, pressing, centrifugation, sinolea) without the addition of chemical enhancers and without any further processing. It can be immediately consumed, like all natural juices! • Olive oil has significant aroma that make it the most delicious of all fats • Its calorie value does not exceed that of other fats. • The oil has increased resistance to rancidity and oxidation because of the polyphenols and tocopherols. • Because it is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and natural antioxidants, olive oil is ideal for frying food, more than any other fat. • Chemical composition of olive oil is ideal for the human body. Besides, olive oil is enriched with natural antioxidants, which, as evidenced by recent medical studies, are of paramount importance for human health.