The Olive Oil Hunter, Author at Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil

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Quarter 2—Chilean Harvest

Posted on July 21, 2024September 25, 2024 by The Olive Oil Hunter

A Trio of Deliciously Distinctive Chilean Olive Oils from the Country’s Premier Artisanal Producer Perfect for Your Summer Table

Each olive oil in this collection is a custom blend of outstanding varietals and unique in its own way.
Created to enhance summer’s bounty, these oils will elevate every one of your seasonal dishes.
All three were certified by an independent lab to be 100 percent extra virgin olive oil and rushed to the US by jet to preserve their tantalizing flavors and healthful properties.
These are Club exclusives, available nowhere else.

After dozens of trips to the Southern Hemisphere over nearly two decades, this intrepid traveler remains fascinated with South America and Chile in particular. Whenever I touch down in Santiago, I’m pleasantly reminded that there’s no jet lag from any time zone change, only the curious feeling of having the season I left up north turned upside down.

This year was quite special for your Olive Oil Hunter, because my wife Meghan and I visited Chile twice. A bucket-list vacation, a cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula, took us there in late January, when I witnessed the emergence of olives on tree branches at Agricola Pobeña, the farm of the Alonso family in Chile’s O’Higgins region—I immediately began to think of them as my babies. When I saw them again in May, they were at harvest plumpness. In between the two visits, an unusual series of natural events occurred, and I fretted about them just as any new parent would.

A Literal Firestorm

Only days after we left the olive groves in January, the worst wildfire in Chilean history burned through 18,000 hectares (roughly 70 square miles) of the Valparaiso, Maule, and O’Higgins regions. It’s hard enough to read about a tragedy of this scale as an outsider, but when you have friends who are directly impacted, it’s devastating. While Juanjo Alonso and his team worried about their neighbors and their land, we worried about them.

The wildfire unfolded against the backdrop of the continuing olive oil crisis raging through Europe, the details of which I have shared with you in my two previous Pressing Reports. I knew that Chilean oils were going to be more in demand than ever before because of the shortage in the Old World, due to the decimated 2023–2024 European harvest.

I also knew the cascading effect this would have: many Chilean olive growers would opt for quantity over quality and take measures like using heat and other mass-market extraction techniques to increase production for a quick profit…but not the Alonso family. I was confident that our close relationship and their commitment to creating the finest olive oils in the country would allow me to secure the liquid gold that Club members adore.

T. J. Robinson and Duccio Morozzo della Rocca walking through the olive groves — Duccio and I always start our visits by walking around the groves to select the best of the best fruit. Our “up close and personal” look allows us to make a detailed assessment—the first step in our quest to bring you, Club members, the finest oils on the planet. That swath of black behind us is where the Agricola Pobeña team created a buffer zone to redirect the path of the February wildfires and save the rest of the groves.

A Step—Many Steps—Above

From day one, more than 15 years ago, Juanjo (short for Juan José) and the team at Agricola Pobeña set their sights on crafting super-premium olive oils. To set themselves apart from other growers, they brought together these essential elements: an expansive farm with numerous microclimates suitable for a very wide selection of olive varietals, top-of-the line equipment, and some of the most skilled agronomists on the planet, led by Juan Carlos Pérez, the man in charge of Agricola Pobeña’s vast acreage. These are the core reasons they’re consistently named one of the top 20 producers in the world by Flos Olei, the bible of extra virgin olive oil.

Just as the wildfire and increasingly peculiar weather patterns would not distract
them from their mandate, neither would the global olive oil shortage. And that’s why, for the second year in a row, three oils from Agricola Pobeña’s olives, each oil distinct, are the Club’s Chilean selections. Together, they represent a luscious range of varietals and reflect the meticulous crafting skills of my trusted Merry Band of Tasters, including EVOO authority Duccio Morozzo della Rocca and Chilean experts Juan Carlos Pérez and Denise Langevin. Longstanding Club members know them well, and you can catch up with them in the pages that follow.

T. J. Robinson and team looking over the olive harvest. — Looking over the exquisite fruits of the harvest always fills me with childlike excitement for the taste of olive oil that’s just moments away. Because of the now constant threat of an early frost, the magic window for harvesting is getting shorter and shorter, and the team picks up the pace.

A Food Evolution

In many ways, Agricola Pobeña’s approach to quality mirrors the recent interest in health-conscious eating of many younger Chileans. Thanks to the

Alonso family’s two local olive oil stores focused on educating consumers, you can argue that they’ve helped contribute to the dietary changes. “It used to be that if there wasn’t a protein on your plate, it wasn’t a real meal,” Juanjo told me. “Over the last five years, meat has become very expensive, and that helped open people’s minds to the idea that we don’t need to eat meat every day. We can have dishes like ceviche de porotos negros as a main course.” We enjoyed that dish of marinated black beans (it’s in the recipe section, so you, too, can savor it) at Cervecería Rural, a brew pub you’d expect to find in Santiago proper, but which is in the countryside. A lot of young families left the capital during the pandemic and moved to smaller towns, fell in love with them, and decided to stay. This created new opportunities for restaurants of all cuisines. Of course, Santiago itself is now considered an international food capital.

T. J. Robinson and his Merry Band of Tasters — My Merry Band of Tasters, including Duccio Morozzo della Rocca, to my right, and Denise Langevin and my trusted colleague and dear friend Tjeerd Beliën, to my left, sampled dozens of contenders—different varieties of olive oils—to determine which would make the cut as we crafted this quarter’s collection. Then the hard work really began: we tasted, tested, and tweaked myriad blends, again and again, until we achieved perfection. From our tasting table to yours, enjoy!

Sushi, increasingly popular thanks to the region’s abundance of seafood, has been elevated to new heights at the restaurant Karai by Mitsuharu in the W Hotel, known for its Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine and some of the best nigiri I’ve ever had—chef Mitsuharu Tsumura is consistently ranked as one of the top chefs in Latin America. Fresh markets are getting a new spin of their own. Just outside of Santiago, the Mercado Urbano Tobalaba, known simply as MUT, is a lively mixed-use building that combines culture, cuisine, and sustainability—there are more restaurants than I had meals in which to try them! All my culinary experiences informed both the classic and the innovative dishes offered in this issue’s recipe section, featuring quintessential Chilean ingredients like beans, potatoes, corn, and avocado. I invite you to savor them with family and friends along with this quarter’s oils!

Happy drizzling!

T. J. Robinson
The Olive Oil Hunter®

This Quarter’s First Selection

Producer: Denise Langevin Exclusive Selection, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2024
Olive Varieties: Arbequina, Koroneiki
Flavor Profile: Mild

Denise Langevin Exclusive Selection, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2024 Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Label

I always look forward to reuniting with Denise Langevin when I’m in Chile. As most Club members know, she’s an acclaimed international olive oil judge—in fact, she had just received 45 samples to grade and score remotely as one of 12 judges of the Monte Carlo Masters Olive Oil International Competition. Her nose and olive oil sensibility are exceptional, and I find her input when crafting Club selections invaluable. Yet I also enjoy simply spending time with her and her husband Luis and immersing myself in the Chilean way of life.

Denise welcomed us into her home on her late grandfather’s farm, where she raises crops. It’s an idyllic setting about an hour south of Santiago, framed by the snow-capped Andes. This is a rich agricultural area, well known for its cherries, which are shipped around the world. Denise had just replanted alfalfa, explaining that it can grow for five years at a stretch, then needs to be pulled so that the soil can have a yearlong rest. We know how painstaking the process of growing olives can be, but the challenge she faced was a surprising one: her latest farm addition, a sheep dubbed Pio Aurelio, had strayed from his grass-maintenance duties and eaten all the leaves from her newly planted, tender olive saplings. A stern reprimand followed, and his fate as a groundskeeper is currently in limbo.

After a trip to the local market for provisions—one of my favorite things to do wherever I travel—we sat down for a fabulous lunch that showcased land and sea. Denise prepared salmon tartare with lemon juice, chives, and avocado on lettuce, while Luis was in charge of a prime rib. The perfectly roasted meat was accompanied by a wonderful assortment of potatoes. There are 4,000 varieties in the Andes region! We feasted on white potatoes roasted with rosemary and olive oil and also on three varieties Denise had recently brought back from a trip to nearby Chiloé Island, each with its own distinctive flavor: a sweet purple one reminiscent of a Peruvian tater; a fat fingerling with a deep earthy flavor; and a sweet one with almost floral notes. With all three of this quarter’s olive oil selections on the dining table, we lavished them on each dish, noting how well they paired with the food.

T. J. Robinson and Denise Langevin at a farmer's market in Chile — Give me a farmers’ market visit any day of the week! They certainly know how to do it right, here in Chile. Amid the fresh fruits, vegetables, and other foods at this market in Codegua, near Denise’s home, local singers and musicians delight the crowd, creating a party atmosphere. I could have stayed for hours just marveling over these amazing pumpkins, but there was lunch to prepare—and savor—back at her house.

Denise’s love of the earth and sustainable farming led her to expand the educational program she developed for local children from one to two primary schools—she teaches youngsters about healthy farm-to-table eating in a fun way they can understand, like growing their own vegetables in boxes made by Luis and visiting farms to learn about different plants, including a nut farm at harvest time. Plans include taking the kids to an olive mill during next year’s harvest to help them develop an appreciation for making fresh-pressed olive oil. It remains to be seen whether the kids will become as consumed as I am with details like the size of Koroneiki olives (I was delighted that this year’s crop had a much higher pulp-to-pit ratio) or how many Arbequinas must be sampled before the best one can be chosen, but, with Denise guiding them, they’re sure to have an early appreciation for their country’s dazzling olive oils.

This quarter’s mild oil embodies Denise’s personality, a gentle oil from a gentle woman—sweet, generous, and harmonious. It’s 90 percent Arbequina, from different parts of the Agricola Pobeña farm, and 10 percent Koroneiki, which brings out the characteristics of the Arbequina and makes for a beautiful, long finish with a crescendo of flavor. When expert tasters are evaluating olive oils, they often communicate with each other using non-spoken language. This is how I always feel when working with Denise. Duccio summed it up well: “It’s a great experience to taste with Denise—when you work with someone who knows how to taste olive oils, you have a different way of communicating. You share sensations and perceptions—you don’t even need words, the discussion is more telepathic, their expressions, their eyes can tell you so much. The collaboration evolves from seeing each other’s reactions.” I know you’ll be as pleased with the results as I am.

T. J. Robinson and Denise Langevin in Denise's kitchen making merquén, a Chilean spice — As a former chef, I love playing in the kitchen. Last year, when Denise gave me a small batch of her homemade merquén, a Chilean spice made from dried, smoked aji cacho de cabra (goat’s horn red pepper) ground with sea salt and coriander seeds, she told me we’d make it together upon my return. You can see how much fun we’re having! Try your hand at making merquén at home or buy it from your favorite spice store—it figures in many of this quarter’s recipes and can enliven a bevy of other dishes.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

A deliciously full-flavored mild oil, this is a beautiful expression of Chilean-grown Arbequina and Koroneiki. It embodies the aromas of green grass, banana, Belgian endive, lettuce, walnut, cinnamon, citrus zest, nasturtium, white peppercorns, and fresh mint. On the palate, there’s the nuttiness of walnut, the bitterness of green tea and baby arugula, the sweetness of vanilla, and the lingering spiciness of celery leaf and white pepper.

It will elevate sweet corn gazpacho with avocado crema* and other fresh corn dishes; fruit salads; homemade mayonnaise and aioli; eggs, chicken, and pork; cod and other white fish, shrimp, and lobster; paella and other rice dishes; roasted parmesan carrots and other root vegetables; fruity vinaigrettes; and dulce de leche sundaes and yogurt parfaits.

*See the recipe section for bolded dishes.

This Quarter’s Second Selection

Producer: El Agrónomo, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2024
Olive Varieties: Frantoio, Leccino, Coratina, Nocellara del Belice
Flavor Profile: Medium

El Agrónomo, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2024 Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Label

El Agrónomo.” Sounds like the name of a bestseller, a hit movie, or a caped superhero, doesn’t it?

Actually, the latter isn’t far off the mark. This beautiful extra virgin olive oil pays homage to Agricola Pobeña’s heroic agronomist, Juan Carlos Pérez. This is the fourth year in a row we have recognized Juan Carlos’ Marvel-caliber skills with an eponymous oil.

In 2009, the Alonso family closed on the land they purchased near La Estrella to establish a top-tier olive farm. There was so much to be done, as Juanjo Alonso will tell you. One of the first priorities was to hire an agronomist. Now, there’s a long-running joke in Chile that you can’t throw an avocado without hitting an agronomist. What Juanjo didn’t know at the time was that even a weak underhanded pitch over the property’s fenceline could’ve introduced him to one of the most capable and experienced agronomists in Chile. As it was, Juan Carlos (who was literally working on the adjacent farm) made the first move by cold-calling Juanjo. The rest is history. How fortuitous for everyone involved, including us, dear Club member!

Now celebrating his fifteenth year with Agricola Pobeña, Juan Carlos characterizes it as a “successful marriage” and jokes that he’s no longer peeking over fences. Currently, he oversees some 1,100 acres of mixed olive varietals. We imagine he was quite offended when, early in his tenure, a visiting Italian consultant advised diluting all the oils, regardless of variety, to mute and homogenize their flavors for the mass market. (Juanjo told me this story.) Imagine! That would be like seasoning your food with five jars of spice, all of them containing the same flavorless thing. Anyway, Agricola Pobeña’s very distinctive oils were defiantly entered that year into a competition where they won awards. The first of many, I might add. Including inclusion in Flos Olei’s prestigious top 20.

Juan Carlos is justifiably proud of the amazing range of flavors he has been able to extract from the trees by capitalizing on the farm’s many microclimates. (This is how I can select for you three unique oils from the same property. The combinations and permutations are nearly endless.) But the pressure is on, year after year. “Show me the fruit!” succinctly summarizes Juan Carlos’ job. Because only with outstanding olive fruit can you make outstanding olive oils.

T. J. Robinson and Juan Carlos Pérez in two photos comparing the depth of the lake at Agricola Pobeña in Chile — I was in the neighborhood! It’s true: my wife Meghan and I were on our way to Antarctica in January (the Chilean summertime) and stopped by to check on the developing olives as well as our friends at Agricola Pobeña. Juan Carlos Pérez was beyond excited about the depth of the lake—the deepest I’ve ever seen it. On the right is the same lake during the recent harvest: Juan Carlos and I are standing nearly in the middle. He’s hopeful winter rains will replenish the lake so he can water his olive trees at will.

This year was peculiar for a number of reasons. Fortunately, the stranglehold of the “megadrought” that’s been plaguing Chile for more than a decade appears to have been broken. (Fingers crossed.) The lake, which holds the equivalent of 400 Olympic-size swimming pools, was replenished by Mother Nature. This gave Juan Carlos water management options he hasn’t had for years, as conservation was always the goal. He seems to know exactly how much water each of his “children” needs to thrive, even concerning himself with the size of the pits—charmingly, he calls them “bones.” The pulp-to-pit ratio of an olive is important, of course.

The Chilean spring was fleeting this year and unusually cool, segueing awkwardly into a hot summer. Temperatures soared to 103 degrees in some areas, enabling catastrophic wildfires, at least two of which reached the farm. (Read more above.)

Because of the abbreviated spring, blossoms were slower to form, delaying the harvest season by two weeks to a month, depending on the olive variety. El Agrónomo tirelessly toured the groves to gauge ripeness: I doubt he got much sleep.

T. J. Robinson and Juan Carlos Pérez — Informally called “the boss of the farm” by his colleagues, talented agronomist Juan Carlos Pérez was eager to show me his Coratina “nursery.” The saplings have been planted in what’s known as a 6×6 configuration, which means that approximately 20 feet separate each tree from the neighboring ones. The extra space benefits the trees by ensuring they have plenty of air and sunlight and their root systems have less competition for water. They’ll bear fruit in as little as five years.

Ever elusive, the “magic window” I chase each harvest season shrank significantly. (“Magic window” is my euphemism for the optimal moment to pick and mill the olives.) I wasn’t sure when to book my travel. As it turned out, my timing was perfect! Though under the threat of frost, my Merry Band of Tasters and I blended and secured for you these stunning and complex olive oils. Thank you, El Agrónomo, and the rest of the incomparable team at Agricola Pobeña! We will think of you as we splash this magnificently fresh oil on summer produce!

Never content to rest on his laurels (or anywhere else, for that matter), Juan Carlos is already looking ahead, eager to plant new tree stock, oversee the digging of new and deeper wells, begin pruning for robust tree health, and start renovations on select tracts of the groves. Always in the back of his mind are the motivating words, “Show me the fruit!”

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

This complex blend of Italian varietals has a Southern Hemisphere personality! On the nose, our tasters perceived almond, green apple, artichoke, Tuscan kale, black pepper, and chopped culinary herbs—rosemary, thyme, and oregano. On the palate, we noted the pleasant nuttiness of green almond and hazelnut together with fennel, sage and wild oregano, chicory and microgreens, the bitterness of arugula, and the spiciness of black pepper.

Splash this dazzling oil on pizza; tomato-based pasta dishes; cold orzo, couscous, and whole grains; caprese salad, fennel, oranges and black olives, and salads with nuts; and crudité and charcuterie platters. It will enhance beef, lamb, and duck; quinoa and black bean burgers* and other legume dishes; smashed potato canapes with smoked salmon; crusty breads and focaccia; and chiffon cake batters.

This Quarter’s Third Selection

Producer: Alonso, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2024
Olive Varieties: Picual, Koroneiki
Flavor Profile: Bold

Alonso, Agricola Pobeña, Comuna de La Estrella, O’Higgins Region, Chile 2024 Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Label

My Merry Band of Tasters and I always enjoy time spent with Juanjo Alonso, who oversees the family’s extraordinary olive farm, Agricola Pobeña. Juanjo’s positive energy, zest for life, and passion for producing olive oils of the highest quality make him very fun (and inspiring) to be around.

Many Club members may remember how the Alonso family came to be one of Chile’s top olive oil producers: Abel Alonso, the patriarch of the clan, arrived in Chile as a refugee from Spain’s Basque country. He became a successful entrepreneur in his adopted country but retained strong ties to his homeland. Nearing retirement, the father of five dreamed of establishing an olive grove and mill that produced world-class extra virgin olive oils, a legacy for his children and their progeny. But where to start?

Cue Juanjo, who was completing an advanced degree in fine arts and polishing his surfing skills off the California coast. Before you could say, “Hang ten,” Juanjo was home, searching for suitable land. He found it in the fertile O’Higgins region. (Local dowsers confirmed the presence of water, a non-negotiable condition of the sale.)

You might wonder why a young man would sacrifice his own plans for his father’s vision. Loyalty to home, a concept known as exte, is important in the Basque culture. Juanjo and his siblings wanted to make Abel’s dream a reality, come hell or high water. Both arrived this year.

It was a nightmarish scene when wildfires struck the region the first week in February— just after my January visit. (The fires were not unexpected, given the Chilean summer’s blistering hot temperatures and the air’s low humidity.) Juanjo and his team had three hours to prepare for the conflagration. Just after 8:30 p.m., the wind-driven flames reached the farm. Armed with shovels and flanked by tractors towing tanks of water, the men fought the fire all night long and into the next day, building firewalls and frantically beating out errant embers—easy to see in the dark, Juanjo said. Deliriously tired, one of Juanjo’s men (“Jimmy”) mindlessly parked his truck just a few feet from the leading edge of the fire. Alarmed, Juanjo insisted Jimmy get a few hours of rest before returning. “You’re a hero,” Juanjo told him. “You saved the farm!”

T. J. Robinson and Juan José Alonso (“Juanjo”) — Artist, surfer dude, and olive oil producer Juan José Alonso (“Juanjo”) and I enjoyed a light lunch—we always like to try our fresh blends on food—at a great little brew pub called Cervecería Rural in Litueche. The longer I know this remarkable family, the more I’m impressed with its unshakable commitment to quality, its resilience, and its efforts to educate consumers about the benefits of adding premium EVOOs to their diets.

While much of the 1,100-acre property was at risk, including valuable 10- to 12-year-old trees, the fire damage was happily restricted to less than 20 acres. At some point on the second day, the flames leapfrogged over the groves. Juanjo then dispatched his team to save local houses.

Always the optimist, Juanjo expects winter rains, like the drought-busting ones that fell on Central Chile this past season, will quickly rejuvenate the scorched trees. The rainfall-dependent farm also needs to replenish its 55-acre lake (see the photo above) and two reservoirs. In the meantime, the family is digging more wells in the bedrock to ensure their precious olive trees have enough water for years to come. The Alonso family is definitely playing the long game.

Juanjo and I discussed this during my last visit to the Pobeña farm. He noted the opportunities for greater profits, now that a global shortage of olive oil has doubled or tripled its prices and producers in his country are being courted by a handful of bulk buyers in Spain and Italy. “The bad guys came to Chile,” he said ominously, meaning that the focus continues to shift from quality to quantity. The Alonso family will continue its unwavering commitment to premium olive oils and valued customers by reinvesting profits, he assured me.

T. J. Robinson and Juan Francisco González — Though only in his early 30s, mill manager Juan Francisco González, a key member of the team, is an accomplished olive miller: he has been with Agricola Pobeña for over 10 years. Depending on the olive fruit that’s delivered to the mill, Juan makes hundreds of discrete decisions during the harvest in order to coax the best traits from each varietal. Here, we examine Picual olives that will be milled (and ready to taste) in less than 45 minutes.

From the very beginning, he said, his father insisted on investing in the best. An example? Juanjo shared the story of his 2009 visit to Italy to check out milling equipment, something he admits he knew nothing about at the time. (An advantage, as it turns out.) But he was most impressed by the oils milled with machinery from Alfa Laval, a high-end Swedish manufacturer. On the trip home, he pondered how to sell this option to his father. (“Because I wasn’t the owner of the money!” Juanjo joked.) But, after asking a few pointed questions, Abel endorsed the purchase—a great one, in hindsight, as the equipment has been issuing award-winning oils for many years. You’re about to taste one of them!

Now approaching 90, Abel (who still visits the farm occasionally) and the rest of the family are extremely proud to know their finest oils are reaching discerning palates like yours, dear Club member. I’m thrilled with this intriguing blend, and can’t wait for you to try it!

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

This vibrant, early-harvest Picual, complemented by a splash of Koroneiki, is a robust expression of these varietals. Its intense, intoxicating aroma is redolent of tomato leaf, celery, wheatgrass, baby spinach, kiwi, pear, parsley, basil, and wild mint. Sense the healthful polyphenols dancing on your palate. This olive oil is rich with notes of celery, kale, rosemary, and walnuts; the bitterness of radicchio and lime zest; the fruitiness of green apple and pear; and the spiciness of Sichuan peppercorns and ginger root…with a long and persistent finish.

It’s perfect with panzanella and other tomato-based salads and sauces; flank steak with avocado chimichurri* and other grilled beef; grilled leg of lamb basted with salt water; tuna, salmon, and octopus; mushrooms, grilled radicchio, and green beans; wild rice; and chocolate-based desserts like mousse and brownies.

*See the recipe section for bolded dishes.

Olive Oil and Health

Half a tablespoon of olive oil a day significantly lowered the risk of dementia-related death

Reference: Tessier A-J, Cortese M, Yuan C, et al. Consumption of olive oil and dietary quality and risk of dementia-related death. JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(5):e2410021. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.10021.

A recently published analysis of two large, long-term studies found that consuming half a tablespoon or more of olive oil per day lowered the risk of dying of dementia by up to 34% in both women and men. The protective effect of olive oil consumption was even greater in women.

More than 92,000 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) were included in this analysis. The NHS started in 1976 and enrolled 121,700 female registered nurses (ages 30–55). The HPFS began in 1986 as a similar study in men, enrolling 51,525 male healthcare professionals (ages 40–75).

Study participants responded every other year to detailed food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) about their consumption of specific foods. Questions about olive oil were added in 1990. Total olive oil intake was determined by three responses: olive oil used for salad dressings, olive oil added to food or bread, and olive oil used for baking or frying at home.

Olive oil intake frequency was categorized as follows:

• Never, or less than once per month
• Less than 4.5 grams (about one teaspoon) per day
• Between 4.5 and 7 grams per day
• More than 7 grams (about half a tablespoon) per day

About two-thirds of the study participants (65.6%) were women, about a third (34.4%) were men, and the average age at the start of the study was 56 years. Each participant’s FFQs from 1990 to 2014 (or for as long as the participant remained in the study) were totaled and averaged. Average olive oil intake was 1.3 grams per day in both studies.

Participants in the highest olive oil intake group—half a tablespoon or more of olive oil per day— reduced their risk of dying of dementia by 28% to 34%, compared to study participants who never or very rarely consumed olive oil. These results were regardless of other dietary habits and factored in socio-demographic and lifestyle differences.

Deaths due to dementia were confirmed by physician’s review of medical records, autopsy reports, or death certificates of study participants.

It has been proposed that consuming olive oil may lower the risk of dementia-related death by improving blood vessel health, yet the results of this analysis were not impacted by hypertension or high cholesterol in participants.

Limitations of this analysis include its predominantly non-Hispanic white population of healthcare professionals, which reduces the ability to generalize these results across more diverse populations. Also, the FFQs did not dis-tinguish among types of olive oil, which differ in their amounts of polyphenols and other bioactive compounds.

Kudos from Club Members

Recipes

Cordero al Asador with Herbed Salmuera (Grilled Leg of Lamb Basted with Salt Water) South Americans usually take a simple approach to their meats. This salt- and herb-based liquid, called salmuera (the precursor to chimichurri), was used by gauchos, the nomadic cowboys of South America, to baste proteins when cooking over live fire. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups water 2 tablespoons coarse salt (kosher or sea) 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly… view recipe
Eggs with Basquois Piperade Piperade, a vegetable stew–like concoction popular in Basque country (which straddles northern Spain and southern France) is similar to Sicilian caponata or Middle Eastern shakshuka. This version is from the Alonso family, whose patriarch is Basque, though he has lived in Chile for many years. Instead of scrambling the eggs, you can break them right… view recipe
Brunch Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime-Mint Vinaigrette For a bright brunch dish, serve the dressed fruit salad over thick Greek yogurt or Icelandic skyr. Ingredients 4 cups mixed fruit, such as chunks of melon and mango, sliced strawberries, red grapes, blueberries, and pineapple cubes 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons honey, preferably orange blossom Zest and juice of 1 medium lime … view recipe
Smashed Potato Canapes with Smoked Salmon We’ve all eaten smoked salmon on bagels or toast points, but for something different, try this delicacy on crispy smashed potatoes. In place of smoked salmon, use salmon roe or another domestic caviar. Elegant! Ingredients For the potatoes: 12 small Yukon gold potatoes, each about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter Extra virgin olive… view recipe
Bell Pepper “Empanadas” This take on empanadas de queso is perfect when you want melted cheesy goodness but would rather skip the dough. Preferred in Chile is the very buttery queso chanco, a cheese that’s close in taste and texture to our Muenster. Though not traditional in empanadas, merquén adds a nice zest (you can substitute pimentón if it’s… view recipe
Sweet Corn Gazpacho with Avocado Crema This unusual twist on gazpacho takes advantage of tender sweet corn at its peak. As you’ll see from the recipe, we’re emphasizing corn’s gorgeous yellow color. When buying, look for ears with fresh stems (like cut flowers)—not brown or dessicated. Like flowers, you can recut the ends and store the ears upright in sugared water… view recipe
Ceviche de Porotos Negros (Black Bean Ceviche) I enjoyed this dish at the wonderful Cervecería Rural in Litueche. It’s a salad of black beans (red kidney beans make a great alternative) dressed in the style of a ceviche marinade. Some versions have all the ingredients tossed together, but Rural’s chef presented it as a beautifully composed salad. Ingredients For the dressing: 1… view recipe
Roasted Chicken with Mango and Nut Salsa Roasted chicken is the little black dress of the table, welcome on the menu of a dinner party or a weeknight meal. The following bright-tasting salsa is also terrific with fish, a popular entrée in Chile, a country with over 2,000 miles of Pacific coastline. Dice the vegetables extra fine and serve the salsa with… view recipe
Flank Steak with Avocado Chimichurri To make this lean cut of beef tender, three steps are needed: a long marination, a fast grilling, and slicing against the grain—in the opposite direction of its meat fibers. Ingredients For the steak: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea) 1/2 teaspoon freshly… view recipe
Roasted Parmesean Carrots This might be my new favorite way to eat carrots, which, like most vegetables, grow huge in Central Chile’s fertile soil. Marinated in olive oil and spices, then coated in freshly grated Parmesan cheese, the carrots are roasted until tender. They’re great with chicken, pork, or lamb. Ingredients 8 large carrots, peeled and trimmed 3… view recipe

Cordero al Asador with Herbed Salmuera (Grilled Leg of Lamb Basted with Salt Water)

Posted on July 20, 2024July 25, 2024 by The Olive Oil Hunter

South Americans usually take a simple approach to their meats. This salt- and herb-based liquid, called salmuera (the precursor to chimichurri), was used by gauchos, the nomadic cowboys of South America, to baste proteins when cooking over live fire.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly cracked black peppercorns

3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as mint, rosemary, or thyme

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes One 5- to 6-pound leg of lamb Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Combine the water and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until the salt dissolves. Add the peppercorns, garlic, herbs, and hot red pepper flakes. Let cool. In the meantime, build a medium fire using charcoal or wood. (You can cook the lamb on a gas grill, too.) Generously oil the lamb on all sides with olive oil. Arrange on the grill grate. Grill the meat, turning occasionally, until the lamb is done to your liking, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, basting often with the salmuera. Carve the lamb, then serve with more olive oil.

Serves 4 to 6

Olive Oil Hunter News #176

Posted on July 19, 2024July 9, 2024 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Spanakopita “Cigars” Recipe, Spotlight on Pine Nuts, Handling Phyllo, Being Distracted Leads to Overindulging, Climbing Stairs for Longevity

They say cooking can be therapeutic—it’s a type of mindful activity that calls for being focused and it can also fill you with a sense of accomplishment. When you cook for others, that nurturing creates other positive feelings in you as well. There are few recipes that demand as much focus as those that include phyllo, delicate sheets of the thinnest dough that require an equally delicate touch on your part. You also need a lot of patience when building up layers, whether for a sweet baklava or these spinach-filled rolls. Most important, the results are delicious! Focus is also the subject of a new study on why people tend to overindulge. I’m sure you’ll find it as fascinating as I did.

Spanakopita “Cigars”

Spanakopita “Cigars”
Packaged spanakopita, often in canape-sized shapes, can taste rather bland. With a package of frozen phyllo (or fresh if you live near a Greek pastry shop!), you can make this wonderful dish with layers of flavor—the sweetness of the caramelized onions, pine nuts, and currants, the freshness of the parsley and dill, and the zest of the cheeses—all enhanced by the richness of fresh-pressed olive oil. If you have the time, you can steam and chop fresh spinach, but you’ll need a very big volume to achieve two pounds. Frozen is easier to work with—allow it to defrost overnight in the fridge along with the phyllo. This recipe also includes bulgur, a tasty whole grain. You can roll the dough and filling into many different shapes. Long logs, or cigars, are easy to roll up and the shape is less likely to tear the delicate phyllo. Enjoy the process of working with phyllo—it’s easy once you get the hang of it…if you allow yourself time to work at a comfortable pace.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds frozen leaf spinach, defrosted
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound sweet onions, preferably Vidalia, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup uncooked bulgur
- 1 cup very finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup other assorted fresh herbs, like oregano, dill, and spearmint
- 1/3 cup dried tiny currants, such as Zante, or chopped golden raisins
- 8-ounce block of fresh feta, preferably from Greece
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- Coarse sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 large eggs
- 16-ounce package frozen phyllo, defrosted
- 1 tablespoon each white and black sesame seeds
Directions

Step 1

Use your hands to squeeze and discard as much excess liquid from the spinach as you can, then place it in a large colander lined with paper towels over a bowl to continue draining.

Step 2

Heat a large frying pan and, when hot, toast the pine nuts for just a minute or two to bring out their flavor; watch carefully because they can easily burn. Transfer the nuts to a small dish and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the hot pan, then the onions, and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are very soft. While they’re cooking, make the bulgur in a small saucepan according to package directions; when done, there should be no water left in the pan.

Step 3

Squeeze any remaining liquid from the spinach and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the pine nuts, onions, bulgur, chopped herbs, and currants or raisins. Finely crumble the feta and add it in along with the ricotta; mix thoroughly. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired—it may already taste salty enough from the feta. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs, reserving about 1/4 cup. Work the beaten eggs into the spinach mixture.

Step 4

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper and set it to one side. Prep the section of countertop where you’ll work with a sheet of parchment paper (see “Quick Kitchen Nugget” in Newsletter #176 for details). Pour olive oil into a small bowl.

Step 5

Gently open the phyllo package and unroll the dough onto another rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper; immediately cover it with a dry dish towel topped by a damp dish towel. When you’re ready to start, quickly remove one sheet of phyllo and place it on the parchment in front of you. Use the tips of a pastry brush to dab some olive oil across the surface—you don’t need to be too thorough since you’ll be adding more oil with each sheet. Top with another phyllo sheet and dab again, placing the oil on areas where you can see that there’s no oil on the first sheet. Repeat with a third sheet of phyllo.

Step 6

Scoop out a generous half-cup of filling and use your fingers to spread it out in a line across the long end of the dough closest to you, 1 inch in from the edge and from the two short sides. Roll up the phyllo just enough to cover the filling, fold in the outer ends, dab on more oil, and roll up the rest of the way, adding a final dab of oil before transferring the cigar with a bench scraper or wide offset spatula to the parchment-lined sheet pan; cover it with another clean towel.

Step 7

Repeat the process with the rest of the filling and phyllo. Once you’ve rolled all the cigars, remove the towel and use the pastry brush to brush them with the reserved egg, then sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Step 8

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the phyllo crisps and browns.
Yields 12 cigars

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Pine Nuts

Pesto isn’t the only recipe that benefits from these sweet nuggets, which are actually the seeds of pinecones. Considering their tiny size, pine nuts are nutrient powerhouses: One ounce delivers 4 grams of protein, 1 gram of fiber, 20 grams of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, and good amounts of vitamin E, copper, and manganese.

Though there are more than 100 species of pine trees, most pine nuts—you might see them packaged or referred to in recipes as pignoli—come from just three of them. Prized and enjoyed for centuries the world over, pine nuts are very slow to produce and hard to harvest. This all explains why they’re so much more expensive than true nuts. So you’ll want to use them judiciously. To preserve their flavor, store them in a sealed bag in your fridge or freezer, not on a cabinet shelf. To bring out that flavor, toast them in a warmed, dry pan for a minute or two before using them in recipes.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Handling Phyllo

Unless you’re lucky enough to live near a Greek or Middle Eastern market that makes and sells its own phyllo, look for frozen versions at your supermarket. Because it is rolled paper thin, it is tricky to make from scratch at home—though it can be done.

Phyllo sheets are extremely fragile and can dry out and tear easily. A few quick tips will make it easier to work with, no matter what recipe you’re making. First, defrost frozen phyllo overnight in the fridge. About an hour before you use it, place the box on a countertop to bring it to room temperature.

Before you get started, be sure your work surface is clean and dry. Place a long piece of parchment paper in front of you and another to one side. Gather three clean dish towels; slightly dampen one of them. Have your olive oil and a silicone pastry brush plus your filling at the ready. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment.

Gently open the package and unroll the phyllo on the parchment. Immediately cover it with one dry towel topped by the damp towel. Peel back the towels just long enough to take out one sheet of phyllo and place it on the parchment in front of you, then follow your recipe’s directions.

If you notice any rips that expose filling, cover them with small pieces of phyllo drizzled with oil—no one will be any the wiser!

For Your Best Health

Being Distracted Leads to Overindulging

New research published by the American Psychological Association in the Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology aims to unravel the mystery of why we overindulge despite good intentions. The study looked at how distraction affects “hedonic consumption,” or buying and using products and experiences because they make us feel good and not necessarily because we need them.

“On any given day, a person may take great pleasure from one or more of these activities, yet people often consume more hedonic goods than they want or than is good for them,” said lead author Stephen Lee Murphy, PhD, of Ghent University in Belgium.

One reason for this overconsumption may be distraction, according to Dr. Murphy. When people are distracted while engaging in a hedonic activity, research suggests, they are likely to experience less enjoyment from it than if they were fully focused. That may lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and drive more consumption to compensate for the shortfall. If you tend to do other things while eating dinner, for instance, you risk overconsuming later on, possibly because the distraction caused you to enjoy your meal less—you weren’t sated because you weren’t focused on the pleasure of eating in the moment.

To better understand the role of distraction in overconsumption, the researchers first conducted an experiment involving 122 participants (mostly female and mostly between the ages of 18 and 24) who reported on how much they expected to enjoy their lunch before eating it. They were then asked to eat their lunch under one of three conditions: no distraction, moderate distraction (watching a video), and high distraction (playing Tetris). After lunch, participants reported on their actual enjoyment, satisfaction, desire for further gratification, and amount consumed. They also reported on their snacking later in the day.

Participants who ate while distracted reported lower enjoyment and satisfaction, which was associated with increased snacking afterward and a more general desire for further gratification.

The researchers believe that this proposed effect, which they called hedonic compensation, likely applies to activities beyond eating. For example, people who are distracted while watching a movie or playing a game may be more likely to engage in additional consumption, like checking social media, to compensate for a diminished enjoyment of the original activity.

The researchers also followed 220 participants aged 18 to 71 (again mostly female) for a week to investigate this broader effect beyond food. Participants filled out seven brief surveys per day via their smartphones regarding their hedonic consumption, distraction, and satisfaction. As with the food-based experiment, researchers found that when people were distracted during consumption, they were likely to enjoy a product less than they hoped, feel less satisfied, and experience an elevated need for further gratification.

“Overconsumption often results due to a lack of self-control,” said Dr. Murphy. “However, our findings suggest overconsumption may also often be driven by the simple human desire to reach a certain level of enjoyment from an activity. When distraction gets in the way, it’s likely we may try to compensate by consuming more.”

Dr. Murphy and his colleagues plan to conduct further research to replicate and confirm the existence of a hedonic compensation effect. If confirmed, they have plans to apply interventions that could help people pay more attention to their experiences in an effort to lower the likelihood of overconsumption. “By understanding the key drivers of hedonic overconsumption, we can develop strategies to help prevent its occurrence,” he said.

Fitness Flash

Climbing Stairs for Longevity

Cardiovascular disease is largely preventable through actions like exercise. However, more than one in four adults worldwide do not meet recommended levels of physical activity. Stair climbing is a practical and easily accessible form of physical activity that is often overlooked, according to research presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

To help determine whether climbing stairs, as a form of physical activity, could play a role in reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease and premature death, the study’s authors collected the best available evidence on the topic and conducted a meta-analysis. Studies were included regardless of the number of flights of stairs and the speed of climbing. There were nine studies with 480,479 participants in the final analysis—including both healthy participants and those with a previous history of heart attack or peripheral arterial disease. Ages ranged from 35 to 84 years old and 53% of participants were women.

Compared with not climbing stairs, stair climbing was associated with a 24% reduced risk of dying from any cause and a 39% lower likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease. Stair climbing was also linked with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, heart failure, and stroke.

“Based on these results, we would encourage people to incorporate stair climbing into their day-to-day lives…If you have the choice of taking the stairs or the lift, go for the stairs, as it will help your heart,” said study author Dr. Sophie Paddock of the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust in Norwich, UK. “Even brief bursts of physical activity have beneficial health impacts, and short bouts of stair climbing should be an achievable target to integrate into daily routines.”

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Eggs with Basquois Piperade

Posted on July 19, 2024July 8, 2024 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Piperade, a vegetable stew–like concoction popular in Basque country (which straddles northern Spain and southern France) is similar to Sicilian caponata or Middle Eastern shakshuka. This version is from the Alonso family, whose patriarch is Basque, though he has lived in Chile for many years. Instead of scrambling the eggs, you can break them right into the hot piperade. Cover them with a tight-fitting lid, then cook to your desired degree of doneness.

Ingredients

For the piperade:

1 red bell pepper
1 green, orange, or yellow bell pepper, or another red one
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 pound red ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (reserve juices)
1 small zucchini, cubed (optional) Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 teaspoon piment d’Espelette (see Note below), or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar or honey (optional)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, or to taste (optional)

For the eggs:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 large eggs, thoroughly beaten
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley
Country-style bread, preferably toasted or grilled, for serving

Directions

Step 1

Make the piperade: Stem, core, and seed the bell peppers. Slice into 1/4-inch strips. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, bell peppers, and onion, and sauté until the vegetables begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes with their juices as well as the zucchini if using. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the piment d’Espelette and simmer (lower the heat if necessary) until the tomatoes have broken down and the mixture is jammy, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste, adding more salt or piment d’Espelette, if desired. Add sugar if a touch of sweetness is needed, or red wine vinegar if you would prefer a bit of acidity. The sauce should be well balanced. Keep warm.

Step 2

Scramble the eggs: In the meantime, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the oil, then the eggs. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir and fold the eggs until they begin to set. Give them a final stir and take the eggs off the stove to finish cooking with residual heat.

Step 3

To serve, ladle about 3/4 cup of the piperade into each of two warm shallow bowls. Top each with half the eggs, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chives. Serve with toasted bread.

Note: Piment d’Espelette is a popular pepper in Basque Country, widely available in powdered form in the US through online sources. Merquén, a Chilean spice blend made mostly from dried chiles, or pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika) makes a good substitute.

Serves 2