New products are coming!!! On 15, 16, 17 and December 18, during “La  Feria del Sanguche” in Chile, we launched our new line of gourmet products. The “Ají Cristal,”  ”Ají Cacho Cabra,” and “Aceitunas Verdes” are a splendid combination of flavors that give life to your taste. These delicious pates will be available soon on our locations, website, and Amazon. Get ready for the new taste of a healthy pleasure!!

INGREDIENTS
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1½ tablespoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 4 large eggs
* 1¼ cups sugar
* Zest of 2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
* 1½ cups Giangrandi delicate extra-virgin olive oil
* ⅔ cup whole milk
* ⅓ cup brandy
* ⅓ cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 medium orange)
* Glazed Apples (recipe follows)
* 1 cup walnuts, toasted
* Glazed Apples
* 1 cup sugar
* ¼ cup water
* 4 Honeycrisp apples–peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices (about 4 cups)
* ½ cup apple cider
* ½ cup Calvados

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325˚ and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until combined; add the lemon zest, olive oil, milk, brandy and orange juice and whisk again until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.

3. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake the cake, turning halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let the cake cool on a rack for 30 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the loaf and invert it onto the rack and let cool completely.

4. While the cake cools, make the apples: In a medium skillet, cook the sugar and water over medium heat, swirling the pan (do not stir the sugar and water with a spoon), until dark amber, about 8 minutes. Fold the apples into the caramelized sugar. Add the cider and Calvados and cook over medium heat until the apples are tender and translucent, about 8 minutes.

5. Cut the loaf into 8 slices and divide among 8 plates. Garnish with the glazed apples and walnuts and serve immediately.

To receive special designation, growers have to outline how their product is different and superior.  Distinct taste is foremost. The concept of terroir is an important aspect. Regions with long histories of olive growing can point to historical documents referring to their traditional olive products.   They can assert that their olives are unique to their area, and maybe even autochthones. They can outline traditional methods of how their oils are made.  Readers are familiar with the designations AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) and DOP(Denominazione di Origine Protetta). France is the world leader in AOCdesignated food and drinks, with 508 products. For extra virgin olive oils, Italy leads with 40 GI regions. The entire EU has some 101 olive oil GIs.

Growers with less developed markets, and newer olive growers may feel disadvantaged in comparison to more established producers. Part of the meeting’s purpose was to propose areas that have the potential for becoming protected, and most of those come from outside of the European Community. The IOC, with the help of Insight Consulting, put together a list of over 100 regions that could possibly be GI areas for both oil and table olives. Among IOC countries, Tunisia led the list with 21 oil candidates, Morocco followed with 11, Spain had 9, and Croatia had 8. In non-IOC countries, Palestine had 6/7; while Peru, Chile, and the US had 4 candidates each.

Those attending the conference heard from experts from the World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization. International bodies have grappled with fraudulent mislabeling since the 19th century. The Paris Convention of 1883 sought to address the “false indication of the source of goods.” The Lisbon Agreement of 1958 enabled regions to receive Appellations of Origin status and created a registration system. There are layers of legislation and treaties. The US has mostly been against Geographic Indication, and given that the US is such a big consumer of imported goods, this creates tensions. The inclusion of 4 potential US areas looks like an attempt to encourage the US to get with the program.  Still, the member organization in the U.S., the North American Olive Oil Association, is comprised of bulk importers serving the mass market, with presumably little interest in fancy origins.

Maria Testu, a speaker from France, cited interesting information about the appeal of origin/provenance to consumers. The information had been gleaned from a 2005 market research study by GfK, one of the largest market research companies. In it, consumers said taste was the most important factor in their selection of oil, with origin/ provenance falling in the center. The nine factors presented to consumers, and their relevance in percentages, follow: Taste (85%), Extra Virgin (70%), Cold Extraction (60%), Price (52%), Origin/Provenance (48%), Clear Bottle to Better See Oil Color (45%), Yellow/Green Color (43%), Known Brand (30%), Visually Pleasing Bottle (15%).

Geographic Indications have definite marketing value, but maybe not as great as one would think. Gabriela Catalani from Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture, raised question about the high costs for producers and governments, and that “It raises false hopes in small producers.”  For growers in exceptionally well-known regions, such as Tuscany, GI provides a sure advantage. According to Pavlos Dimitriou from the European Commission, who cited figures from a Tuscan firm, a GI bottle carries a 30% premium over the same firm’s conventional extra virgin olive oil.  Convincing supermarket chains to stock GI oils, with their premium prices, is another hurdle.

by Lucy Vivante
Olive Oil Times Contributor | Reporting from Rome

I can’t love you any more.
Ok, I can, but I won’t be able to trust you as well.

A recent UC Davis study has found that many imported “extra virgin” olive oils fail international (and US) standards. The report was conducted by Dr. Edwin N. Frankel, Dr. Rodney G. Mailer, Dr. Charles F. Shoemaker, Sr. Selina C. Wang and Dan Flynn. They tested the quality of “EVOO’s” in the shelves of California supermarkets at two different laboratories using methods approved by both the IOC and the USDA. They found that many of those so called “Extra Virgins” failed tests for standards in different areas including: Oxidation by exposure to elevated temperatures, light and/or aging, adulteration with cheaper refined olive oil, poor quality oil made from damaged or over ripe olives, processing flaws, and/or improper oil storage. The results (and I am including only USDA standards, the German standards brought in higher failure rates): 69% of imported olive oil samples labeled as EVOO failed to meet standards for EVOO. 31% failed standards for UV absorbance. The study only included 14 samples of “EVOO” found in California supermarkets. Is this an accurate count? Possibly not, but I have a feeling that if they took a greater sampling, the results would be just as shocking. Now, how do we get our hands on that list?

UPDATE: California restaurateurs have filed suit with the Orange County Superior Court against the following brands for fraud and misrepresentation including Bertolli, Filippo Berio, Carapelli, Star, Colavita, Mezzetta, Pompeian, Rachael Ray, Mazolla and Safeway Select.