Liquid gold, the perfect name for an oil, so valuable that its importance has not decreased from the early Greek era till today. Owing to its benefits and uses, it is not only referred to as an oil, but also respected in many religions as an emblem of peace, wealth and good health. The popularity of olive oil has grown from being common only amongst the Mediterranean people to all over the globe.

The olive oil fact file:

– Olive trees have a life expectancy of up to 2000 years and therefore are evergreen.

– Not only in preparing food, olive oil has other benefits as well. In ancient times, the Greek women used to apply olive oil on their skin and hair after taking a bath in order to nourish their skin.

– We usually refer to it as olive oil whereas in reality, it actually is a fruit juice, the juice of olives.

– The first and the freshest juice that comes from the olives is called extra virgin olive oil and is of the highest quality, richest in flavour and the least acidic.

– Apart from the extra virgin olive oil, there are multiple flavours of olive oil available in the market like smooth, mild, buttery, spicy, peppery and pungent.

– Olive oil is rich in antioxidants, MUFA and Oleic acid, such as Omega-6 and Omega-3.

– Keeping the bones tough and restricting the brain nerves from damaging is one huge advantage of using olive oil for cooking.

– Athletes in ancient times applied olive oil followed by light dust on their bodies to protect their skin from the sun.

– Different types of olive oils are best suited for different purposes. Fresh olive oil is the best for dressing while a year old olive oil is best suited for cooking.