Place the lamb chops in a bag with blueberry dressing, marinade, salt and pepper. Squeeze the air out of the bag & allow the meat to marinade. Chops can be pan fried or grilled. Delicious!

Add lime vinegar dressing to your potato salad or potato wedges.

The health benefits of olives are varied and those who add them to their diet will definitely benefit from them. This particular fruit is also said to assist with hot flushes experienced during menopause as well as assist with regulating one’s blood pressure.

Olives and their benefits haven’t just surfaced. In fact this fruit has been around since 3000 BC and has been a large part of the Mediterranean diet. Consumption of olives on a regular basis is known to improve on the liver and intestines functioning ability. Constipation can also be avoided by taking just one to two teaspoons of olive oil before breakfast. Many even use olives as a before dinner drinks accompaniment due to their ability to line the stomach without weighing it down.

Olive oil itself has great skin and hair care benefits. One can use olive oil to directly moisturize the skin, moisten chapped lips, nourish chipped or broken nails, give shine to dry hair and even to treat a dry or irritated scalp. Another great benefit of olive oil would be their flavour and texture when added to light salads and other meals.

The benefits of olives certainly don’t go unnoticed and by adding just a few to your daily diet or even swapping your oil and salad dressing for olive oil, can see you enjoying these benefits in good time. Take the time to contact Goedgedacht Foods and chat to them about their range of olives, olive oil and its benefits today.

Goedgedacht manufactures a range of extra virgin olive oil from half ripe Frantoio, Coratina, Leccino and Mission olives. Two thirds of their harvest is used for this production and there is simply no wondering why. Olive oil can add a great deal of health and nutritional value to one’s life. There are many benefits of olive oil and you can find yourself enjoying these benefits by simply adding a little to your diet.

Olive oil benefits include the following:

~ High Nutritional Value – olive oil is packed with vitamins E, K and A. It offers a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids as well as various micronutrients including polyphenols, sqaulene and oleocanthol.

~ Heart Health Properties – olive oil is known to reduce bad cholesterols and thus protect the heart against heart disease. It is the only fruit oil that can be easily consumed and used by the body in its natural pressed state.

~ Cancer Health Properties – diets rich with olive oil have been known to reduce the incidence of colon cancer, skin cancer and breast cancer. Studies have shown that cancer growth is inhibited by olive oil.

~ Blood Pressure – olive oil consumed on a regular basis can reduce high levels of blood pressure.

~ Gallstones – olive oil is known to naturally reduce the occurrence of gallstones due to its ability to increase the production of bile and pancreatic hormones.

~ Cooking – olive oil adds a fresh and healthy flavor to just about any meal. Cook with it or use it as salad dressing.

While these are just a few of the benefits of olive oil, there are certainly more. It is also known to be a great natural additive to products used for skin and hair care. There is no doubt that olive oil is a versatile product that can be used for a variety of purposes. When buying olive oil it is advised that you look for extra virgin olive oil. This is the first oil that is pressed from the olive so no heat or chemicals are used and you will be obtaining the oil in its purest form.

Take the time to contact Goedgedacht Foods for more information and advice on their range of cost effective and healthy olive oil. Start enjoying the benefits of olive oil in your life today.

Smell

A well-prepared olive has a clean acceptable aroma. The aroma will give a good indication of how the processing was managed as most of the volatile components are a result of the fermentation process. In the absence of any fermentation, the aroma is usually that of the added ingredients, like garlic, herbs and various other flavourings.
An off-fermentation will be noticeable on the nose, and any off-odour is totally unacceptable in quality table olives.

Taste

The taste and flavour of a food product is generally rather subjective it depends on what one is accustomed to. When wine is consumed, the trend is often for non-wine drinkers to start with a sweeter wine, and then to progress to the more dry products. In the table olive sphere, the consumer not accustomed to olives, usually prefers a more bland product. Once hooked on these little delicacies, the consumer then seeks out products with a lot more flavour, the natural olive flavour in particular.

Texture / Tactile

An olive should have a degree of firmness in the flesh, without being tough or woody. The skin of the fruit should not be too tough, and the flesh should detach from the pit quite readily.
The texture of an olive is determined by numerous factors, the most important of which are fruit ripeness when harvested, and cultivar. The methods of processing will then play an equally important role, which can either maintain the texture of the fruit or compromise it.

Olive oil, tips and facts:

Storage: Keep olive oil in a cool dark cupboard, never in the fridge. It will become cloudy and thick in the fridge. Olive oil will absorb other flavours easily so ensure that it is kept in an airtight glass bottle or container. Try to keep olive oil away from the condiment cupboard close to the oven as the heating and cooling of the oven will cause the flavours to diminish over time.
Health: Olive oil is known to have extensive health benefits including the control of cholesterol in the bloodstream, the prevention of gastric ulcers, the stimulation of bone mineralization and the prevention of gallstones amongst many others.

Beauty: Olive oil is extensively used in beauty preparations due to its ability to combat free radicals.

A guide to the different kinds of olive oils:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Free acidity (measured as oleic acid) below 0,5% with no organoleptic defects.This is the best Olive Oil you can buy.
Virgin Olive Oil – Free acidity (measured as oleic acid) below 3.3%
Refined Olive Oil – Obtained from virgin olive oil (such as Lampante) by refining methods which do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceride structure. This oil is often called Pure Olive Oil.
Olive Oil – Consists of a blend of virgin olive oil fit for consumption (not Lampante) and refined olive oil.
Olive Pomace Oil – Formerly known as olive residue oil. This is oil which is produced by chemically treating the press-cake after initial pressing to extract remaining oil. This crude oil can then be further refined chemically to reduce acidity and it is often blended with virgin olive oil to restore some colour and flavour.

Curing your own olives at home

Make a small slit at the base of each olive.

Wash Olives in clean water place clean olives in bucket provided & cover with fresh water – make sure olives are below the water.

STAGE 1
Stir daily for 12 days – on 13th day throw water away -rinse olives & container.
Replace olives in bucket & cover with a salt water solution – 1 part salt to 10 parts water.
Stir daily for 12 days – keep olives below water level.

STAGE 2
Repeat stage 1.1 & 1.2 – the salt solution must be made with 1 part salt to 5 parts water.
Stir daily for 14 days – discard any floating olives.

STAGE 3
Repeat stage 2.1 & 2.2 – the salt solution must be 1 part salt to 2.5 parts water. (25%)
Stir gently every day for 12 days.
13th day throw away solution & rinse olives & clean bucket.
Cover with a 15% salt solution & leave until ready to eat – test once every 2 weeks until olives are to your own taste.
Throw away solution, rinse olives & lay out on a tray to air for one hour before bottling.

BOTTLING
Prepare a light 7-10% salt solution mixed with a light white wine vinegar +- 2%.
If flavouring with herbs use dried as fresh ingredients can cause botulism.
Or can use a fruit vinegar dressings.
Pack the olives tightly into clean glass jars and cover with a brine to your taste; seal with a tight fitting lid.
Olives should keep for 3 months – refrigerate after opening.