olives and olive oil

The holiday home "Villa Maquis" is located in the middle of nature in the village of VAMOS on CRETE. A small country road winds through what the locals call "the garden". It is full of olive trees. The olives are processed by a producer in Litsarda. A liter costs about 8 € but you have to bring your own bottle.

Each Greek has its own olive garden, of which one tree provides between 2 L and 7 L of oil (depending on age). The oldest trees (several hundred years old and there are 500 to 1000 years old in Crete) provide the best taste because the roots go deeper into the ground to bring the moisture to the olives. The trees are regularly pruned completely. It then takes a year to grow branches again and the year after they give back olives, they only grow on branches from the year before. Pruning keeps the trunk and roots intact and extends the life of the tree.

More about olives and olive oil from Crete. Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the EU, after Spain and Italy. But in terms of consumption per person, they are unapproachable at the head with 17.9kg / person / year. And you will notice that too, because olive oil is used abundantly in the kitchen with many fried dishes (Tiganites = fried). But olive oil is also used for other purposes, such as ointment on wounds, irritated skin, treatment of the hair, soap, etc .. Greece is also the country with a low percentage of cardiovascular diseases or Alzheimer's which is known to be olive oil contains substances that have a good effect on the causes. The harvest usually happens when the tourist season is over, in late November and December. More than 1,500 varieties of olives exist, and the first cultivated olive trees came from Aleppo in Syria. The most famous in Crete are the "KORONEIKI" or the KALAMATA. In the garden of holiday home "Villa Limani" we have three KALAMATA olive trees, they are actually large olives for eating. There are also about 30 other olive trees in the garden, including 1 wild (the largest).

The quality of olive oil has been standardized by the EU with the following designations; "EXTRA VIERGE", "VIERGE" and "lampante". The "EXTRA VIERGE" has an acidity of less than 0.8% and is additionally laboratory tested for taste and smell. Only if it has no "defects" can it be sold as "EXTRA VIERGE". The "VIERGE" olive oil has an acidity of less than 2%.

A good quality olive oil has a balanced aroma and taste that varies from MILD to BITTER and SHARP, depending on various factors. Everyone to judge personally what you like. Personally, I like the mild flavors and especially the freshly teased olive oil, which is still green from the small particles that later settle and are filtered out. These are served on the table in the local restaurants in early spring, however, no longer in the months of mass tourism.

Olive oil production process:

• Harvesting: From harvesting the olives it is important that they go to the pressing as quickly as possible (a few hours) without taking any damage. This avoids oxidation, which does not benefit the taste.
  
• Cleaning: on arrival in the olive presses, the olives are washed and leaves and twigs are removed.
  
• Pressing: from 2006 pressing is done in two steps (double mill), first the skin is removed, then the paste is ground. In this way, heating of the oil is avoided. The temperature should remain below 30 ° C at all times in order to guarantee the quality and to reduce the "defects". In principle, olive oil is not heated up. So everything you buy from local is virgin or cold pressed (so these terms have been replaced by the EU names).
  
• Mixing: the slurry is then mixed to a homogeneous mass so that the separation of the water-oil and the pulp is easier.
  
• Storage and storage: the olive oil is stored in stainless steel tanks with a water layer and nitrogen atmosphere to avoid oxidation. The sediment is removed at regular intervals by transfer and this makes the olive oil clearer and keeps it longer.
  
• Conservation: Olive oil is very sensitive to temperature, light and air.

Tasting olive oil

There are 3 flavors to evaluate olive oil, these are FRUITY, BITTER, PUNGENT (peppery) and the scale is from 1-10. For example, mild olive oil has the following rating (2.5-2-2.5) and you can see that the values are about the same. This is a balanced olive oil, a sign of high quality.

The more bitter and sharper the olive oil tastes, the more healthier it is, this is a direct result of the high polyphenol (antioxidants) values.

Eating Olives:

KALAMATA are the pearls under the olives, full, large and very tasty in the flesh of the olive.

MEGARITKI olives, the black olives that are dried and in brine, taste sweet / salty and delicious with an ouzo or an aperitif.

If you want to buy these, go to the small drugstore on the corner of the center of VAMOS. The owner (speaks perfect English) has some varieties in large tins (green, black dried, purple kalamata, ..)

Influence of Olive Oil on our health.

The World Health Organization has confirmed that Mediterranean food has a good impact on Cancer, cognitive diseases (Alzheimer's, ...), cardiovascular disease, and Diabetes.

Consistency of Olive Oil

Olive oil mainly owes its good properties to:

• 74% unsaturated fatty acids
  
• 8% poly-unsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6), these are fats that our body does not produce.
  
• 2% polyphenols and vitamins (antioxidants)
  

The unsaturated fats from olive oil have a positive impact on cholesterol levels, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. The antioxidants then have a good influence on the risks of cancers.

Olive and Olive oil recipes

Instructions to Prepare Greek Style Fried Olives:

Place the olives into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.

Add the feta, oregano, and lemon juice to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Using a small spoon or knife, stuff each olive with the feta mixture. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the flour, milk, and egg. Whisk together until smooth. Set aside.

Pour olive oil into a deep skillet so it covers an inch up the side of the pan. Set the heat on medium and let the oil warm for a few minutes.

Dip each olive into the batter and place in the oil. Cook the olives until golden brown in color. Remove the olives from the pan using a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.

Instructions for preparing zucchini mash with fresh squids:

• Crush a slice of garlic and fry in olive oil with with a chopped onion.
  
• Cut 2 zucchini into pieces and add
  
• Poor half a glass of white wine and half a stock
  
• Stew until the zucchini is ready with a crispy bite.
  
• Mix with a blender and season.
  
• Bake fresh squid rings in a hot wok and flambé with ouzo.
  
• Spread the mash on a plate, cover with the squid rings and finish with a thin trickle of garlic olive oil.

We have written more recipes of Greek dishes and specialities of Crete for our guests of the holiday house "Villa Limani". Find them here :

Olive Oil Producers

The biggest island in Greece, Crete, is a popular holiday destination with a mild Mediterranean climate that is perfect for olive growing. 

Among the many oils produced there, Apokoronas Chanion Kritis olive oil is definitely one worth tasting.

It is made in the municipality of Apokoronas in Chania prefecture in the village of Stilos. The olive oil from this area is known for its mellow taste and fruity flavor. This is an extra virgin oil produced from the Koroneiki variety of olive (at least 90% of the olives used in production must be of this variety).

Cleaned olives of the best quality are processed in traditional or centrifugal olive mills. The olives and olive oil are kept at a steady temperature lower than 30°C in order to preserve their vitamins and other important ingredients. This highly reputed oil is golden-green in color, and its very low acidity allows its natural aromatic characteristics to come to full expression.

Near VAMOS in the village of Tsivaras you can visit MELISSAKIS, more information here. It is on your way from VAMOS to Kalyves.

Most of the olive trees are in the north-west side of Crete, Kolymvari. The best company is TERRA CRETA they work with 800 olive farmers.

TERRA CRETA won two Gold Medals for their Grand Cru and Terra Creta PDO Kolymvari EVOOs, plus a Best in Crete award for the Grand Cru. As Emmanouil Karpadakis informed Greek Liquid Gold, “the Grand Cru EVOO is not only a new product, but the result of a totally new approach they developed last year in cooperation with agronomists and a dedicated team of farmers, as well as a more quality oriented new production line in our olive mill. By implementing more sophisticated harvesting and extraction techniques, they managed to produce a monovarietal extra virgin olive oil with a more unique and exciting organoleptic character and a higher level of phenolic compounds.”

Fotis Sousalis added that Terra Creta has already won 40 awards, but that “doesn’t mean we should stop evolving, stop progressing.” Rather, the company continues to expand their cooperation with farmers, agronomists, and an oleologist from Tuscany. This collaboration, combined with their vertical organization, gives them the flexibility to provide “what the consumer wants in different countries.” Sousalis expects they will be able to offer “very high quality in very big volumes in the coming years” as more contract farmers work with their agronomist, so they can provide “a premium brand in a quantity that makes sense” for large-scale retailers.

It is possible to visit the company, book your tour here.

Tourist office of VAMOS is also organizing an olive tour, more information here.