Olive oil and its qualities  Olive oil is one of the most important elements of the Cretan civilization. During the Minoan period, the olive oil was offering big incomes to the economy. Cretan olive oil was connected with the nutritive civilization ,as well as with religious ceremonials, medicine and pastry making. Olive oil benefits our health and is ideal for the nutritious needs of  a human body. It is rich in monounsaturated fatly acids and natural  antioxidants, as well as in vitamins A and E, which are responsible for  slowing down the human cell aging process. Olive oil tones up the human  organism making it produce and store up energy. Olive oil grading follows international quality standards according to  the method of production, the level of acidity and basic organic  characteristics. Taste and smell, in connection with colour, are the three  areas cheched by international testers in assesing the quality level of the  product.  COLOUR Colour does not always prove the quality of an oil. A good oil can  be from green to golden yellow. It can even seem cloudy if it has not  settled yet.The colour of the product depends on the main substances of the olive fruit that the oil has been made from. If chlorophyll is the main  factor, then the oil will lean more towards the colour green. If carotene is  the main substance, then the oil will be more golden yellow. The  oil from  olives, that have been gathered in the beginning of the harvesting period,  usually produce oil of a greener colour, due to the chlorophyll they  contain. TASTE & SMELL Olive oil reminiscent of the scent either of fruit or of oil fresh  from pressing is believed to be excellent. This is the same with wine as  testers try to pinpoint pleasant smells which remind them of other products, such as fruit, like apples or nuts, etc.The smell and taste  are due to a large amount of scenting agents which give the consumer the idea of fresh fruit. A bitter taste shows that the olives used were not ripe when picked.  A pleasant smell and taste can also be put down to the area in which the  olives grew and the way they were cultivated. A fruit taste comes from ripe olives which have balanced characteristics. Olive oil with an unpleasant smell and taste is better avoided. Smelly soil or mould down-grade a product. It is needed the experience for someone to safely assess an oil. ACIDITY The degree of acidity in olive oil indicates the oleic acid content. It is  believed to be edible, according to the International Olive Oil Council,  when the acidity does not exceed 3.3 degrees (content of oleic acid 3.3%). In reality, olive oil which has an acidity level of no more than one is much  better. You should always read the label on an olive oil bottle to see the  degree of the acidity. In Greece, there is excellent olive oil with acidity  level of no more than one is much better. You should always read the label on an alive oil bottle to see the degree of the acidity. In Greece, there is  excellent olive oil with acidity less than 0.5 degrees! The degree of  acidity greatly affects the taste. Olive oil with a higher lever of acidity makes its presence known on  first tasting it as it has a pungent spicy unpleasant taste. Methods of  harvesting, storage and pressing can affect the level of acidity. Organic  olive oil produces transfer olives to the press, not in sacks but in boxes,  which do not press or bruise the fruit. Also, producers take care to not  store them more than one or two days so that the fruit is not spoilt. OXIDIZATION Oxidization (rancidity) is one of the most important causes of spoiling  oil. Conditions of storage (light, oxygen etc) help oxidization. This is  easily spotted by a tester without scientific tests, as the taste is badly  affected by oxidization. Olive oil producers can distinguish good quality  from rancid olive oil, after years of experience. Oxidization reduces or  destroys the basic components in olive oil, especially those which are  unique to this produce, in contrast to all the other fat substances. It can  destroy the fat-soluble vitamins or the fatty acids such as linoleic and  linolenic but it can also produce substances which are dangerous for the  human body Cretan wine From ancient times, the wine in Crete and generally in Greece, is in  life of the Greeks, in days of joy or in sorrow, in days of freedom or in days of slavery. Many songs and poems have been written for this tasteful  drink, from Homerous to modern poets. According to our mythology god Dionesus taught the production of wine  in our country and for many centuries it was a necessary product for  celebrations for the Cretan and generally Greek people. The wine contains 85% water, 14% alcohol and 1% other substances.  There are wines that contain  more alcohol and various quantities of  inseparable sugar etc. The quality of  wine depends on the sweetness of  grapes, their maturity, their cleanliness etc. The different varieties of  wine are due to the way of the production and to the various substances that are added from the wine producers. Wines that contain the bunches of the grapes are the coloured wines, the wines that don’t contain grapes are white wines. The resined wines contains resin of pines, the fragrant wines  contains various substances that give the smell to the wine. The wine is one of the most healthier drinks, it helps to the digestion, it also tones up and gives energy to the human organism, but this beneficial action of wine have validity only in  drinking normal quantities!! Crete produces a variety of red (marsini from Sitia, mantiko, mantilari-kotsifali), white (vilana, linktos), sweet (toplou estate,  viglinos), resined (retsina kernos, ekavi) wines and of course the  traditional Cretan drink of tsikoudia (raki). Cretan honey      Honey is a product that the bees collect from the living parts of the  plants or from the outgoings of insects. Then they transport it to their  swarm to enrich it ,with their products and they store it up to the  honeycomb, until it becomes ripe. We can classify honey according to its botanical origin as honey from  thyme, from fir tree, from pine, from various flowers etc. Cretan honey has excellent quality and it has much nutritious value.  It is also used as antiseptic, it is incomparably superior from sugar  because it is assimilated easier by the human body. Do not forget that, in  Greek mythology, “Ambrossia” was the food of the gods of Olympus, and it was made of milk and honey.

     Cretan Herbs

The land is one of the richest places in the world for indigenous plants! These plants were often used in the Cretan cuisine. Sometimes they were used to make a dish much more tasty and at other times, they were used to make teas which were frequently drunk. Botanical studies have shown that the island has one of the most interesting eco-systems in Europe and that  many of the indigenous plants have been used not only in traditional folklore medicine, but also in pharmaceuticals.

In the villages, anyone can find a great number of herbs, some with a strong and distinct while others with a less potent smell and taste. There are still many people, usually of the older generation, who can recognize a lot of herbs, know which season they should collect them and always have a  well-stocked house of herbs.      Herbs are maintaining good health as they contain large amounts of  antioxidative agents.

 

DITTANY (origanum dictamus) In ancient times, doctors believed that it cured all illnesses and that  it helped in the process of giving birth. The goddess of love, Aphrodite is  said to have come to the island of Crete in order to get some dittany to use as a medicine. On Crete it was always seen as a plant of love, they believed that the plant itself encouraged feelings of love and it was a usual present between lovers. ORREGANO (origanum onites) It is a well known aromatic plant and it is used in folklore medicine,  in the form of a tea, as a cure for diarrhoea. It is also used in different  kinds of food (roasted potatoes in olive oil and oregano, tomato salads  etc.) ROSEMARY (rosmarinus officinalis) In the old days, rosemary was a useful ally of good health as it was  frequently put to use as a folklore medicinal remedy, such as an antiseptic,  a relief for headaches, pain in the stomach and the back. It is also a good  product to make your hair shiny and to stop the loss of them. SAGE (salvia fruticosa)  It is a well known herb with a strong smell and taste. It grows nearly  all over the island and is ingeniously used in folklore medicine for cases  of colds or stomach problems. It is generally considered to be tonic and it is drunk in the form of a tea with honey. The ethereal oil from this plant  is especially good at reducing toothache.