Recently there has been a lot of contoversary about Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Much has been made about the health benefits of polyphenols and the marvelous aroma. Food Scientist, Harold McGee wrote in the NYTimes, about how many people can’t taste the difference between oils. To which my mother-in-law, Marcella Hazan replied:
What has escaped Mr. McGee’s attention is that what a good olive oil transfers to the food that is cooked in it – whether it be a single vegetable, or a sauce or a soup – is something that only a good olive oil can bestow: aroma and depth of flavor. It obviously can no longer be the oil that it was before cooking because in the process it has surrendered its qualities to the food for which it provided its sacrificial bath. If Mr. Mr. McGee wants to perform a comparison that has culinary value, it should be between something, spinach say, that is cooked in a good olive oil and samples of spinach cooked in different industrial seed oils.
When Italians use olive oil in cooking it is for the flavor it gives a dish. It is not just a cooking oil, therefore, the highest grade or extra virgin is always used. True extra virgin olive oil is made with olives that were picked just at the ideal degree of ripeness and then immediately taken to the mill for processing. It is a labor-intensive product that is expensive to produce. Please don’t compromise; good olive oil is critical to good cooking.
Giuliano and I are often asked, “How do you choose an olive oil”? Which ones do you like best? What does “extra” mean? How can you be a very virgin? Extra virgin refers to olive oil that has no more than aa 0.8% acidity level and comes from the first cold pressing of the olives. Giuliano and I import our own line of extra virgin olive oil from Apulia, where the spur and heel of Italy’s boot is. It is made from 100% Ogliarola olives, Apulia’s most prized varietal. It can be purchased online at Cybercucina, a great online Mediterranean gourmet food shop.
We are pleased to offer as a giveaway 6 half liter bottles of our A & H Selections olive oil. To be eligible to receive 6 bottles of our extra virgin olive oil, please read our official rules below then leave a comment. On March 15, we will announce the lucky winner here.
Retail Value: $165
Giveaway dates: Our giveaway will be from March 1st – March 14th. This giveaway is now CLOSED!
We are pleased to announce that Barbara from Vino Luci Style has won this giveaway. We thank everyone who participated!
Official rules and methods to enter:
OFFICIAL RULES:
This is where we get to put in all of those lovely legal disclaimers. Our intent with this give-a-way is pure enjoyment. Fruit of the Boot Distribution is responsible for the shipping and product and we assume no liability. We aren’t lawyers and we think it is sad that we need to put in disclaimers; however, it is our intent to conform with all U.S. rules and to only offer the possibility of the product to people who will personally enjoy it. Basically, if something “bad” happens, we are sorry but don’t hold us liable, we enjoyed the product and are trying to give you an opportunity to do so too! If you are out to “get” us, please stop and think of what kind of world you are creating.
No purchase necessary to enter or win. The selected winner will be notified by e-mail. Entrants can enter 1 x comment per e-mail address per day. Extra entries can be obtained once a day per social media outlet (tweeting (please put @educatedpalate in your tweets so we will know), facebooking, or “sharing”) with a trackback to this post. Give-a-way is open only to those who are 18 years of age at time of entry. Educated Palate and Hazan Enterprises assumes no responsibility for late or misdirected entries due to SPAM, technological, or e-mail filtering issues or for lost prizes. The use of any system, robot, agent, or software to automatically submit entries in connection with this Giveaway is prohibited. Educated Palate’s decisions concerning all matters related to this sweepstakes are final. Odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received. Hazan Enterprises employees and their immediate family members are not eligible to win. No cash substitutions, transfer, or assignment of prizes allowed. Winner must claim prize within 1 week after notification or the prize will be forfeited. Prize can only go to a physical addresses in the US, no PO Boxes. Winner grants to Educated Palate the right to use his/her name and biographical information in advertising and promotion without compensation or permission. We would appreciate a photo of you and your “olive oil” with which we could update our post. Fruit of the Boot Distributors will pay for shipping and postage. Any tax, is the sole responsibility of the winner. By entering the giveaway through this website you are releasing Educated Palate, Fruit of the Boot, and Hazan Enterprises from any liability arising out of participation in this Giveaway or the acceptance, use, or misuse of the prize. Void where prohibited by law.
This giveaway is now CLOSED!
We are pleased to announce that Barbara from Vino Luci Style has won this giveaway. We thank everyone who participated!
My husband is an excellent cook and would love to have these oils in his arsenal!
thank you for such great prize
galyettina(at)yahoo(dot)com
I would love to win olive oil!
I’M TRYING TO COOK HEALTHY WAYS TO EAT.
I WOULD LIKE TO TRY YOUR OLIVE OIL.
YOU SAY IT’S THE BEST
AND YOU SAY IT’S FREE
I’D LIKE TO TRY IT
SO HOW ABOUT ME!
I just love olive oils and I know I will like this.
thanks for the chance
Today I’m making pizzas from scratch for my dad’s birthday. I’m using good quality olive oil but I’m wishing I had great quality!
I hate blogging to rnter contests, but for this olive oil, I’ll do it.
I always wondered about the differences of oil. Do some grades cook better at different levels of heat? How do you read the label to figure out the differences? We use it all the time, but never know if we are getter a better grade or not. Thanks for the article
I would love to try cooking with olive oil, much healthier
OLIVE OIL IS THE BEST OIL TO COOK WITH
I add extra virgin olive oil to my meals at least once a day so I’d like to try this high quality brand.
tweet http://twitter.com/#!/vlbsweeps/status/47266179299016704
good olive oil-good health
How amazing! Thanks so much for the chance!
I can’t imagine a world without wonderful Olive Oil.
whitechocolatecherries at gmail.com
I use olive oil every day for my cooking needs and making homemade salad dressings. IT’S A MIRACLE ELIXER!
This extra virgin oil sounds wonderful
Love using olive oil but it is quite costly.
dolniaks[at]consolidated[dot]net
I’m a big fan of olive oil and believe in it’s properties for good health.
We use quite a bit of olive oil in my home and I would love to try these! Thank you.
Sent link to my Facebook wall! (Susan Marina Brown Lane) lanemarinab@aol.com
Tweeted! http://twitter.com/#!/Marinalane/status/47162473509433345 lanemarinab@aol.com
i use olive oil in everything, even for my hair!
tattgiff at centurytel.net
We love olive oil and would be very pleased to try these! Thank you! lanemarinab@aol.com
I love olive oil and I love trying new ones
If there is no olive oil in a kitchen, then it’s n0t a kitchen.
I use olive oil all the time when I cook, this would be amazing to win, thanks!
Hotsnotty2@hotmail.com
Can’t live without some good olive oil.
I would love to share the gift of “good” olive oil with my family! It really does make a difference in how food tastes!
nancymeyer1 at gmail dot com
My italian mom would love to receive this as a gift… though I’d probably keep a bottle or two to myself
I got really hooked on olive oil when i spent a month in Greece. I use it a ton in my cooking, but I haven’t been using it as a bread dip in a long time – only because the good stuff doesn’t come cheap! I loooove to smother a nice crusty bread in olive oil, then throw it on my panini press with some turkey, pesto and mozz. Mmmmm…
I use Olive oil for all my cooking, we love it.
I love to cook with olive oil. It’s so healthy and tastes great. Thank you for the lovely giveaway.
sewmuchstuff at ymail dot com
OLIVE OIL IS THE BEST FOR COOKING
I’m a sort of olive oil snob and will only use first cold pressed for anything. Besides the flavor advantage, it’s also healthier.
would love to try this olive oil, wonderful giveaway
I’d love to win this!
gorgeous bottle….the olive oil sounds delicious …love to win….love to try some……thanks for the opportunity
What a lovely giveaway!! Hope to win & good luck everyone!!
This Olive Oil sounds delicious.
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
tweet http://twitter.com/#!/vlbsweeps/status/46884417771278336
hope i win this is cool
I would love to win this oil. We use a lot of olive oil in our home. Thank you!
This extra virgin oil sounds wonderful
A great olive oil is more vauable than a fine wine to the palate and gold to the economy. The enhancement a good olive can give to a dish can be met by no other flavour. I thank you for the opportunity to win such a great giveaway!
what a great giveaway, would love to win this wonderful olive oil.
I really hope that I win because I would love to try this olive oil.
I come from a family that has histrically produced olive oil for centuries in Sicily. I would love to try your oil to see what the regional differences are in the taste and the oil itself. Olive oil is definitely one of the better of God’s ideas.
A good olive oil can mean the difference between a dish’s success and failure. This one sounds great and I’d love to give it a try. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!