olive oil: clarity and quality

[raw-al]

Al - I had to look up abhyanga. I thought it would be an Indian dish but instead it's self-massage!

"Abhyanga provides the means for trans-dermal absorption of the healing qualities of the material used in the massage, and it helps the skin, which is the largest organ in the body, perform its diverse functions efficiently, whether it is allowing toxins to be released from the body or nourishment to be absorbed by the tissues. It is like oiling the engine of your car -- if you do it regularly, your engine will be in peak condition, and give you years and years of trouble-free performance."

You know now that I have this really good oil that's a wonderful idea! I often wondered about putting less than perfect oils on one's skin when going for a massage. I rub coconut oil on my hands and let it soak in - why not olive oil?

Do you ever leave the oil on for the day under your clothes to let it absorb more fully? Do you ever add a drop or two of an essential oil for the aroma? 

You know - I've been watching the sunset and bathing my closed eyes in sunshine (eye sight improving - thanks for the push with that back some time) and this makes me wonder about doing massage around my eyes with the olive oil too! There are some important acupuncture points around the eyes. Absorbing good oils directly through the skin is a very nice way to take in good fats and nutrition.

I'm going to try it.

Thanks!

I've written articles for my Vaidya (Ay. Doctor) friend on the topic. I will try to find one.

Basically all oils have identifiable characteristics that are appropos for specific body types. To simplify, sesame oil is heating/warming and is an excellent anti-fungal/bacterial. Olive oil is in the centre regarding heating/cooling characteristics, and coconut oil is cooling. There are lots of other choices for specific persons. Mustard is very heating for instance.

You basically warm it a bit (if you want). put as much or as little as you wish. Start at the feet and work up to the heart, do it the direction of hair growth, following blood vessels, ie. straight on limbs and circular on joints, circular on breasts, pay particular attention to head, ears and feet.

You can leave the oil on as it soaks in generally anyways but if you want, wash it off after 20 minutes. Typically I take a quick bath/shower without soap afterwards.

If you have oily skin use a dry silk glove for the massage.

All the instruction I have read says to cure the oil (sesame) by heating to till a drop of water crackles on top of it.. May have to do with bacterial growth. Not sure.

You've peaked my interest regarding good quality olive oil. I had no idea. That maybe could explain why sometimes I feel a bit itchy. Due to using poor quality, rancid oil. Maybe I should cure it ? Maybe raw fresh is the answer. I will experiment.  Thanks!

[Dorothy]

Thank YOU Al for the wonderful instructions. Different oils having different a
effects makes so much sense. Do you massage the scalp too?

[RawZi]

When it's rancid who cares to remember what brand it is?

Again - stone pressed means absolutely nothing. Machinery now does the same thing. No heat and slow. No one stone presses - that's just a buzz word. What makes it good or not is freshness and low acidity. There are more variables that affect flavor - the age of the trees, the soil, the environment - but that's personal taste. If it says stone ground - so what?

    Personally I think it might be good to remember bad brands to avoid them. I'm very careful. Most brands I would never try. It took me three years on primal diet before I could find a brand I would dare try.  I had to research a lot.

    While aajonus was fully endorsing the Rawesome Club he was not endorsing their oil.  He tested their machine and the temperature was rancid-making temperature even after years of him telling them his standards for that. That I was told before the News problem ever happened at all with Rawsome.  Maybe this year there is a more up to date machine for them.

    I think stone ground refers to flour.  I have several flour grinders.  I never used to buy bread (not that I do now).  I fresh ground flour since over twenty years ago for guests, clients, family and myself, till I met the gentleman I'm with now more or less.  Even years before that I used friends' grinders.  He liked the squishiest most well preserved commercial bread when we got together.  I grew up with quality fresh baked bakery bread and even that I wouldn't eat practically at all growing up, so it was strange. Sorry to bore you, I just never heard of ground food oil, not a familiar term to me yet. I learned a lot of things and words in this forum in the last three years, and I'm still choosing to ignore many of them to some degree.

[Dorothy]

    Personally I think it might be good to remember bad brands to avoid them. I'm very careful. Most brands I would never try. It took me three years on primal diet before I could find a brand I would dare try.  I had to research a lot.

    While aajonus was fully endorsing the Rawesome Club he was not endorsing their oil.  He tested their machine and the temperature was rancid-making temperature even after years of him telling them his standards for that. That I was told before the News problem ever happened at all with Rawsome.  Maybe this year there is a more up to date machine for them.

    I think stone ground refers to flour.  I have several flour grinders.  I never used to buy bread (not that I do now).  I fresh ground flour since over twenty years ago for guests, clients, family and myself, till I met the gentleman I'm with now more or less.  Even years before that I used friends' grinders.  He liked the squishiest most well preserved commercial bread when we got together.  I grew up with quality fresh baked bakery bread and even that I wouldn't eat practically at all growing up, so it was strange. Sorry to bore you, I just never heard of ground food oil, not a familiar term to me yet. I learned a lot of things and words in this forum in the last three years, and I'm still choosing to ignore many of them to some degree.

Zi - I'm sorry - I mis-typed. I was referring to your question about stone-pressed - not ground.

I can recognize the bottles and names of the oils that I have tried so as not to buy them again, but I couldn't remember them here to tell you all the oils that I have tried and were rancid. My brain doesn't work well that way. I can recognize the products, but don't have a list of the names in my head. I'm sorry. I wish I could help you that way.

There are tests for acidity and if the machine is making much heat at all then the oil will be too acid and no longer even be extra-virgin. Good for AV sticking to his guns! Most of the machinery does make the oil get hot and therefore even when it is labeled extra-virgin or raw it often is not. It's such a racket.

[goodsamaritan]

Reporting to the community that I just bought:

Braggs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Centenial Anniversary Edition.  They say in the bottle it's from 100 year old olive trees.

Anyway the proof is in the tasting and the eating.... it was not rancid at all.  It actually tasted good. 

I used it for a hulda clark liver flush and 1/2 cup of the olive oil went down really well.  Better than any olive oils I've tried. (veteran of 20+ olive oil liver flushes)  I felt confident enough I gave my 11 year old boy his own hulda clark liver flush using the same oil.

[CitrusHigh]

omg so funny GS, a Traditional foodie/WAPF mom friend of mine PM'd me on facebook tonight asking me to add Braggs EVOO to our running list of EV Olive oils that solidify when put to the fridge test, so weird that out of all the brands in the world, you would post the same one on the same night!

[goodsamaritan]

omg so funny GS, a Traditional foodie/WAPF mom friend of mine PM'd me on facebook tonight asking me to add Braggs EVOO to our running list of EV Olive oils that solidify when put to the fridge test, so weird that out of all the brands in the world, you would post the same one on the same night!

Can you share your list of good EVOO brands?

[CitrusHigh]

Solidifies when cooled- Possibly Genuine
-Bariani
-Kirkland
-costco brand
-Columela
-Braggs extra virgin olive oil


Remains Liquid when Cooled - **NOTE: At the time these tests were performed, we were all unaware that it could take up to 36 hours for the oil to fully solidify, so some brands in here are probably the real deal, like Chaffin's for instance, but others are certainly fake, like Member's Mark which never solidified no matter how long it was left in the fridge. All further tests being done are verified to have been left in the fridge for a minimum of 36 contiguous hours.
-Delallo
- Napa Valley Naturals Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil from
Argentina's Cordoba Valey and California's Sacramento Valley. (2 nays, 1 yeay)
-Chaffin family orchards ev olive oil
-Trader Joe's Brand
-365 organic
-Alard Palestinian Olive Oil
-Flora, Bija, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-Member's Mark 100% Organic EVO

Also, with very large companies like Kirkland (costco brand, I think) they will be purchasing oils/olives from many many different plantations so just because you have one batch that solidifies doesn't mean all will. Also a lot of people forget that just because it solidifies does not mean it's the real deal, only way more likely to be. Peanut oil for example solidifies if left in the fridge for long enough, as do others. Take the test for what it is, not what it is not.

[Chris]

What does the clarity of olive oil say about its quality? Any recommendations?

Nothing! Unless it's extra virgin olive oil. Is it? Cloudiness is a sign of unfiltered EVOO, which is a good thing. I prefer cloudy over clear any day. There's much more nutrients and antioxidants in the oil. But, the biggest thing is how it's processed. I've heard most EVOO isn't RAW. So beware, if that is important to you. If not, as long as it's the first pressing (EVOO), you should be golden. Dark glass containers are best, or steel. It blocks out the light to preserve the oil. If it's not EVOO. Go with butter instead, even if it's pasteurized. Regular OO, is extracted with additional chemicals to squeeze every ounce of oil left in the pressings. It's just adding more toxins into your system! Not worth putting into your body IMO. Hope that helps you out.

[Dorothy]

If the oil is over 5-6 months old it is rancid. Almost all oils no matter how they are produced are rancid.

Put some in your mouth and let it go to the back of your throat and gurgle but sucking in with air to make it move in the back of your throat (this is the way olive oil tasters - much like wine tasters - do it). It should taste like pepper and even burn. Those are the anti-oxidants. If it doesn't have that strong pepper effect - no good.

Cloudiness will tell you nothing about how fresh the oil is - it's a useless quality to take into consideration - as is whether the oil congeals. Smell and taste are the only real tests and most people have never even smelled or tasted fresh oil. Rancid from 100 year old trees is still rancid oil if it isn't fresh.

What you really need more than anything is a HARVEST DATE! Even if the oil itself is only a few months old the olives might have been sitting around for a year.

Most EVOO is really extra virgin because most of the modern machines don't produce heat - but most of it is horribly rancid - which is the real problem.

[Chris]

If the oil is over 5-6 months old it is rancid. Almost all oils no matter how they are produced are rancid.

Put some in your mouth and let it go to the back of your throat and gurgle but sucking in with air to make it move in the back of your throat (this is the way olive oil tasters - much like wine tasters - do it). It should taste like pepper and even burn. Those are the anti-oxidants. If it doesn't have that strong pepper effect - no good.

Cloudiness will tell you nothing about how fresh the oil is - it's a useless quality to take into consideration - as is whether the oil congeals. Smell and taste are the only real tests and most people have never even smelled or tasted fresh oil. Rancid from 100 year old trees is still rancid oil if it isn't fresh.

What you really need more than anything is a HARVEST DATE! Even if the oil itself is only a few months old the olives might have been sitting around for a year.

Most EVOO is really extra virgin because most of the modern machines don't produce heat - but most of it is horribly rancid - which is the real problem.

Dorothy, your a wealth of information! I was just reading some of your past post's regarding EVOO. Very good stuff. Thanks for sharing that information! I learned a thing or two.

[tests]

Interesting.