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Olive oil is an oil derived from the fruit of the olive tree, which originated in the Mediterranean area. It is produced by pressing olives and has a very high content of monounsaturated fat.

Olive oil was traditionally produced by beating the trees with sticks to knock the olives off and crushing them in stone or wooden mortars or beam press es. Nowadays, olives are ground to tiny bits, obtaining a paste that is mixed with water and processed by centrifugation, separating the oil from the pomace (the other remaining substances).

Commercial olive oil can be divided into several categories according to its chemical characteristics and the production method:

• Extra Virgin, made from the first cold pressing of olives and containing no more than ½% to 1% acidity;
• Virgin, which is also cold-pressed, but with an acidity between 1½% to 2%;
• Semi Fine, a blend of extra virgin and virgin oils which contains no more than 3.3% acidity; and
• Lampante Virgin, virgin olive oil with acidity above 3.3% which is either refined or used for purposes other than consumption;
• Refined (or Pure), made from a blend of refined and virgin oils;

Virgin olive oils are obtained only by physical extraction from the fruits.

A second type of oil can be extracted from the remaining pomace. This is called Olive Pomace oil and it is obtained, like all the other food oils, by treatment with a chemical solvent, generally hexane, and subsequent chemical refining.

Of all the categories, Extra Virgin olive oil presents the highest organoleptic , nutritional, and health qualities, as well as the most "flowery" taste.

Today, olive oil is mainly used in cookingCooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to improve the flavour and/or digestibility of food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingr and also in cosmeticsCosmetics or makeup are substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning. Their use is widespread, especially among women in Western countries (see gender role). In the 1800s, Queen Victoria publicly declared make-up impolite and soapThis article is about a common cleaning mixture. For other uses of the word Soap, see Soap (disambiguation). Soap is a surfactant cleaning mixture used for personal or minor cleaning. It usually comes in solid moulded form. In the developed world, synthets, but it has been used for medicineSee drugs, medication, and pharmacology for substances that treat patients. This article is about medical practice. Medicine is a branch of health science concerned with restoring and maintaining health and wellness. Broadly, it is the practical science os and as a fuelFuel is material with potential energy which can be transferred into kinetic energy, or as heat or mechanical work. In most cases this is just something that will burn. There are many different types of fuel. Solid fuels include coal, wood and peat. All t for oil lampAn oil lamp is a device used for lighting or for preserving a flame that is fueled by animal, vegetable or mineral oil. The term often refers to ancient pottery and metal designs the kind one might rub in hopes of summoning a Genie (as in the tale of Alads.

The oil was a central product of the Minoan civilizationThe Minoans were an ancient civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. The Minoans were primarily a mercantilist people engaged in overseas trade. Many historians and archaeologists b, where it is thought to have represented wealthWealth usually refers to money and property. It is the abundance of objects of value and also the state of having accumulated these objects. The use of the word itself assumes some socially-accepted means of identifying objects, land, or money as "belongi. The Minoans put the pulp into settling tank s and, when the oil rose to the top, drained the water from the bottom.