South Georgia EVOO

Who’d’ve thunk

it? Olive oil is something I know about but rarely kept around the house.

When I bought it, I went with the cheapest bottle and that might be why I don’t have high expectations.

Olive oil is one food that has survived unchanged through centuries of use.

It is useful for so many things from being a moisturizer and makeup remover to a cure for hair balls.

While all olive oil is good, the “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” (EVOO) is at the top. This oil comes by “cold pressing” whole olives without warming them up.

There is still some oil left in the “squeezings,” and when that goes back through the press, the result is “regular” olive oil. They might warm up the product to lower the viscosity.

There is nothing wrong with that oil, it is just not EVOO.

When it comes to dipping and making salad dressings, EVOO is preferred.

We think of olives growing around the Mediterranean, but a few centuries ago olive trees dotted the deep south. The Spanish planted olives around their missions, and coastal barrier islands planted the trees for oil and table olives.

Some modern, adventurous farmers wondered “what if” and stuck a few olive trees in the ground. The trees loved it and farmers planted more.

Today there are thousands of acres of happy olive trees in south Georgia.

There are olive presses and an association of olive growers, telling me that olives are here to stay.

I have used soy bean oil out of respect for the little beans grown in Kansas. I’ve thought that soy bean oil was not only not as harmful but actually good for you.

Apparently as good as soy bean oil might be, olive oil is “more better.”

We have salad supper once a week with flat bread and a saucer of salted and peppered olive oil for dipping. I never thought of where that oil came from, but it was likely influenced by the name on the bottle. South Georgia names are as good as any other.

I’m all about being faithful to Georgia farmers and buying Georgia olive oil but from whom, where?

The olive oil section at the local grocery stores have nothing indicating the oil was a local product.

I was hoping to find liter bottles of Georgia EVOO somewhere convenient.

On my next south Georgia road trip, I might be able to find some locally grown olive oil, but there’s no telling how long I’ll have to wait for that.

That was cat hair balls, by the way. I can’t grow enough to make a hair ball.

joenphillips@yahoo.com