The Elixir of Life

Olive Oil.  Wasn't that Popeye the sailor mans' girl friend?  And the little kid, Baby Oil?

Finally, we're getting closer to that discussion on "Gluttony". 

I once heard someone say "A man is known by his appetites"....I'm not sure he was talking about food....but no discussion of appetites (the food variety) is complete without a discussion of olive oil.  Can you cook with anything else? Extra virgin is great for salad dressings. (I've often been curious as to how something can be "extra virgin", it's either virgin or it's not)

Everything tastes better with olive oil. Sauteed onions with parsely in olive oil is one of the best aromas. Tossed pasta in olive oil, equally great.  

The cheaper olive oil makes a great suntan lotion. The ancient Greek sailors used it....if it was good enough for Odysseus (and Jason and his Argonauts) then it's good enough for me.  It works, too (Did someone say sunscreen? Not very likely).

Olive oil...there's no substitute, ask any real chef....Hey! just ask Popeye!

I'm going to fry some eggs and hashbrowns in olive oil for breakfast. 

Buyer, beware! 

Of course your Italian friends don't like "anything..." most of what's sold in the US is not even real olive oil!

It's a very corrupt business. My brother imports extra virgin olive oil from southern Spain, and had several major brands of Italian "extra virgin" olive oil tested in a laboratory for purity... They found soybean, hazelnut, refined oils, etc.  

Not surprisingly, since 2006-2007 or so, there's been all sorts of scandals and many brands have come off the market.

Pay attention to the color of the oil - the extra virgin my brother sells is greener in tint than the oil pictured above; the more unrefined and unfiltered it is, the greener it will be.

Suffice to say, if you do manage to find a truly pure "Italian" extra virgin olive oil in the US, chances are it comes from Spanish olives, because Italian olive oil is like Italian wine... Italy produces more olive oil and wine than grapes & olives! 

Back to Heiress:

You are correct.  Once you have experienced authentic Italian olive oil it's very easy to define the "fools gold" we have access to in the states.   The fragrance and taste are totally different.  But once again we are subjected to lesser standards in another area.  My tip is to refrigerate your oil (the good stuff or not), it goes rancid very quickly.  I enjoy olive oil in just about everything.  I don't fry with it because the smoking point is too high, but I use it for everything else from scrambled eggs to chicken cacciatore, caprese salad, to rubbing down my steaks (add a little Greek seasoning...yummy!).  Fresh green beans and corn on the cob....to die for.  I am am amatuer chef and love to try new recipes.  My brother in law is a well-known chef and he loves my food.  I am always looking for new recipes to try...got any using olive oil?  I love it when we talk "food" or as Ex Pat puts it  "gluttony"!

I am sure you already know that there are many other uses for olive oil such as cosmetics, soap, fuel for lamps and even pharmaceuticals. We would be better off using the tasteless kind we get here in those products and keeping the good stuff for consumption.  Well, we can 't always get what we want.  I'll just have to wait until my trip to Italy next year and bring some back with me.  I guess I can do that?  Does anyone out there know if it can be brought back or not?  How about Parmiggiano Reggiano?

The greek oil from the Kalamata region in Greece... I've found excellent. May be one of the reasons why the oil in good Greek restaurants tastes so good.

Olive Oyl to answer the Captain's very important question. With a y. Some goyl. Cheese, I don't think you can bring in from Italy although lately I've seen some of the real stuff here. Would be worth finding out about the oil.

Though I loved ExPat's post, I have to take issue with one thing. Take it from someone who was kept under lock and key until she was twenty, there IS such a thing as an 'extra virgin.'

And, as long as I'm derailing this otherwise wholesome discussion, I'll offer my only olive oil tip. It's a bit seedy, or would it be 'pitty?'

The stuff is great for pregnant bellies. Really. Since my release from the afore mentioned lock and key, I've been knocked up more times than Jolie with ne'er a stretchmark to show for it. Get your hands into it. Rub it all over. Good for cuticles, too. Love the stuff, LOVE IT....

Dear Mr. Peterman,

I have just come from your recommended Fairway Market link and have read Steven's blog. The man may be an old blowhard, as his quote suggests, but he puts strawberry preserves on his grilled cheese—so if you would make the proper introductions, I think I will marry him, please.

For our honeymoon, we will fill a Tuscan pool with Olive Oil (Hazelnut better watch herself—adulteration will not be permitted) and we will remain there for one entire month. And you know the best part? No pruny fingers. We'll be glowing like the backside of a new babe.

Post script.

Do not be jealous, Mr. J. Peterman and Co. I have posted on my undying affection for you, just this morning.
http://sandinmyswimsuit.blogspot.com/2008/07/j-who.html

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but my buying decisions in regard to olive oil, which by-the-way I consider to be the true nectar of the gods, have been somewhat superficial and very uninformed . . . . until now.

I'm usually not a superficial kind of guy, but when I walk past shelves of exotically shaped and beautifully labeled bottles of olive oil, I am instantly stopped in my tracks and stand there mesmerized until just the right label and bottle makes itself known to me. All I can say is that I've been very fortunate ‘cos I have hardly ever purchased an olive oil that I didn't like or that didn't like me. My good fortune is probably due to shopping in markets where olive oil is appreciated, usually paired with an excellent artisan bread and pasta selection, and a bit of pure luck.

Ignorance was bliss, but now that I am armed with all of this very useful information, I shall now seek out exotically shaped, beautifully labeled bottles that contain, or at least purport to contain, 100% oil from real olives that are virgin, have been cold pressed, is at least partly cloudy, and definitely has an expiration date that hopefully does not deface the label.

A dish of olive oil sprinkled with fresh basil and rough sea salt, accompanied by a loaf of crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside bread and I am in comfort food heaven.

A chunky pb&j sandwich would be my second choice.

Well, it's getting towards lunch time and I might just drizzle some extra virgin olive oil (if I now own it) over a tomato (now off the salmonella watch) and some fresh mozzarella...I wish I had some fresh basil handy.

Next to the olive oil business, trafficking in cocaine seems to be a more honest profession. Not that I'm recommending it.

To: Missive,

You may have a point about "extra virgin".....(I'll have to do some rersearch)

ExPat just made me grin. Will rub on some EVO to avoid permanant creases.

Gia, Thanks for reminding me, I forgot to add the fresh, ripe, just picked tomato to my olive oil, basil, chucky sea salt and crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside bread. 

Add some mild goat cheese  and . ......... quick, somebody stop me!!

oops, ... that would be chunky sea salt, not the evil, possessed "Chucky" kind.

missive, good luck with your many romances.  I quit J Crew in favor of J Peterman back in the early 90s, just out of my teens... and I am still kicking myself for not having plunked my meager savings into one of those Matisse ink drawings that Mr. Peterman had up for sale back in the day. 

PeterLake, I am going to be laughing about "Chucky salt" for the rest of the night, thanks! 

I'm not an owner of fairway either, but I'm going to plug it here! My family regularly shops at the Brooklyn branch (cheap breakfast (a cup o joe for 85cents!) overlooking the Statue of Liberty is inspiring).  Anyway, they put out bottled of olive oil and let customers taste it.This is the single best wayto judge. It should NEVER taste greasy and many of the better ones have an almost stinging bite when tasted alone. That said there is a myriad variation in oils, much like wine (I do own a wine store and I judge by taste alone, never by what the critics say!), some are mellow and sweet others grassy and acidic etc. Cooks illustrated just did a roundup of supermarket brand oils and a couple fared decently well, but the mag pointed out that you generally do get what you pay for and the supermarket brands that did best were pretty much the most expensive.  

Oh and I've been to olive oil tastins put on by the IOCC and you sip it outof little cups like wine. No dipping bread. Fun and very educational if you can get to one....

ExPat and Missive,

 It's always a good idea to keep a few extra virgins in your glove compartment just in case your virgin breaks down.

I confess, missive, I had always assumed Detroit was a supremely unsexy city but it seems I must re-evaluate based on further evidence.  And, in view of the fact that your write in the marketing industry, have you considered hitting up Mr. Peterman for a job?  It is beyond me how you could ever have even considered him in competition with that other "J." clothier who shall go unnamed on this hallowed ground.

Also, while I'm on this track, I want to thank Mr. Peterman for re-instating the honor roll.  The aspiration keeps us on our toes.  I remember, last week when it had appeared the honor roll had simply been discontinued, Spinner wrote a particularly brilliant message in the "Knocking Down the School Door" discussion.  I read it and thought "That's truly honor roll worthy".  So I'm very glad to see it back.

.... since I've already confessed to my semi-compulsive behavior of buying olive oil based on the beauty of the label and bottle, I once passed up the olive oil for a small, beautifully labeled bottle of, . . . I'm so ashamed . . .  grapeseed oil.  It was ok, but it needed a lot more  salt and basil.  That's it. . . . I've come clean, and can only go forward from here.

Be well

You have hit upon another one of my favorites!  I do not, I am embarassed to say, drink wine, but I do enjoy the bouquet of it. If you have a chance to do an olive oil tasting, you will observe the different bouquets just as wine gives you.  We. too. prefer Greek kalamata olive oil as a general rule.  I make my own salad dressing, especially for tomatoes with fresh mozzarella.  I constantly get comments on it and I firmly believe it is the right combination of not only the olive oil, but the balsamic vinegar.  The two flavors must compliment eash other.  And with both, you get what you pay for.  Scrutenize the labels carefully and taste if possible. Definitely, no "oily" taste.  The very best olive oil we have ever had is one a friend of ours who is a very fine chef got from a friend of his from Italy.  I don't know just how he got a case of bottles into the country, but at a wine tasting party he also had some of this wonderful olive oil.  We fell so in love with it that we got him to persuade his friend to somehow ship another case in and we bought two bottles.  That was all we could afford as they were $60/bottle!  A very nice, peppery flavor and we use it only for dipping.  There is no label on the bottles so we have no idea where it comes from.   it is estate bottled and used only for their own consumption and thus not on the general market.  Very sad, but we feel quite priviledged to have been able to enjoy it. 

And I feel that we are getting a good, healthy dose of cholesterol-lowering medication whenever we dip.

I just love how Mr. Peterman keeps asking me, "Miss Ive, what do you think?" You're insatiable, really. But you asked, so I'll tell.

I think your collaborators are brilliantly witty and I am so glad they have welcomed me so graciously. I look forward to many happy chats in this room. I have already commenced with the decorating and 'window' treatments. Will definitely need one of these:
http://jpeterman.com/product~cat~120207~sku~DFN%202281.asp

on which to keep my encyclopedia handy, for all the references that have thus far been sailing over my underutilized little head. Galt, Taggart?

Heiress,

You are my new fashion guru. Henceforth, before I fall for another clothier, if I should prove so fickle, I will check with you. You are clearly way ahead of the game. And though I am unfamiliar with the Matisse pieces to which you refer, I can share in your lament. His pieces are like that, aren't they? If you love it, and you don't buy it, it lives in your memory and haunts you. Bewitching. There's a cabled, boatneck sweater out there in the world that I often cry myself to sleep thinking about.

Dread Pirate Roberts,

You mean I don't sound thoroughly satisfied writing for Shmord? Wha? I also apologize for sullying the Peterman name in the company of the lesser J.

Point: Roberts

Post script. Almost forgot, you mentioned Nora Ephron's name.

Point, game, match: Roberts

PeterLake,

Your 'Chucky Salt' has given me cause, twice, to wipe sprayed tea from my monitor.

ExPat,

Just got the double meaning of your "research." Like I said, lock and key, way too long. Very funny.

Wishing you all a virginally unadulteraded, mellow, sweet, grassy and, of course, 'chucky' weekend. I thank you for reading my post to Mr. Peterman. Very gracious.

I suddenly realized I have a source for your all.  In my work as a tour guide, one of my regular employers is a company called City Food Tours.  As we taste and discuss the artisanal foods of the Lower East Side, one of our stops is Formaggio Essex.  Their flagship store, Formaggio Cambridge, is located a few blocks from the Harvard Campus.

At any rate, as you can glean from the name, this shop specializes in cheeses.  And what wonderful cheeses they are.  But they also have terrific honeys, mostardos (never heard of them? Neither had I), vinegars, and -- you guessed it! -- oils.  Their website:  http://www.formaggiokitchen.com/

The owner of the shop is... dare I say it?  He is the J. Peterman of food!  He goes to a place in Europe and lives there for a few months to determine the best artisanal food that he can import exclusively to his shops.  Sometimes, he has to convince the incredulous native farmers that there actually is a market for their wares in the states.  I do not get any commission for recommending them.  But I love their stuff and I think you will too.  Enjoy!

Greetings:  I just ate a Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.  With the salmonella issue and the e-coli issue addressed, who would have thought that the most healthy item in my sandwich would be the bacon. 

Also, just checked in my grocery order for the store today and purchaced five (5) gallons of bacon fat to use as seasoning for thirty nine (39.00) dollars.  Purchased one (1) gallon of extra extra virgin olive Oyl (oil) for fourty five (45.00) dollars.  I wonder whats going to taste better, the vegetables with the pork or the bread with the fruit sauce? 

In an earlier post, maybe instead of Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, we should have addressed Porky Pig. 

I'm not an owner of fairway either, but I'm going to plug it here! My family regularly shops at the Brooklyn branch (cheap breakfast (a cup o joe for 85cents!) overlooking the Statue of Liberty is inspiring).  Anyway, they put out bottled of olive oil and let customers taste it.This is the single best wayto judge. It should NEVER taste greasy and many of the better ones have an almost stinging bite when tasted alone. That said there is a myriad variation in oils, much like wine (I do own a wine store and I judge by taste alone, never by what the critics say!), some are mellow and sweet others grassy and acidic etc. Cooks illustrated just did a roundup of supermarket brand oils and a couple fared decently well, but the mag pointed out that you generally do get what you pay for and the supermarket brands that did best were pretty much the most expensive.  

Oh and I've been to olive oil tastins put on by the IOCC and you sip it outof little cups like wine. No dipping bread. Fun and very educational if you can get to one....

Missive,

Galt and Taggart are characters in the landmark novel, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  ExPat, Rings90, and I are great fans.

Captain,

Gotta love that bacon fat!  The butcher at the Essex Street Market loves to tell of the days when the fat was more valuable than the meat.  Before synthetic oils, fat was everything.  Anyone who wanted to open a butcher shop would go to the fat seller.  He would supply your showcases, your storage, your scales, and even your first meats.  You would pay him back in fat.  That was where he made his fortune.  Another great example of one person's selfishness benefitting his neighbor (see literary note above).

I'm just giggling at the fact that more people comment on the topic of olive oil than natural oil.

Lovey,

That's because olive oil tastes so much better and besides, "Texas Tea", natural oil, only pairs up well with crankcases and gas tanks and causes sludge in your arteries to boot.

I always feel that I am much more educated by the end of each day by reading The Peterman's Eye & everyone else's comments.   I guess I never gave what Olive Oil should actually look, & taste like a second thought, until this morning. 

I'm a few thousand miles away form a Fairway Store but am thinking that I need to puruse the Oil aisle of Trader Joes (which is still a 2 hour drive) and really try to experience the taste of this great Elixir of Life as Mr. Peterman has so loving named it.

Missive ~ welcome the world of J Peterman, after this nothing wil lbe the same for you. Trust me.  I was introduced by a high school friend of mine in the early 90's (before Seinfeld was a hit) & haven't been the same since.   Also Don't feel bad about Taggert, Galt & Atlas The way I became an Ayn Rand fan was because I blindly signed up for a bookclub at the local used bookstore.  Not realizing it was a Philosphy based bookclub & the first book was Atlas Shrugged. Discussions were ran by the local college Philosphy Professor & his Assistant.  To be honest it was one of the best bookclubs ever & I becuase of it I became a great fan of Ayn Rands writings & style & able to understans a few of her world views as this blog has shown me.  That also was the closest I have ever come to a college level class in my life....  

Heiress ~ I remember the Matisse prints you are talking about ~ It's one of the reasons that I was SO Excited when at the Hermitage in St. Peterburg they had a HUGE Matisse exhibit & it was breathtaking. One of the most beautiful sights in the world to me is a Matisse painting... (I partucular am drawn to the Dance there's just something about the colors in that painting.)  I was so excited when I plunked down my meager savings awhile back for the Zelda Coat ~ I wouldn't have made it through this past winter here in WI without it, Thanks Mr. Peterman for keeping me warm & stylish this past winter season. I'm still crying that for the 2nd time in my life I have missed out on the Nantucket Sweater, By the time I decide to get it my size always seems to be sold out.....

rings90,

Interesting.  While we clearly have similar tastes in literature, we differ on the visual arts.  I have yet to see what everyone loves so much about Matisse.  What little I know about him leads me to find his life more interesting than his art (at least to me).  It's funny that you and Heiress keep alluding to the "Matisse prints" because I keep remembering Peterman's Matisse pants that I kept threatening to buy for my wife and never did.

An artist with a similar sounding name but a monumentally different style is Magritte, whom I like very much.  You can see both Matisse and Magritte (and others) at the Museum of Modern Art here in New York which, by the way, is free on Friday evenings between 4 and 8.  The rest of the time, it'll cost you 20 bucks.

DPR: I am humbled that you would comment on my disertation on Evil-ution a week later.  I am grateful that it was even remembered.  Thank you.

Have I missed out on something here?  Where did all these little pictures at the beginning of everybody's comments come from?  Have they been there all along and I just got some sort of up-grade to some software that brought them into the site?  I guess I do have to use our son's suggestion and use Control CWE (stands for Computing While Elderly) because yesterday was the first time I have seen them and I am definitely confused. 

DPR: I am humbled that you would comment on my disertation on Evil-ution a week later.  I am grateful that it was even remembered.  Thank you.

Have I missed out on something here?  Where did all these little pictures at the beginning of everybody's comments come from?  Have they been there all along and I just got some sort of up-grade to some software that brought them into the site?  I guess I do have to use our son's suggestion and use Control CWE (stands for Computing While Elderly) because yesterday was the first time I have seen them and I am definitely confused. 

See how confused I am?  I hit the Send button twice!!!  I better go to bed.  It's late.

Spinner,

The little avitars just started to appear yesterday so you can stay up and watch the late show.  Be well

Seghesio winery in Healdsburg, CA produces some of the best olive oil we've tasted outside of Tuscany.  If you have a chance to visit them, it's not to be missed.

Um, can anyone say, Addictive personality? I'm back. And I love that Onc Doc is still going strong with the olive oil theme that I derailed way too early today.

I just read Spinner's post on evolution vs. creation in schools. So I'll derail again, but will try not to make it a habit.

I loved it. It was passionate and heartfelt and economically expressed. Passion and economy are hard to reconcile. I just hesitate on the very last, tiny word, which I think is the very important dividing line between the camps. You said "think." I would argue that creationists are banking on "feel." And, though most people would argue that one must always be privileged over the other, I love both. Just sayin'.

Definitely loved the post. DPR was right. Honor roll worthy.