Articles of interest:

EVOO – Extra Vrigin Olive Oil.
The highest quality olive oil you can buy (providing it is the genuine Australian stuff).

The NEW FIRST Australian consumer awareness and education campaign from the Australian Olive Association is out now! Contact E: Secretariat@australianolives.com.au

Thanks to the Australian Olive Association fact sheet for the following:

Why is Olive Oil good for me?
1.Olive oil contains a wide variety of valuable antioxidants that are not found in other oils.
2.Epidemiological studies suggest that olive oil has a protective effect against certain malignant tumours in the breast, prostate, endometrium and digestive tract.   Reseach has revealed that the “type” rather than the “quantity” of fat seems to have more implications for cancer incidence.   This could be related to oleic acid, which is the predominant mono-unsaturated fatty acid in olive oil.
3.It has been demonstrated that the addition of olive oil to a diet that is not changed in any other way has a lowering effect on blood pressure.
4.An olive oil rich diet is not only a good alternative in the treatment of diabetes;  it may also help to prevent or delay the onset of the disease by preventing insulin resistance and its possible harmful implications by raising HDL cholesterol, lowering triglycerides, and ensuring better blood sugar level control and lower blood pressure.
5.Like all other fats and oils olive oil is high in calories which could suggest that it would contribute to obesity.   However, evidence shows that there is less obesity amongst Mediterranean people, who consume the most olive oil in the world.   It has been demonstrated that an olive oil rich diet leads to greater and long lasting weight loss than a low fat diet.   Olive oil tastes good and it is a stimulus to eat vegetables and pulses.
6.Olive oil bolsters the immune system against external attacks from microorganisms, bacteria or viruses.   The fatty acids in olive oil are good allies in lowering important immunological parameters.
7.Olive oil is also good for the stomach, hepato-bilary system, pancreas and intestines.   It helps with anti-aging, osteoporosis, cognitive function and skin damage.   It is also beneficial to consumer olive oil during pregnancy and whilst breast feeding.

Olive Oil Classifications
Extra virgin olive oil “The Best”.   This oil is the top of the range in terms of health benefits and amount of fruity flavour.   This should be the main olive oil consumed.

EVOO is made from perfect olives crushed as soon as possible after harvest and processed without the use of excessive heat, thus maintaining the flavour, aroma and health benefits of the olive fruit.   These oils are sometimes called ‘cold pressed’ but this term is also being phased out as pressing is now often replaced by centrifugation.

To make the grade of Extra Virgin, the oil must have an absolutely perfectly balanced flavour and aroma with a free acidity level of no more than 0.8%.   Extra virgin accounts for most of the olive oil produced in Australia.

The following olive oils are often imported and are of inferior quality to EVOO:
Olive Oil – middle of the range, can be used as an all purpose oil in salad dressings, sautéing, stir frying and deep frying.   Sometimes called 100% Pure Olive Oil.   It is actually a blend of refined oil with some virgin oil and has a mild olive flavour.

Extra Light/Lite – this is a refined oil which is very light in colour, odour and taste.   It is suitable for making cakes, biscuits, pastry, desserts and other foods where you require very little olive flavour.   It is not light in kilojoules.

Olive Pomace Oil – Maggie’s hint:  don’t go here!
This is a blend of refined olive pomace oil with a small amount of virgin oil.   Pomace is the residue left behind after virgin olive oil is made, consisting of the pulp, skins and stones of the olive.   It contains about 4% - l0% oil which is usually extracted with the aid of solvents.

           

WHY YOU SHOULD …
Put a little Passion in your Life !

The purple Passionfruit is native to Brazil. In Australia, purple passionfruit were cultivated in areas of Queensland before 1900. Passionfruit is grown commercially in several countries now including South Africa, Hawaii and India.

Maggie and Mark Edmonds grow a West Australian variety of passionfruit – of course! It is called “Sunshine Special” and, apart from large juicy fruit, has a long fruiting season and longer vine life than tropical varieties.

Passionfruit offer many health benefits, being rich in potassium, magnesium and phosphorous. They have the potential to regulate blood pressure and maintain bone density.

Apart from all that … Passionfruit taste great !

Passionfruit’s sweet/sour palate entices “foodies” to combine them with mango, banana, peach, apricot. Or just enjoy the luxury of a fresh “pashy” daily.

Gingin Heritage Estate sells fresh passionfruit; makes passionfruit juice and nectar concentrate; also produces pulp for award-winning icecreameries.

You can’t go past Gingin Heritage Estate’s Passionfruit Membrillo (paste) and their latest delicious product: Passionfruit Spread. These intensely flavoured products go a long way – the deep aroma and taste of passionfruit hits the spot every time.

Put a little Passion in your life !

Natural Lake Salt Crusts
WEST AUSTRALIAN NATURAL LAKE SALT FROM LAKE DEBORAH

Interesting STUFF on the fresh, natural West Australian salt used in Maggie’s Lake Salt Crust products …

The Lister family has harvested salt in Western Australia for 60 years. The WA Salt Supply company was founded by 3 brothers who started out gold mining in Kalgoorlie. A combination of a fall in the price of gold and a shortage of food grade salt in the WA market led them to a change of career. Salt was first harvested from Lake Lefroy, but in the 70’s harvesting operations were moved to Lake Deborah near Koolyanobbing.

The salt crystals growing on the surface of Lake Deborah formed around 3-5 million years ago from the Westerly winds glowing across the primeval Indian Ocean and carrying tiny amounts of sea spray inland, dropping the salt all over the ancient land. As the Australian climate became drier, these sea minerals were not flushed back out to sea and began to accumulate in the dried up river beds of what was to become the Avon River. Therefore, the salt has characteristics of sea salt, in that it contains many trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium, and the salt dissolves very easily just like sea salt because these trace elements and minerals weaken the crystal structure. The purity of the salt from Lake Deborah has been documented for over 80 years and there is no other salt lake in Australia that has the same unique combination of degree of purity and superior taste.

Salt can only be harvested at certain times of the year. In winter months about 10-20 cm of rain water lies across the surface of the lake and the action of the rain water and prevailing winds “dissolves” a fraction of the crust of the lake. In the summer the brine evaporates and a fresh new crust of salt crystals begins to grow and form on the surface of the lake. Customised machines simply scrape this new “crop” of salt crystals into long rows which are picked up and stockpiled at the edge of the lake ready for transportation.

The salt is transported by a special truck that can carry l00 tonnes at a time to the nerest railhead. The salt is transferred into special stainless steel lined rail wagons and delivered to the refinery at Hamilton Hill near Perth in Western Australia. At the refinery the salt crystals are washed in a pure brine to free any tiny pieces of organic matter that may have blown onto the lake and then the salt is simply kiln dried and crushed to whatever salt crystal size is required.

For much of the history of WA Salt Supply, the salt product was supplied almost exclusively to the West Australian wholesale market. However, in the late 90’s the salt market in Japan deregulated and when the Japanese discovered the unique qualities of lake salt – particularly the mild and gentle flavour which many Japanese describe as “sweet” – a new larger market for the salt transpired.

Like Japan, many Asian countries viewed salt as a strategic commodity, and salt sales and purchases were controlled by a government agency. Hitherto, the government.

Agencies of these countries invariably purchased the cheapest industrial salt on the world market – usually from China or Mexico – which entered the food chain. These salts have to undergo some form of processing which always results in this salt having a harsh and bitter aftertaste which contrasts to the mild and gentle flavour of lake salt. Lake salt has retained the traces of other minerals from the ancient sea spray to give a totally different and much more pleasant taste exerpience.

Now, this lake salt is not only sold by retailers in Japan and several other Asian countries, but also it is used by food manufacturers in many different food products such as Miso paste, pickles etc.

Health Debate

Is salt a health hazard or is salt indeed a health food? It is recognized that the body needs salt. The sodium irons from salt (NaCl) play a crucial role within our cell membranes and are essential for normal metabolism. Therefore, lack of salt in one’s diet is extremely dangerous.

Salt’s bad press comes from 2 factors. There is a direct link between salt intake and the level of blood pressure. The assumption was that because of this link, it went on to cause cardiovascular and kidney ailments. Recent results from studies that have been undertaken over many years suggest that this link does not exist for the vast majority. Indeed, they conclude that the health of people on low sodium diets does not fare better than people on normal diets.

Secondly, people – especially young people – receive so much salt in their diet through processed and fast food that health agencies had no alternative but to issue a general warning to lower salt intake. However, this has been reviewed and it is now deemed dangerous to recommend low sodium diets for the general population. The message is not to eat so many processed and fast foods !

For the vast majority of people, use of salt within a normal diet is vital for complete health.

So … choose the most pure and natural salt from Western Australia from …

THE GET STUFFED OLIVE COMPANY.
And remember …
Buy some and Get Stuffed !