The Chemical Story of Olive Oil

From Grove to Table

Richard Blatchly, Zeynep Delen, Patricia O'Hara

• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781788012300
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Tecnología e ingeniería
• Subtopic: Química orgánica

Despite the growing interest in olive oil, most people know very little about what it is or how it is made. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of olive oil from the tree to table, from a molecular and personal perspective.

Growers often do not know what is happening at a molecular level or why certain practices produce superior or inferior results, for example, why adjusting a temperature rewards them with winning oils. This book aims to provide some of the answers as well as the importance of the chemicals responsible for the flavour and health effects. Readers will also get a deeper understanding of what makes an extra virgin olive oil authentic and how scientists are helping to fight fraud regarding this valuable commodity.

Including anecdotes from growers of olives and producers of oils, the authors provide an accessible text for a wide audience from food science students to readers interested in the human story of olive oil production.

CHAPTER 10

Sustainability

It’s getting a bit late, and we've had a lovely dinner in the home or favorite restaurant of our host – an olive producer, perhaps, or a farmer, or a press operator. We may or may not have consumed a bit of local wine (because wine and olives frequently co-exist). As the mood turns quieter, we are likely to hear a simple question: how do we keep this going?

The reason for the question differs from place to place. Sometimes the concerns are economic – if the price paid for olive oil doesn't quite match its cost of production. Sometimes it's a worry about weather, either short or long-term. Olive producers are, at the core, farmers and have a farmer's eye for the weather and climate. Will the oil survive its trip to the consumer? After all, the producers have to trust the supply chain just as consumers do.

Very often, the concern is with people. Will the boom in demand continue, or will consumers be lured away for a new fad (“Chicken Fat Cures Cancer!”). Will we be able to find the workers we need for what we can pay them? Will the owner stay engaged, or will olive production be switched for something easier? Will the owners of an industry age out of activity without identifying the next generation of owners and passing along all the training and knowledge?

Olive oil production is not the most lucrative career. As you have seen, it's not the easiest. If done right, you can earn enough. If done with passion and with neighbors, you can overcome the obstacles. We certainly saw no shortage of passion, collaboration, and knowledge during our travels.

What is the human side of sustainability? It's easy to forget in the blur of numbers or the weight of studies that, first of all, olive oil sustains us. After World War II, the government of Greece invited the Rockefeller Foundation to conduct a study about the s...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Halftitle
• Preface: Our Olive Origin Story
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication
• Contents
• CHAPTER 6 Delivering Quality and Assuring Authenticity
• CHAPTER 7 Good Taste is Required
• CHAPTER 8 Health Effects: But is Olive Oil Good for You?
• CHAPTER 9 1001 Uses for Olive Oil
• CHAPTER 10 Sustainability