he olive tree species Olea europaea (Linnaeus) is believed to trace its "roots" over 5,000 years ago to
around 3,000 B.C. on the island of Crete. It is one of the oldest known cultivated tree species on Earth. The importance and usefulness of this tree and its fruit were widely recognized by various cultures of the Mediterranean Basin from 3,000 B.C. to 1,400 B.C. as olive cultivation spread frrom Crete to
 
Syria, Iran, Palestine, Israel and Greece. Until around 1,500 B.C., Greece was the region most heavily cultivated for olives. The long, warm, dry summers and mild winters common to much of the Mediterranean region,

 
  in conjunction with its relatively fine-textured soils, made this geographic region ideal for olive farming. With the development and expansion of the Greek culture by 800 B.C., olive cultivation had further spread to Cyprus, southern Turkey, southern Italy and northern Africa, and later to Spain, Portugal and southern France. Cultivation of Olives has most recently become important to the economy.

  
 

Origin of The Oil
The oil of this robust evergreen species has been cherished by many cultures for a broad spectrum of uses ranging from spiritual, and financial power to medicine, cosmetics and (of course) food. The oil is extracted from the fruit tissue of ripe, black olives via a press. The best olive oils are cold-pressed (a chemical-free process involving only pressure), yielding naturally low level of acidity.

Extra virgin olive oil is the finest and most treasured type. It is the product of the first cold-pressing of the olives.

 
 

It is considered to have the fruitiest flavor, and have the least amount of acid (1%).

Based largely on where the olives are grown (i.e. the levels of nutrients in the soil, amount of rainfall), extra virgin oil

 
 

can differ in color from a light champagne hue to bright green to greenish-gold. As a rule the deeper the oil's color, the more intense the olive flavor.

The remaining types of olive oil are classified according to their higher levels of acidity.

  
 

Virgin olive oil, although also extruded from the first pressing of the olive has a marginally higher acidity of between 1% - 3%.

Fino, or "fine" olive oil, is actually a blend of extra virgin and virgin oils.

 
 

Other oils on the market which are simply labeled "olive oil" contain various mixture of refined olive oil and virgin or extra virgin oil.

Regardless of which type of olive oil you use in food, it is unquestionably one of the healthiest, most digestible of the edible oils and fats. Olive oil's monounsaturated chemical structure is largely responsible for its lower caloric content and physical characteristics. It is little wonder why Homer (the epic poet & philosopher of ancient Greece) classified this delightful product of Nature as "liquid gold".