Extra virginity
Subtitle: the sublime and scandalous world of olive oil
By: Tom Mueller
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 238
ISBN-13: 9780393070217
Subjects: Olive oil; Moral and ethical aspects; Folklore; Food adulteration and inspection; Olive; Olive oil industry; History
Description: For millennia, fresh olive oil has been one of life's necessities, not just as food but also as medicine, a beauty aid, and a vital element of religious ritual. Today's researchers are continuing to confirm the remarkable, life giving properties of true extra-virgin, and "extra-virgin Italian" has become the highest standard of quality. But what if this symbol of purity has become deeply corrupt? Starting with an explosive article in The New Yorker, the author has become the world's expert on olive oil and olive oil fraud, a story of globalization, deception, and crime in the food industry from ancient times to the present, and a powerful indictment of today's lax protections against fake and even toxic food products in the United States. It is also an account of the artisanal producers, chemical analysts, chefs, and food activists who are defending the extraordinary oils that truly deserve the name "extra-virgin."
Table of contents: title: Prologue : Essences; title: Olives and lives; title: Oil bosses; title: Olives sacred and profane; title: The lovely burn; title: Industrial oil; title: Food revolutions; title: New worlds of oil; title: Epilogue : Mythologies; title: Glossary; title: Appendix : Guidelines for choosing good oil.