The Hindu Business Line : All-round olives

There's pickled olive, olive salsa, olive dip, olive jam, olive-stuffed breads/naans, olive cookies, olive-flavoured martinis, olive-flecked butter, marinated olives, olive spreads and — hallelujah! — even olive ice-cream! This is a buffet spread at a Delhi hotel featuring... yes, you guessed right, olives.

The olive invasion at restaurant tables, within homes, on shop shelves, in cosmetics, spas, beauty salons is indeed hard to miss. In fact, Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai, recently hosted a `World of Olives' promotional event where epicures got to sample 15 types of olives from around the world.

"We use olives in a variety of ways," explains Le Meridien Executive Chef Anupam Srivastava. "The fruit lends itself well to a range of dishes and also satiates all the five tastes — sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent. Olives are also light and calorie-free. And with Indians getting more health-conscious, the fruit offers a healthy eating option too."

Le Meridien serves up a smorgasbord of olive dishes — Seafood Blanquette with crushed olives, Tapenade with green or black olives, Vegetables Cassatiore with feta cheese and crushed black olives, Gilafi seekh kebab with Toscane olives and peppers, braised lobster with kalamata olives and wild mushrooms, Spinach and Shitake mushrooms with green stuffed olive in oyster sauce...

Olives also yield the heart-friendly olive oil. According to Delhi-based nutritionist Ishi Khosla, Director `Whole Foods', "Olives help plummet harmful blood stream cholesterol, prevent heart diseases and breast cancer. Rich in Vitamins A, D and E, the fruit is crucial for the development of children's bones, muscles and strengthening immunity. The natural fat present in olive oil is equivalent to mother's milk and enhances the mineralisation and absorption of calcium, which leads to bone growth and prevention of osteoporosis in females."

No wonder olives have always been an intrinsic part of the Mediterranean diet. In fact the Greek word `olive' itself means oil. And it is now scientifically proven that Mediterranean countries have a low incidence of cardiovascular disease and high life expectancy because of the high olive oil content in their food. Olive oil is now widely regarded the healthiest of all edible oils. It has the highest content of monounsaturated fats (MUF) and the lowest amounts of LDL or harmful fats.

The olive oil quality is better if the fruit is picked between November and January. If left till February and March, the olive turns acidic. The age of the olive tree determines the fruit quality as well as the oil produced. A good olive tree in its life span, which is usually 15 years though some are known to live up to 100 years, will produce about 80 kg of black/green olives.

The high-grade and edible extra virgin olive (EVO) can be produced only by a company that has been nominated and approved by the Madrid-based Olive Oil Council. EVO contains less than 1 per cent oleic acid. If the acidity is more — and the taste and smell do not meet standards — then it is known as `declassified' olive oil.

But despite such stringency, olive oil production is on the rise the world over, including India. According to Narayanan Rajagopalan, President and COO of Leonardo Olive Oil, "The olive oil market has grown exponentially in the last one year mainly because consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the uses and benefits. People are also veering around to the view that olive oil is viable for home cooking too."

According to Greek folklore, the oil dates back to the time when Zeus, the supreme god, had to decide the inheritance of the Earth between his daughter Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon, the lord of the seas. The two contenders were asked what each would bestow upon humanity as their greatest gift. In answer, Poseidon struck his trident against a rock and seawater poured out. There was an awed silence. Calmly, Athena called forth a new and miraculous tree — the Olive. The gods awarded her the earth and there were celebrations during which olive oil was distributed among the rejoicing citizens of Mount Olympus.

The olive tree finds frequent mention in the Bible as well. In the story of Noah's Ark, the dove that brings Noah the news that the floodwaters were finally receding, carried in its beak an olive branch. Today, an olive branch carried by a white dove is the universal symbol of peace.

Historically, the cultivation of the olive tree goes back to about 6,000 years. First grown in Israel and Syria, it gradually spread to Egypt and Greece. The oldest record of olive oil is found on clay tablets dating back to the reign of King Minos around 2500 B.C. in the island of Crete. The tablets mention the economic importance of the oil.

Each type of olive tree bears a different fruit and therefore produces oil with different characteristics. Colour does not reflect quality and professional tasters use a dark blue glass so that they are not influenced by the oil's colour!

"Good olive oil should have body and round flavours that develop in the mouth," says Ritu Dalmia of Diva, a popular Italian eatery in south Delhi. "Pretty much like wine, olive oil could also be classified with terms such as fruity, mature, pungent, bitter or sweet."

Extra virgin olive oil has the perfect aroma and flavour. Olive Pomace oil is the main cooking grade oil. It is a light oil with neutral taste and flavour and most suited for Indian cuisine.