Properties of Olive Oil

The extra virgin olive oil, especially a certified and guaranteed product as the one produced by the Frantoio Nutile since 1911, is not just seen as a food dressing, but as a flavor enhancer, able to give taste and emotions. The oil is an incredible product for its many properties, a medicine the nature gives us to be used mainly raw, a real and pure juice from a fruit full of nutritional and organoleptic properties.

The story of the birth of olive tree and oil culture has its roots in the beginnings of the more evolved human civilizations. But we don’t want, in this section, to describe its history, but to disclose what extra virgin olive oil can give to our metabolism and what the continuous research are still proving today regarding its nutritional characteristics.

Thanks to the presence of mono-saturates, the extra virgin olive oil is suggested for cardiovascular problems and to keep cholesterol in check. It helps to prevent arteriosclerosis and, thanks to its high digestibility, it’s considered a real medicine to prevent the formation of tumors, helping the liver well being and reducing the risk of diabetes. Extra virgin olive oil has many properties for our organism and many more are still being researched all around the world.

Its characteristics make oil a great cosmetic product. The Phoenicians dubbed it “liquid gold” and Egyptians were using it to soften their skin and to make their hair shine. Rich in beneficial and active substances thanks to the presence of polyphenol, extra virgin olive oil has an anti aging action on the cells, countering the free radicals and inflammation of bones.

In summary, extra virgin olive oil is rich in antioxidants represented by tocopherols, phenol compounds, carotenoids and squalene. Polyphenols have a preemptive action against breast cancer, the beta sitosterol helps against malignancy of stomach, colon and prostate, and the squalene for skin, colon and breast.

We want to remind our clients that extra virgin olive oil suffers significantly from various factors including:

Light: olive oil in touch with both direct and reflected light, activates a process of photo-oxidation allowing the dissolved oxygen to react directly and quickly with the polyunsaturates acids.

Heat: a factor that should not be underestimated is the temperature in which oil is stored. Temperatures lower than 4°C can cause freezing of the fat component, and temperatures above 18°C can cause a speeding up of the oxidation process and a higher propensity to rancidity of the oil.

Oxygen: excessive contact to oxygen can cause a quick decay of all the organoleptic and chemical properties of the oil, giving it a higher chemical acidity and causing a value depreciation.