#87966
11/28/2002 3:44 AM
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833 |
I'm confused about virgin and extra-virgin food and fibre.
I've seen bottles of "virgin" and "extra-virgin" olive oil. What does this mean? I have my suspicions: is it to do with the first harvest each year? or is it more to do with the processing of the fruit to get the oil? (in which case, is "extra-virgin" olive oil what you get after the first pressing? or after the ultimate pressing? how many pressings do olives get, anyway?!)
Then there's "pure virgin wool" (and no, "pure virgin" is not necessarily redundant!). What does this mean? Again, I have my suspicions: is it to do with the first shearing of a sheep? and if so, is it the first shearing in its lifetime? or, like, what?
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#87967
11/28/2002 6:17 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315 |
The extra-virgin oil comes from the first squeezing of the olives, then there are subsequent squeezings (virgin), and then some more, with chemicals added to help the process of obtaining oil, having oil of lower and lower quality
From the "cuore verde d'Italia"= green heart of Italy (full of olive trees)
Emanuela
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#87968
11/28/2002 1:36 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
As a tired old joke, virgin wool comes from the sheep that r;un the fastest. Actually I think
means that it has not been blended with reprocessed wool from old garments or wool from tad
balls or off bushes in pasture.
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#87969
11/28/2002 6:22 PM
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833 |
virgin wool comes from the sheep that r;un the fastest
Well, Nunca Bill, it sounds as though that's probably a pretty accurate definition...! given what you went on to say. Sounds as though virgin wool is simply wool that was actually shorn off a sheep? (as opposed to collected from other sources)
and thanks for your explanation too, emanuela - now I know what kind of olive oil I want to get! (cold-pressed extra virgin. Must...resist...temptation...!)
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#87970
11/29/2002 7:57 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Problem with this choice is it smokes at a lower heat and is not so good for cooking in. It's the choice for salad oil or to drizzle over your veggies or pizza or whatever. Don't fry your eggs in it. I think it's a better source of omega-3s but the lovely ASp will be a better source for that info.
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#87971
11/30/2002 1:24 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I can't remember and can't find on internet name of very toxic substance that can be fomed
in smoking oil. If it smokes, don't inhale it. Ventilate kitchen well.
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#87972
11/30/2002 2:05 AM
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833 |
Thanks, Faldage and Bill. I was only thinking of going as organic as possible....So what is the most-organic (or is organic an absolute?! I could be headed for trouble here...) kind of olive oil that works for cooking?
cold-pressed extra-virgin for salads and drizzling; what for cooking?
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#87973
11/30/2002 2:49 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear MG: There is a lot of mis-information in the praise of "organic" foods. Read what the
debunkers say as well as what the true believers say. Be healthily skeptical.
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#87974
11/30/2002 3:30 AM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
In an effort to remove this discussion away from a simplistic erotic plane I, high minded, would like to say that the PARTHENIAN nature of the squench is of no concern to a boy that is good, or, in the parlance, a good ole boy.
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#87975
11/30/2002 11:03 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I don't think the pressing has much to do with the organicity of the oil. I'ts all in the growing. And you can say what you want about the good or bad features of organic; the bottom line for me is that modern organic food tastes a whole lot better than factory grown or food that is soaked in pesticides. Much of the bad mouthing of organic is based on older methods that produced inferior product.
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#87976
12/02/2002 4:00 PM
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833 |
I'm with Faldage - organic tastes LOTS better. The only thing I thought about cold-pressed extra-virgin, was not so much that that meant organic (which I realize it doesn't), but that it meant that the oil product was that much closer to its original form. Cold-pressing is, in my understanding (and I await correction!), a non-chemical method for extracting oils from produce; and extra-virgin, being the first pressing, would be the least refined, yes?
I bought some organic cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil t'other day and my mother nearly passed out when I used it to cook something at her place and - oops - told her what it had cost. But I reckon organic foods are worth it. The price is a reflection of the production costs and I'll pay that price to eat good food.
PS to Faldage: I used it on a low heat! - there's a little thermometer on the label that indicates at what temperature it's okay to use this type of olive oil for cooking - it was very low, and thanks to you, I noticed that and used it, as recommended, only for "light sauteeing."
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