Earlier last week, Gourmet Living announced the launch of its California extra virgin olive oil. Harvested from the Picual olive and both grown and bottled in California, Gourmet Living’s wonderful new olive oil is a great gift for home chefs seeking a premium extra virgin olive oil.
Olive oil is at the heart of the Mediterranean diet and I am thrilled to be able to find a domestic olive oil that would most certainly would stand out at a blind tasting with more expensive oils from Spain and Italy. The freshness of a premium olive oil makes all the difference in the world for salads and roasted vegetables and hardly a day goes by when I don’t use olive oil in my cooking.
Currently available on Amazon, Gourmet Living’s California extra virgin olive oil is sold in the traditional darkened 500 ml (almost 17 oz) bottle. With approximately 33 servings per bottle, a 500 ml bottle will generally last about six weeks in my kitchen. Properly stored out of sunlight and at normal room temperature, an opened bottle generally has a shelf life of about a year.
I generally use olive oil rather than butter in much of my cooking. In addition to salads and vegetables, I will often quickly sauté chicken and veal in olive oil. Other vegetable oils have a higher smoking point, but olive oil is fine for quickly cooking a thin piece of white meat.
There are many wild claims about the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil. While some of these claims may be true, I believe that the real health benefits comes from eating fresh foods and vegetables and very little processed foods. In fact, this is at the heart of the Mediterranean Diet. For those interesting in reading more about the debate of the health benefits of olive oil, CLICK HERE.
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