The Olive Tree Lexicon
Olive oil, olive leaf, tea: around the olive tree you come across many terms. Here we explain them briefly and honestly. From the oil of the fruit to the tea from the leaf. 🫒
A
- Acidity The share of free fatty acids. The lower, the better the oil.
- Alternate Bearing Why olive trees bear a lot one year and less the next.
- Antioxidants Compounds that protect olive oil from spoiling through contact with oxygen.
- Attack and Finish How to describe the first taste of an olive oil and how it fades.
- Ayvalık A traditional olive variety from the north of the Turkish Aegean.
B
- Baking with Olive Oil Olive oil makes cakes moist and bread aromatic.
- Best Before Date How long olive oil keeps and what the date on the bottle really tells you.
- Bitterness A light bitterness is part of the character of a good extra virgin olive oil.
- Blend A mix of oils from different varieties, regions or countries.
C
- Caffeine Free Tea Which teas contain no caffeine and which do.
- Calories in Olive Oil How much energy there is in a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Clouding in the Fridge White flakes in cold olive oil are not a flaw but completely natural.
- Cold Brewing Olive Leaf Tea Olive leaves brewed cold: mild and refreshing.
- Cold Pressed The oil stays below 27 °C during extraction. This protects aroma and natural compounds.
D
- Dark Bottle Light is one of olive oil's greatest enemies. Dark glass protects it.
- Debittering Olives Why you cannot eat olives straight from the tree.
- Deep Frying with Olive Oil Yes, you can deep fry with good olive oil. The temperature is what counts.
- Drought Resistance Why the olive tree copes so well with hot, dry summers.
E
F
- Filtered and Unfiltered Whether an olive oil is filtered affects clarity and shelf life.
- First Cold Pressing A term from the days of stone mills that rarely applies today.
- Flavonoids A large group of plant compounds, found in the olive leaf too.
- Fruitiness The aroma of fresh olives. Without fruitiness an oil is not extra virgin.
G
H
- Hand Harvest Olives harvested by hand arrive at the mill undamaged.
- Harvest Date The harvest date shows you how fresh an olive oil really is.
- History of the Olive Tree For thousands of years the olive tree has accompanied people around the Mediterranean.
- Hydroxytyrosol One of the best known polyphenols from the olive.
K
L
M
O
- Oleacein A typical polyphenol in extra virgin olive oil.
- Oleic Acid The main fatty acid in olive oil, monounsaturated.
- Oleocanthal The compound behind the typical tingle in the throat.
- Oleuropein The olive's main bitter compound, especially abundant in olive leaves.
- Olive Blossom The small white flowers that turn into olives by autumn.
- Olive Branch A sign of peace since antiquity.
- Olive Grove A planting of olive trees, often tended over generations.
- Olive Leaf Extract A concentrated extract of olive leaves, not the same as tea.
- Olive Leaf Tea and Green Tea Two teas, two plants: the differences.
- Olive Leaf Tea Tea made from the dried leaves of the olive tree.
- Olive Leaf Tradition Olive leaves have been brewed as tea around the Mediterranean for generations.
- Olive Leaf Not only the fruit but also the leaf of the olive tree has long been used.
- Olive Mill Where olives become oil, in a few steps and without heat.
- Olive Oil Fraud How olive oil is diluted or mislabelled and how to recognise good oil.
- Olive Oil Instead of Butter How to replace butter with olive oil in the kitchen and the oven.
- Olive Oil Tasting How to taste olive oil like the professionals, no bread needed.
- Olive Pomace Oil Oil from the leftovers of olive pressing, extracted with solvents and refined.
- Olive Tree (Olea europaea) The tree we have to thank for olive oil and Olive Leaf Tea.
- Olive Varieties Over a thousand varieties, each with its own character.
- Olives per Litre It takes around 7,000 olives to make one litre of Ölich Olive Oil.
- Omega-3, -6 and -9 Which omega fatty acids olive oil contains and in what proportion.
P
- PDO and PGI EU labels that protect the origin of an olive oil.
- Pepperiness The peppery feeling in the throat is a sign of polyphenols.
- Peroxide Value A lab value that shows how far an olive oil has already oxidised.
- Polyphenols Natural plant compounds that give olive oil bitterness, pepperiness and shelf life.
- Pressing Time The faster olives are pressed after harvest, the fresher the oil.
R
S
- Secondary Plant Compounds Compounds that plants use to protect themselves and that give colour, scent and taste.
- Single Variety An olive oil from one single olive variety, with a clear character of its own.
- Smoke Point The temperature at which an oil starts to smoke. For good olive oil it is higher than many people think.
- Squalene A natural component of olive oil, also known from skincare.
- Steeping Time and Water Temperature How to brew olive leaves well.
- Storage Cool, dark and well sealed: how your olive oil stays fresh for a long time.
- Storing Olive Leaves Kept dry, dark and well sealed, tea stays aromatic for a long time.
T
- Table Olives and Oil Olives Some varieties end up on the plate, others at the mill.
- Taste Defects Fusty, musty, rancid: how to recognise an olive oil with defects.
- Terroir Why origin can be tasted.
- The Olive Tree in Anatolia Anatolia is one of the regions where olive growing began.
- Turkish Olive Oil Turkey is one of the largest olive oil countries in the world, with a long tradition on the Aegean.