Olive Oil

You feel good about using olive oil, right? You know it's good for you, tasty and easy to use. Still, to get the most benefits — and the best bang for your buck – there's more you should know. "The health benefits of olive oil are 99 percent related to the presence of the phenolic compounds, not the oil itself," says Nasir Malik, research plant physiologist at the U.S. Agriculture Department's Agricultural Research Service . Malik is referring to the polyphenols in olive oil, nutrients also found in...

The trouble with spring is that we get eager to grill, but we can't always count on the weather to cooperate. Admittedly, I am a fair weather griller. I know some people who gleefully brave blizzards for the joy of putting meat to searing grate. I simply am not so hardy a man. A bit of a chill or dampness in in the air is enough to scuttle my grill plans and send me back indoors. Of course, that can make planning a challenge. Coming up with a whole new menu just because I don't want to get...

The day I paid nearly $11 for a four-ounce box of "artisan" crackers, I had to wonder: Couldn't I just make these myself? Flour, olive oil, sea salt. Those were the only ingredients listed on the box. Make my own crackers? It seemed like the answer had to be yes. The idea struck me as brilliant, for several reasons. It would save money. It would require no special equipment. It would let me customize snacks to my taste. And a bag of rustic-looking crackers, tied with a pretty ribbon, would make a charming hostess gift, for the next...

The Greek salad is a pretty simple affair that represents Mediterranean cuisine at its best. Healthful, refreshing and balanced, every bite of what the Greeks call "horiatiki salata" invites a sensation — be it the saltiness of the olives and feta cheese, the sweetness and acid of the tomatoes, the bite of the onions, the richness of olive oil or the herbaceousness of Greek oregano. Add to that the vibrancy of the ingredients' colors, the contrasting textures and the fact that the salad requires so little to put together, and the sum total is unfettered...

You're out for a summer drive on a rolling stretch of rural highway in Loudoun County. You pass the gourmet grocery store selling strawberry salsa and pickled peaches, the roadside workshop with five styles of Amish porch swings and an endless selection of birdhouses out front. You suddenly smell the rich zing of barbecued ribs and chicken. And then you spot the Aldie Country Store, a rickety, paint-chipped, two-story house built in 1897. It has a giant smoker and beat-up picnic benches outside.

When I asked Curtis M. Cord, executive editor of the Olive Oil Times, about smoked olive oil, he didn't mince words. "It doesn't really appeal to me, to tell you the truth," he said. "Most foodies aren't crazy about flavored olive oils. " That includes me. You want thyme, garlic or lemon in your dish? Add it directly. Don't debase a nice olive oil with it. As the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, I grew up around the good stuff ; I've seen it produced in Tuscany, and my office is decorated with drained bottles...

In an Alexander McCall Smith book, main characters are so careful of the feelings of others that they can spend hours parsing an interaction with a grocery store clerk and use marmalade to unlock the mysteries of humanity. Then there's Professor Dr. Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld of "Unusual Uses for Olive Oil. " The scholar at Regensburg's Institute of Romance Philology combines the demeanor of an absent-minded professor with the vanity of a Real Housewife. (Also, it's best to keep him away from your...

TUESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- A fatty acid found in olive oil and other heart-healthy monounsaturated fats wards off hunger pangs, a new study suggests. The findings might one day lead to the development of new drugs to limit, or even enhance, appetite, the researchers said. Daniele Piomelli, a professor of pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine, and his colleagues infused the fat -- called oleic acid -- into the intestines of laboratory rodents and found that it was converted into a fat messenger...

Paolo Pasquali does not like to be called a crusader for good olive oil. But when I visited his oleoteca, the tasting room he built at Villa Campestri , his "olive oil resort" in the hills north of Florence, it was impossible for him to talk of anything else. At lunch, dinner and breakfast the next morning, Pasquali rhapsodized about the storied history of the olive and fumed about consumers' feckless embrace of cheap oil. And, for most of the time, his pitch sounded like that of any...

For grilled pizza, go lighter with the toppings and keep them on the delicate, if not dressy, side. In addition to familiar flavorings such as kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, extra-virgin olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes, here are ingredients you should have on hand, and a few of my favorite combinations. -- Tony Rosenfeld · CHEESES: thinly sliced fresh mozzarella; grated fontina, mozzarella, smoked Gouda or cheddar cheese; crumbled feta, blue cheese or goat cheese; shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano or...

The day I paid nearly $11 for a four-ounce box of "artisan" crackers, I had to wonder: Couldn't I just make these myself? Flour, olive oil, sea salt. Those were the only ingredients listed on the box. Make my own crackers? It seemed like the answer had to be yes. The idea struck me as brilliant, for several reasons. It would save money. It would require no special equipment. It would let me customize snacks to my taste. And a bag of rustic-looking crackers, tied with a pretty ribbon, would make a charming hostess gift, for the next...

The "Mediterranean diet," featuring vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts and olive oil but almost no red meat or sweets, slightly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Most of the effect was seen in a reduction in strokes. That is the conclusion of a five-year diet experiment conducted in Spain, the results of which were revealed Monday at a meeting in California. While the benefit was small, this route to better health was without risk or side effects — and included wine. "Usually doctors tell you...

More than mittens, more than a muffler, it's a bright-Granny-Smith-green bed of arugula that gets me through the winter. With a suave texture and a great peppery bite — like mustard's, but without the earthy, cabbage flavor of turnip greens and kale — arugula is the princess of brassicas. Arugula sown between late September and early November can be harvested until the first prolonged freeze. For a reliable stream of winter arugula, it needs the protection of a cold frame or greenhouse, but it more than earns a berth in such cushy...

I'm just as susceptible as the next guy to the January onslaught of media hype scolding us to untie the holiday feed bag and replace bad fats, sweets and red meat with whole grains, good carbs and fish. So I'm cutting down on beef steaks and ramping up on fish steaks, hopefully staying on that regimen well beyond the point where I fall prey to ads for Valentine's Day chocolate. I figured I'd start with swordfish, among the meatiest of all seafood. Its nutritional profile isn't all that different from that of sirloin,...

When I asked Curtis M. Cord, executive editor of the Olive Oil Times, about smoked olive oil, he didn't mince words. "It doesn't really appeal to me, to tell you the truth," he said. "Most foodies aren't crazy about flavored olive oils. " That includes me. You want thyme, garlic or lemon in your dish? Add it directly. Don't debase a nice olive oil with it. As the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, I grew up around the good stuff ; I've seen it produced in Tuscany, and my office is decorated with drained...

Maria Kardamaki Robertson has eight weeks to prove herself. Robertson, founder of Demeter's Pantry, got a big break last month when Costco tapped her line of packaged Greek meals for a two-month trial run at five of its regional stores. "This was a rare opportunity to have daily conversations with people and get a lot of feedback," said Robertson, who lives in Silver Spring, and currently sells meals to area Whole Foods, Balducci's and Roots Market stores. "As a wholesale company, you're kind of...

The third time I was asked whether I had been to Woodberry Kitchen, the Baltimore restaurant where chef-restaurateur Spike Gjerde walks the talk of locally sourced cooking, I took note. All this buzz from Washingtonians, a people who launch into lengthy negotiations just to cross the Potomac for dinner, had to mean something. In this case, it meant they have good instincts. Woodberry Kitchen, in the Hampden neighborhood, is part of Clipper Mill, a 19th-century industrial park repurposed into a multi-use 21st-century business and residential...

The "Mediterranean diet," featuring vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts and olive oil but almost no red meat or sweets, slightly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Most of the effect was seen in a reduction in strokes. That is the conclusion of a five-year diet experiment conducted in Spain, the results of which were revealed Monday at a meeting in California. While the benefit was small, this route to better health was without risk or side effects — and included wine. "Usually doctors tell you...

In an Alexander McCall Smith book, main characters are so careful of the feelings of others that they can spend hours parsing an interaction with a grocery store clerk and use marmalade to unlock the mysteries of humanity. Then there's Professor Dr. Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld of "Unusual Uses for Olive Oil. " The scholar at Regensburg's Institute of Romance Philology combines the demeanor of an absent-minded professor with the vanity of a Real Housewife. (Also, it's best to keep him away from your dog, but more...

Parsley is trouble for a gardener in springtime. You must plant brand-new seed if you want it to germinate, and even then, there's a long wait. According to one old saying, parsley goes to the devil and back nine times before it sprouts. But wherever it's been, it is certainly welcome when it finally appears. My parsley bed is the best thing left in the garden. All summer long it flourished, rain or shine, even in sweltering weather. Now, in the seemingly endless medium-cold days of a mild late fall, it's like a deep...