The Olive Press

Review by Debbie Mazo

 
The Mediterranean region is the source of many of the world's great cuisines. Influenced both by geography and culture, foods eaten in Italy and other Mediterranean countries are both delicious and healthy. Using olive oil for preparing regional foods, area residents eat lots of complex carbohydrate foods like vegetables, beans, pasta, and grains and only moderate amounts of protein from fish, poultry, and red meat. At the Olive Press, you'll learn all you need to know to make olive oil a staple part of your cooking and diet.

Hosted by Bertolli Olive Oil, this site offers an inside look at this prized ingredient holding a special place in Mediterranean cooking. Deeply rooted in history, the oil from olive trees has been burned by ancient Greeks in lamps as a source of light and has acted as a body ointment and an aid to heal wounds in early civilizations. Click on the History section and you'll find these facts and more. For example, did you know that more than 70 varieties of olives are grown throughout the world?

Whether you cook with olive oil to make your dishes healthy or to enrich the flavor of your cooking, the Recipes at Olive Press will definitely peak your interest. Full of inspiring choices, you can select from numerous categories that feature this golden liquid. Try some of the staples like Basic Pesto or Vinaigrette with Curry or sample exotic appetizers like Polenta Toasts with Roasted Peppers or Orange and Thyme Marinated Black Olives. The Bertolli Kitchen has even more to offer with a Definitive Pasta Glossary complete with definitions for all those shapes and sizes, and six complete menus developed under the careful supervision of a team of food and nutrition specialists.

At the Bertolli Nutrition Center, you can check out even more reasons why olive oil is a good choice like providing 8% of RDA for vitamin E and being naturally cholesterol-free. Best of all, you'll find out that because olive oil is so flavorful, not as much is needed to provide flavor in many foods. All food oils have the same number of calories per tablespoon (around 120 calories) but less olive oil is needed for cooking than other vegetable oils.

The Olive Press pays due homage to the versatile olive, an ingredient that adds richness and depth to any dish.

 
About the Writer

Debbie Mazo is a writer and editor based in Vancouver, Canada. She currently specializes in technical and marketing materials, but is also pursuing opportunities in food journalism.

Copyright © 2000, Debbie Mazo. All rights reserved.

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