Customer Reviews

Olive Oil

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This book contains good basic research based information on several subjects related to olive oil. It starts with an overview of the history of olive oil, world production, and consumption trends. Then it goes deeply into the composition of the olive and covers the basics of harvest, storage and oil processing. It covers a lot of new information about processing by-products that are not covered in other texts and goes into great detail about the composition of olive oil suitable for an oil chemist or food-science student.

The chapters on deterioration of olive oil and packing and storing of oil give very good descriptions of the oxidation process and cover the pros and cons of different storage container types. This is the first time I found good information regarding oil storage in glass, plastic, and stainless steel. The chapter on refining olive oil also describes the methods used to treat defective olive oils.

The book also details the methods used to analyze oil chemically including the specific laboratory tests as well as a description of the International Olive Oil Council sensory analysis methodology. It also has a chapter on adulteration tests for genuineness in olive oil.

I really enjoyed the chapter that covers the effects of olive oil on the serum lipoprotein levels in relation to cholesterol types, heart disease, and the anti-oxidant properties important to cancer prevention. This subject is difficult to understand, but very important in the marketing of olive oil as a health food. Each chapter is well referenced to the original source of the experimental work, so the information is quite reliable. This is an impressive book that should be in every serious producer's reference Library.