Olive oil benefits, nutrition, types

Tuscan extra virgin olive oil

Olive oil health benefits and medical adavantages are now well known, making olive oil increasingly popular.
Tuscan olive oil is the highest quality olive oil in the world. Tuscany produces olive oil to such a high degree that its olive oil has been given its own label of origin, in the same way as renowned wines are defined by their regional origin. Tuscany is a protected geographical cultivation for oil.
There are several types of olive oil.
Extra virgin olive oil is the premium of all the olive oils. To register as extra virgin, it must prove to be free of any defects. Extra virgin olive oil is officially defined as an oil "obtained from the fruit of the olive tree that has not undergone any treatment other than washing, decontamination, centrifugation and filtration".

The ancient Tuscan tradition of growing olives has been nurtured for thousands of years. Today Tuscany continues to set the pace for olive oil producers around the world.

An important district in Tuscany for olive oil production is Chianti, a region of hills, cultivated with olive groves and vineyards, and dotted with cypress trees.
Another olive oil area is the historical town of Lucca.

Lucca's olive oil is considered one of the best and it's one of its specialities. The olive groves that provide its source grow on the hills of the whole province of Lucca, and the oil is manufactured by several companies in the town itself: Bertolli and Filippo Berio are the best known brand names.
The Bertolli family started their olive oil business in 1865, and Filippo Berio began producing and selling the finest olive oil under the brand name "Filippo Berio" in the 1850s.
You can buy online Bertolli and Filippo Berio olive oils from Peapod, America's largest online internet grocery shopping and delivery service.
Peapod also has many other brands of olive oils, extra virgin and non, including organic, both original and imported.
You can use it at anytime, day or night, for quality groceries, and it will make you save time, money, and the hassles of waiting in line.
Peapod currently services Chicagoland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia.
Here is the link:

Shop Peapod 24/7 and get $10 in FREE groceries

Olive oil cruets, oil dispensers, dipping sets, olive bowls, oil jars, bottles

To buy the products described below and similar others directly online, visit Weekend a Firenze website. Here's the link:

Weekend a Firenze

Le Piagge is an organic farm nestled in the Florentine hills. Its farm-produced products are all natural, produced through organic agriculture.

Le Piagge olive oil is an olive oil made from hand-picked olives grown organically in the Florentine hills. Fresh and pungent in flavor, this oil will soon have you hooked on the intense flavor of ripe Tuscan olives.

You can order and buy online packages from Le Piagge, containing delicious, wholesome organic Tuscan olive oil together with traditional oil containers, dispensers, cruets or bowls, also very suitable as gifts.
No chemical fertilisers or pesticides have been used, and the processed products included in these sets are packaged without additives, thickeners, food colouring, or preservatives.
Even in Tuscany, these products are rarely available in stores, due to limited production. All of these products have been tested by both experts and consumers.

There is a choice of different packages.
The ones described here include olive oil, but you can have other foods as well: crostini, flours and dried pulses, marmalades, jams and compotes, sauces, soups, sweets, vegetable creams, vegetable mixes, drinks, available to buy online from the link above.

Here are packages that include bottles of olive oil together with oil or olive containers or bowls. All of them are handmade by local artisans who work in typical areas of production around Florence.

Olive oil and oil cruet set (pictured left) contains a 75 cl. bottle of extra virgin olive oil Le Piagge and a cruet with a cork stopper. The oil dispenser is handcrafted by Empolese glassmakers.

Tuscan ceramic contains a 75 cl. bottle of Le Piagge extra virgin olive oil, together with a decorative ceramic vase, or orcino. This little jar is a perfect reproduction of the Tuscan orcino that was once used to serve oil: a jar in all natural terracotta (pictured right).
The little terracotta jars, like all the objects featured here, are handmade by local artisans who work in typical areas of production around Florence: in this case, the vases come from ceramic experts of Montelupo Fiorentino.

Olive oil & 2 olive bowls set, original and useful, is a set containing a 75 cl. bottle of Le Piagge extra virgin olive oil and two glazed ceramic (pottery) olive bowls, hand-decorated by the famous ceramists of Montelupo Fiorentino, for serving gourmet olives (pictured left).

Vegetable dipping set includes a 75 cl. bottle of Le Piagge Extra Virgin olive oil and six glazed ceramic (pottery) vegetable dipping bowls, handmade near Pisa: traditionally Tuscans use these bowls these to mix a little salt with fresh olive oil (together called pinzimonio) and dip raw vegetables, such as artichokes or celery as an appetizer (pictured right).
The charming little bowls, called cattini, are entirely handmade, therefore no two are exactly alike.

To get further information on any of these and similar products or to buy them directly online, visit Weekend a Firenze website. Here's the link:

Weekend a Firenze

Apulian, Italian & other extra virgin olive oil

Apulia or Puglia, Italy's heel, the south-eastern tip of the boot-shaped peninsula, is another major producer of quality olive oil. Apulian sunny shores produce oil made from ripe Coratina olives, yielding a fruity aroma and robust taste, whereas oil of more delicate variety is made from Ogliarola olives.

Apulia's "masserie", traditional farmhouses that are often used for agriturismo, or countryside holidays, yield extra virgin olive oil.

Fine Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Italy can be bought online from Ethnic Grocer.
USA online retailer Ethnic Grocer has Alessi Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fini, Bellino, Fattoria Traver, all extra virgin olive oils.
From Apulia Ethic Grocer has Masserie and Labbate extra-virgin olive oil from Ugento, in the Puglia region, packaged in a handsome hand-painted pottery "caraffe" (jugs), protecting the oil inside from heat and light. Cold-pressed from the finest olives, this oil is aromatic and fruity, best suited for low-to-medium heat cooking, or used uncooked in salad dressings and marinades to let its flavor shine through. It makes a great gift.
Ethnic Grocer also has olive oils from Spain and Greece.

Extra virgin olive oils, Italian and non, can also be bought online from Peapod, since 1989 America's largest online internet grocery shopping and delivery service.
You can use it at anytime, day or night, for quality groceries, and it will make you save time, money, and the hassles of waiting in line.
Peapod currently services Chicagoland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia.
Peapod has extra virgin olive oils, including organic, from the following brands: Alessi, Bella Terra, Colavita, Da Vinci, Goya, Pompeian, Wild Oats, plus two great brands from Lucca, Bertolli and Filippo Berio (see above for more details).
Here is the link:

Shop Peapod 24/7 and get $10 in FREE groceries

Why is olive oil so good for us? Olive oil health benefits

In the USA, you can find and buy online many Mediterranean diet foods and delicious Italian products, including olive oil, balsamic vinegars, sauces, pastas, from

Flying Noodle

Why is olive oil so good for us?
Olive oil, unlike animal fats, does not contain cholesterol, being made up of mainly monounsaturated fatty acids.
There are three main types of fats: saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and mono-unsaturated fats.
Saturated fats, found in animal products, are the bad fats.
Unsaturated fats (mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats), found in olive oil, nuts and seeds, are good fats. They contain the same amount of calories, but offer many benefits for health. Research has shown that unsaturated fats, and particularly monounsaturated fats, may help to protect against heart disease by reducing the amount of cholesterol in the blood.
Olive oil contains 9 kcal per gram. Oils which are referred to as light relate specifically to flavor - the calorie content remains exactly the same.


It's the high intake of saturated fats, found in animal products, which are partly responsible for the high occurrences of mortality resulting from heart disease in the West - but not in the Mediterranean.

Beneficial to the digestive system, olive oil is highly digestible, has a mild laxative effect, creates an appetite, helps with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and stimulates the gall bladder - thus preventing gallstones, as well as protecting the mucus membranes. Olive oil's monounsaturated fatty acids - mainly oleic acid - decrease the risk of developing certain types of cancer, like breast and colon cancer. In the Mediterranean, with a high daily intake of monounsaturated fatty acids there are lower incidences of cancer.

Research goes further, to suggest that monounsaturated fat can potentially help those suffering from non-insulin dependent diabetes (when it is added to a diet rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber).

The beneficial elements and natural antioxidants contained in olive oil also help slow down the ageing process and the deterioration of cells.

The use of olive oil in weaning foods (from the 4-5th month of life) is ideal for its high content of monounsaturated oleic acid, which is vital for bone mineralisation and brain development.