olive oil & the table
Olive oil has been on the family table in Kampos for generations. Here are a few facts about olive oil in general — not about any one bottle — with sources to read yourself.
⇨ what is in a spoonful
- • A tablespoon (13.5 g) has about 119 kcal and 1.9 mg of vitamin E. It is still a fat: a little goes a long way. (1)
- • Most of its fat is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat: about 77% in Messinian Koroneiki oils, the olive of our area. (2)
- • Extra virgin olive oil also carries polyphenols, small plant compounds. One of them, oleocanthal, gives fresh oil its peppery tickle in the throat. (3)
- • Olives picked earlier, still green, give oil with more polyphenols. (4)
- • Polyphenols fade with time: in one study, oils kept in the dark lost 15–32% of them in a year. Keep the bottle closed, cool and dark. (5)
⇨ a way of life
The Mediterranean diet is on UNESCO’s list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Koroni, across the Messinian Gulf from our trees, is one of the communities representing Greece in it. (6)
⇨ sources
- • 1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central: olive oil (FDC ID 171413)
- • 2. Skiada V, Tsarouhas P, Varzakas T. Comparison and discrimination of two major monocultivar extra virgin olive oils in the southern region of Peloponnese. Foods 2020;9:155
- • 3. Pedan V, Popp M, Rohn S, et al. Characterization of phenolic compounds and their contribution to sensory properties of olive oil. Molecules 2019;24:2041
- • 4. Diamantakos P, Giannara T, Skarkou M, et al. Influence of harvest time and malaxation conditions on the concentration of individual phenols in extra virgin olive oil. Molecules 2020;25:2449
- • 5. Frisina M, Bonacci S, Oliverio M, et al. Storage effects on bioactive phenols in Calabrian monovarietal extra virgin olive oils. Foods 2023;12:3799
- • 6. UNESCO. Mediterranean diet, Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2010, extended 2013)
⇨ recipes by kitchen habits
