European EVOO

EVOO, or extra virgin olive oil, is nothing new to foodies.  Who doesn't love a little bread or roasted veggies dipped in some olive oil?!  Having grown up in an Italian household, I can testify that olive oil was the foundation of my late father's cooking.  This cold-pressed juice is fresh from olives, and its taste often depends on where the olives were harvested from.  With a high smoking point of 400 degrees, EVOO is suitable for cooking and can enhance any dish!

What's so special about European olive oil?  This product is the result of a centuries old bond between the European people and the land.  The olive tree has been revered in Europe since antiquity.  In fact, over thousands of years farmers have evolved hundreds of varieties of olive trees and optimized them for different environment conditions and terrains to produce the most delicious yields.

Olives harvested early in the season, late August, are often under-ripe and tend to produce oils that are greener and bitter.  However, olives that are harvested in late season, between November and December, are often over-ripe and tend to taste mild and buttery.  How does olive oil differ from each region?
 
     *Spanish oil is typically golden yellow with a fruity, nutty flavor

     *Italian olive oil is often dark grey and has an herbal and a grassy flavor

     *Greek olive oil packs a strong flavor and aroma and tends to be green

     *French oil is typical pale in color and has a mild flavor

When cooking with EVOO, it's important to experiment with different oils for different occasions.  You should use delicate oils for salad dressings or as a condiment over mild foods like vegetables, eggs or potatoes. Try to pair robust oils with hearty foods that can stand up to the intense flavor, like steak or spicy soup.  Rich in oleic acid, EVOO can often have a hypotensive (lowering blood pressure) effect and help to support low LDL and high LDL cholesterol (a thumbs up!)

I was so excited to use my European EVOO, that I cooked every day with it for weeks!  I love to add to quinoa, when cooking meats, making pizza for my boys, and for homemade salad dressings.  Check it out!


On quinoa,



On salad,


On burgers,


This product is a part of the Flavor Your Life campaign, supported by the European Union, Unaprol, and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture.  These groups are dedicated to providing the latest in industry news on European Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  The program aims to educate US consumers so they can make informed decisions when purchasing Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  To learn more visit flavor-you-life.com


Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lindsay



*I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own 



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