Olive oils

The olive tree is a grateful tree with great benefits. The evergreen gnarled tree gives us its oil over its drupes. Its wood is hard and actually difficult to work with but offers wonderful grain and is ideal for the art trade and sacred art. The sun worshiper, my olive tree, feels particularly comfortable on the island of Crete, Lesbos and the Peloponnese. The production of olive oil is a really hard work. Most Greek producers do not use harvesters. It takes 5-7 years for an olive tree beginning to bear fruit at all. It grows up to the age of 20, only at around 35 the olive tree  is fully grown and brings high yields, whereby he has to indulge in years of rest again and again. If it is trimmed and straightened, it shows its gratitude by bringing the best harvest quality. Anyone looking for quick profit must not be an olive grower!

The top priority for good olive oil is that the fruits are not too ripe and are picked by hand. Fall olives or olives that are harvested by harvesting machines (this will damage the olives more) have too many ripening enzymes, which has a negative effect on the quality and acidity of olive oil. So the olives should be as green as possible. There are different olives over 700 varieties and different growing regions. Like wine, there are different flavours of olive oil. For a taste experience, you should discover your own olive oil. Since we are very familiar with olive oils in Crete, we present the favourites here in our Kreta.com shop. The most popular organic olive oils and manufacturers and of course cold pressed. Our olive oils are not gypsy. They are “extra virgin olive oil” with the best organic quality. Due to the high proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids, our “liquid gold” has olive oil health-promoting properties. They balance cholesterol levels by lowering bad cholesterol and increasing good. In addition to the 98% fat content, olive oil contains vitamins, vasodilating polyphenols and cell-protecting antioxidants. The positive effect of olive oil is particularly evident in the Mediterranean countries. In 2010 UNESCO even graduated this diet “Dieta Mediterranea” as the intangible cultural heritage of mankind. The Mediterranean diet stands for a healthy diet based mainly on olive oil, fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals and fish and not least a glass of wine! with meals.