Since 1860, the Katsetos family has owned an estate in the sun drenched hills of Greece’s Mani peninsula. That estate now provides the fruit for a superlative quality olive oil that is luscious and soft with a full, round body and a strong fruity aroma. With hints of papaya and distinct floral notes, it evokes fields of buttercups and long summer days.
Kyriakos Makratzis traveled the world as a ship captain for fifteen years. He took a break each autumn to help with the olive harvest on his family’s farm in Kontomari, Platanias, Crete, since the olives seemed to call to him across the seas. Then, after his first son was born, he gave up his seafaring and his respected position to return to his roots.
Olives enter the olive receiving area on conveyor belts for separation from leaves and branches and then enter the mill. They may be washed either outside or inside the mill. In both traditional and modern mills, olives are ground or crushed into a paste which is pressed or churned to release oil that must then be separated from other liquids and solids.
Harvest time, method, and duration vary according to a number of factors, but harvesting tends to be labor intensive in Greece due to the country’s rocky, hilly, and mountainous terrain. Since ripening time varies according to the olive variety and location (including elevation), the harvest does not occur at the same time in all parts of Greece.
“PDO” and “PGI” designate products linked to specific parts of Europe, as defined by the European Commission. The designations are meant to help avoid confusion over inappropriate claims about product origins. “PDO” stands for Protected Designation of Origin (Italian: Denominazione di Origine Protetta, or DOP). “PGI” means Protected Geographical Indication.
The North American Olive Oil Association’s website includes an Olive Oil Guide and extensive information about the uses, health benefits, types, production, and sustainability of olive oil. The Olive Wellness Institute’s …
The North American Olive Oil Association, a nonprofit trade group of olive oil marketers in North America, offers a wealth of helpful information, including this useful “Resources and Links” page. …
Scroll down below the article introductions to find lists of Selected Future Events and Selected Past Events, with links to more information about each one.
Please email info@greekliquidgold.com if you have a conference, exposition, meeting, class, or seminar to announce that meets the following criteria:
takes place in or includes English
addresses an international audience
features extra virgin olive oil and/or the Mediterranean diet
There are hundreds of varieties of olive trees, some used mainly for table olives and others generally dedicated to olive oil. Olive oil types are defined differently in North America and Europe, but extra virgin is widely considered the best. Olive oils differ in taste, quality, and health benefits based on a number of variables:
The Mediterranean diet is a healthy, tasty diet and lifestyle associated with communities near certain parts of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Greek island of Crete, based on the way the locals typically ate before the 1960s. The American professor Ancel Keys led the first major study of the health benefits of this diet in the 1950s.
These types of tourism deserve the additional development expected in the future, but Greece already offers a rich array of choices to visitors interested in agrotourism (agritourism) and food tourism (culinary tourism). These alternative explorations allow tourists to experience the Greece that lies beyond the archaeological sites and beaches.
Businesses and organizations that work with bottled and branded 100% Greek extra virgin olive oil and/or related Greek products or services are invited to consider advertising and sponsorship options on greekliquidgold.com, as explained fully in the article. A range of choices is offered to fit any budget on a site read by consumers in 222 countries.
There is plenty of extra virgin olive oil in almost any Greek feast. For example, olive oil is poured over potatoes before baking, included in marinades for lamb, mixed with ground meats for burgers, used for frying potatoes and cheese pies, and liberally added to salads. At one Orthodox Easter feast in Crete, Xanthi’s white dip was especially rich in olive oil.
Welcome to Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil! This independent, unofficially non-profit website is designed to provide more up-to-date information about Greek extra virgin olive oil than English speakers have ever found on one site. Here, you will learn why many Greeks borrow a phrase from the epic poet Homer, “liquid gold,” to describe the precious juice of the olive fruit.
