Olive oil-based treatment for hemmorhoids?

Some inventors in Canada are attempting to patent a remedy for treating internal and external hemmorhoids and wounds that involves an olive oil-based cream.

Here is a description of the patent application:

This (Patent) protection covers the process for preparing cream for
wounds and internal and external hemorrhoids which consists of making herbal-oil
extract in three different ways. Vaseline and lanolin are added to this
herbal-oil extract and all is mixed and heated to +40.degree. C. for duration of
about 20-30 minutes, when honey is added continuously mixing, up to +35.degree.
C., when pollen powder is added with mixing until the mass is homogenized, after
which dissolved propolis is added, mixing the mass until it cools of to
25.degree. C. and until the mass is fully homogenized. To repeat, the herbal-oil
extract is made in such way when mix of various herbs in several ways is
extracted with ethanol, then mix with olive oil, then alcohol evaporates leaving
herbal-oil extract, which is used for preparing medicaments for wounds and
hemorrhoids and any other topical use.

Olive oil is good for the skin, so it's not surprising it would be incorporated in this way in such a cream.

Australian olive oil lovers get some assurance from ALDI

German grocer ALDI apparently has signed on in support of the Australian Olive Association's voluntary standards for selling olive oil in that country. This essentially means the supermarket chain will do its best to sell extra virgin olive oil that is indeed extra virgin olive oil -- and not a lesser grade under that label.

The report from Food magazine, an Australian trade publication, said ALDI was the first to sign up to the AOA's Industry Code of Practice. ALDI wants to guarantee that it is indeed selling EVOO to its customers, with it is Australian or imported.

Quitting la dolce vita

I just read an interesting story about a British couple who uprooted themselves from their life in London to go become olive farmers in Italy. But after a couple years, they realized they had made a mistake and returned to England.

The article, published in The Daily Mail, is worth the read, especially if you're one of those people who fantasizes about running off to become an olive farmer, make olive oil, and enjoy a permanent holiday in the Mediterranean. I spent five months one year of a winter in Greece, harvesting olives with my grandparents, who are farmers.

Let me tell you now: it was not a vacation. It was the most physically demanding labor I had ever done. I vividly remember finishing the harvest and vowing to never do it again. It is largely a manual affair, you see. Very rough on the hands and back as in many instances, you have to climb trees, stretch yourself into odd positions, and work a saw or chainsaw for 8-10 hours a day.

Definitely not la dolce vita. Here's the beginning of the Mail article -- come back and let me knkow what you thought of this story:

When Cathy Rogers and her partner Jason Gibb quit their jobs to buy an olive grove in October 2005, their friends could barely conceal their envy. Little surprise, given that they were pursuing the dream so many of us have of escaping the rat race.

With plans to run their own business selling olive oil, and with the warm Italian climate beckoning, Cathy and Jason seemed on a one-way trip to a life of true contentment.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1211092/Not-dolce-vita-How-British-couple-quit-rat-race-make-olive-oil-Italy--place-like-home.html#ixzz0QL0XmFL1

And here is the rest of it.

Carter & Cavero opens second New Jersey store

Carter & Cavero, the first store in New Jersey to introduce the concept of "fresh olive oil" bottled for consumers, has opened a second location in the state.

This is good news for the East Coast, as the concept of such stores appear to have taken off more in the Chicago, Midwest and California areas. Having visited the first Carter & Cavero store in Red Bank, N.J., and chatted with the owners, it's no surprise that they seem to be doing well and are branching out.

The new store is in Long Branch, N.J., in what appears to be a touristy spot on the Jersey Shore. Hopefully it's a great location for gift-buyers and walk-in traffic. ILoveOliveOilBlog wishes them luck.

To see a video I produced of Carter & Cavero's first store, just take a look below:

Syria's olive oil industry criticized

Syria, one of the world's largest producers of olive oil, was criticized in a United Nations report for having an industry that isn't environmentally friendly when it comes to disposing of its olive oil production waste.

The report from IRIN News, a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the waste products from olive oil processing mills are causing soil and water pollution.

“The water used in the process and then discarded is often just pumped out onto surrounding land,” environment expert Marwan Dimashki told IRIN.

Go to the full report.

Personal opinion: My guess is that there are several countries whose olive oil waste processes deserve to be more closely scrutinized.

Martha Stewart's olive oil tips

In her weekly Ask Martha column, the home food diva first deals with olive oil, among several questions. The question: "How do the grades of olive oil differ, and which kind should I use for everyday cooking?"

Here's her answer:

Extra-virgin olive oil, made from the first pressing of olives after harvest, has a bright, fruity taste. Neither heat nor chemicals are used to extract the oil (hence the labels “cold pressed’’ or “cold extraction’’), so it is the freshest and the most healthful olive oil. Virgin olive oil is also extracted without heat or chemicals but is more acidic than extra-virgin and may not be from the first pressing. Bottles labeled “olive oil’’ or “pure olive oil’’ typically contain blends from second or third pressings, with virgin or extra-virgin oil added for flavor.

In the past, the price of extra-virgin olive oil limited its use, but affordable bottles are now widely available and are even preferred. Ideally, you should keep two kinds of extra-virgin oil on hand: an inexpensive one for cooking and a premium one for dishes that will showcase its nuanced flavor and aroma. Both characteristics diminish when an oil is heated, so use the everyday one when sauteing, grilling, making sauces or baking. Serve your best oil drizzled over roasted vegetables, whisked into a vinaigrette, tossed with pasta, or simply on its own with a loaf of crusty bread. Oils can turn rancid with exposure to heat or light, or simply with age. To prevent this, store olive oils in a cool, dark place; they will keep for about a year.

For the full column, check it out in the Boston Globe.



Here is the beginning of my post.And here is the rest of it.

Man pays nearly $2,000 for 'antique' that's really a 1-year-old olive oil bottle

A man who brought what he thought was a valuable antique glass bottle a taping of the Antiques Roadshow in Britain was shocked to learn he had paid 1,000 pounds (or over $1,600 US) for a 1-year-old empty bottle of olive oil.

Zing!

The collector was crushed and embarassed to learn that the bottle he had paid so much money for was really just a cheap supermarket container from the Tesco chain, according to various newspapers in the United Kingdom. (Left is an example of a Tesco olive oil bottle.)

The BBC show has declined to air the footage where the collector is told the bottle was a fake.

All that money for a cheap glass bottle! And it didn't even have any olive oil in it. The poor guy.

Olive Oil cake recipes

Looking for something different to make your family and friends using olive oil?

Let them eat cake!

Below are five recipes for cake made with yummy olive oil, with some that offer a hint of citrus baked in. Hint: splurge and use good extra virgin oil -- not just regular virgin -- if you really, really love the taste of olive oil and want it to stand out.

* Lemon Olive Oil Cake via Epicurious.

* The Food Network's Olive Oil Cake recipe.

* A blood orange olive oil cake, courtesy of The New York Times.

* Olive oil Bundt cake with tangerine glaze, via Chow. (I love a good Bundt!)

* Rosemary and olive oil cake (pictured), via the Ulterior Epicure blog. (Perhaps the simplest recipe of the five!)

(Photo from Ulterior Epicure via Flickr.com)