Introduction

The olive tree has its origins in the Mediterranean and research suggests that it has been grown there for thousands of years. Evidence points to Crete as being the area where the systematic cultivation of the olive tree started. Since the beginning, the peoples of this region have used the edible olives and the olive oil in their food. The leaves and oil have also been considered to have therapeutic powers.

Olives as Food
Olives have been known as a food since pre-historic times. In earlier times olives were seen as a seasonal type of food, and were only eaten during the period when they ripened and became edible. When the olive later became regarded as essential to the diet, individuals started developing various methods of keeping olives for a long time after they had been harvested. It was then that numerous forms of soaking and preservation were developed. The basic ingredient used in the preservation of olives was salt. Other ingredients included honey, olive oil, and vinegar. Aromatic plants were used as preservatives as well as for improving the flavour of the oil. In the beginning olives were a staple food of farming communities, nomads, travellers, and the army. They also became popular as appetisers.
To this day they continue to be a favourite appetiser and, of course, an essential ingredient in the delicious Greek salads!

Traditional Varieties of Greek Olives
Greece is better known for the cultivation of the ripe black olive. The green olive is more popular in countries such as Spain and Portugal. Types of olives are "labelled" on the basis of their final usage. Some olives are used only for eating whereas others are better suited for the making of olive oil. Favourite olives for consumption are the throumba or stafidolia olive, which is a ripe olive which loses its bitterness of its own accord whilst ripening on the tree.

Here is a list of popular Greek table olives:

Konservolia
This is the most well-known variety of table olives, making up about 80% of table olive production in Greece. They are grown in central Greece and is known by the name of the area producing it. It is round to oval in shape and is preserved in brine.

Nyhcati of Kalamata
This is a well-known and important variety of olives. They are black and are preserved in brine and vinegar. They are produced in the south, and south-western region of the Peloponnese.

Halkidiki Olives
These olives come from the Halkidiki region in northern Greece, close to Mount Athos. They are known as "gaidourlia" (donkey olive) as its fruit is very large.

Megaritiki
This variety is cultivated in the Attica region. It is used for both oil production as well as eating. Its fruit is small and is used primarily for the preparation of black, dry- salted olives or of green cracked olives.

Kothreiki
This is also a variety, which is used for eating as well as the making of olive oil. Its fruit is similar in shape and colour to the fruit of the konservolia variety.

Karydolia
This variety is also similar to the konservolia variety and is grown on the island of Evia.

Olives of Igoumenitsa
Similar to the konservolia variety, but producing a fruit of smaller size. They are, as the name suggests, grown in the Igoumenitsa area on the mainland, close to the island of Corfu.

Throumba, throumbolia
The fruit of this variety of olive is of small to medium size and loses its bitterness whilst still on the tree during ripening.

Stafidolies (throumba olives)
These wrinkled olives ( or throumba olives) are popular eating olives as they don't have much salt added in preparation. The fruit is a natural product needing no processing to lose its bitterness.

A neatly laid-out grove in the Dodecanese

What is Olive Oil?
Olive oil is the natural juice of the olive-a pure product-which is obtained with machinery or by natural means. The oil of the olive is found in the pericarp, which is the fleshy part of the fruit. Good olive oil has a pleasant taste and smell. The best olive oil is that which is referred to as Virgin olive oil. Virgin olive oil is, regardless of its quality level, a natural product, which has not had its characteristics altered, and which has been extracted naturally. No chemicals are used in this process., and the temperature during the pressing does not exceed 33°C. This ensures that the quality is not compromised. The oil, therefore, retains all its natural characteristics that have been pressed out of the olive's flesh; including various trace elements and vitamins.

Olive oil is easily digested, and research has proven that the human body can digest only breast milk more easily.

Olive oil should always be stored in glass bottles. This helps it to retain its natural character for several months, especially if the bottle is of a dark colour. Olive oil is sensitive to light oxidation, which is accelerated when its colouring substances come into contact with sunlight, roomlight, or even light from indoor lightfittings. If the bottle is transparent, therefore, it is best stored in a dark place. An ideal temperature for storage is considered to be between 10 and 15°C.

Olive Oil and Good Health

It is a well-known fact that olive oil is a healthy ingredient in our diets; especially when considering cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, as well as diabetes. Research into the benefits of olive oil is constantly being undertaken, and results continue to show the value of olive oil as a perfect food.

Here are some of the health benefits:

Cholesterol: Olive oil consumption in place of other fats or oils reduces the concentration of LDL cholesterol in the blood without decreasing the levels of HDL, the so-called "bad" and "good" cholesterol respectively.

Triglycerides: Research has shown that olive oil reduces the level of triglycerides in the blood. A combination of bad cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood can block the arteries, which carry oxygen to the brain and heart. Olive oil, therefore, helps to protect against heart diseases.

Hypertension: Olive oil reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. It, therefore, decreases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Cancer: Recent studies have suggested that the consumption of olive oil is able to slow down breast cancer as well as other types of cancer. A balanced diet with olive oil and vegetables can reduce the chances of the appearance of cancer by 75%.

The Gastro-intestinal system: Recent research shows that olive oil in conjunction with a healthy diet (vegetables as well as little, or no meat) protects against cancer of the stomach; assists the liver in functioning better, and helps the liver to detoxify poisonous substances.

Osteoporosis: Olive oil assists in the maintenance of bone thickness and, thereby, protects against osteoporosis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Olive oil consumption reduces the chances of this condition by up to 75%. This is enhanced if the diet is balanced and is supplemented with an increase in the consumption of fish.

Diabetes: Olive oil can also play an important role in the treatment of diabetes.

[ Source of information for text: Olive Oil N&M Psilakis ISBN: 960-7448-18-9 ]

OLIVE OIL SOAP

Large amounts of olive oil were also used in the manufacture of olive oil soap. The manufacture of such soap has been going on for over 200 years. For various reasons this industry has declined over the past thirty or so years, but there are still a small number of manufacturers who produce it in the traditional way using equipment, which, in many cases, is as old as the industry itself!

The manufacturing process requires the oil to be heated in tubs for approximately one week. It is then cast in open moulds to produce the so-called "stamped soap bar" ( as opposed to the conventional "pressed soap"). Finally, it is placed in wooden racks to cure for 3-4 months.
Only the basic ingredients required for saponification are used in the process: lye (caustic soda), sea salt (sodium chloride) and water, as well as natural food dye to mark the surface for stamping and cutting. No other ingredients are used and ,if they are, it will be specifically stated as such.

Due to the nature of the manufacturing process, it is not always possible to give accurate figures on the consistency of the final product. However, the fatty acid content of the soap after curing, is estimated at approximately 80%.

Tub for heating olive oil		Casting in the moulds
The soap stamping		Cutting the soap
	Setting in wooden racks

The main types of soaps are:

The white and green soaps

A traditional, functioning, and accessible olive oil soap factory is to be found on the Ionian island of Corfu. Just off the main square of the "new town" (five minutes walk from the old town), it has a showroom housing a laboratory, together with displays of soap which is available for purchase. All of the various soaps described here (above) are those, which are produced at this factory.
Unfortunately, no factory tours are available as the small number of staff who work at the factory are too involved in the manufacturing process.

The factory is run by the affable Apostolos Patounis. It has been in the family for 150 years. If he is available to chat, Apostolos will be happy to answer any questions. If there is a lull in the production process he may even have the time to show you inside the factory itself.

It is gratifying to find younger family members being prepared to be involved in a traditional industry that is so much part of Greece's cultural heritage.

The factory and showroom are at:

9 Ioannou Theotoki Street
49100 CORFU

Fax/Tel: ++ ++ 0661-20702
Email: ap@hol.gr

The soaps, which are on sale to the general public, are both 100% vegetarian, and 100% biodegradable.