Forward by Jim Henry President Texas Olive Ranch Executive Director Texas Olive Oil Council The Truth about Olive Oil is NOT a cook book. There are no recipes for cooking in the Mediterranean style. There are no pizza recipes. If anything, you could say this book is about a celebration of the benefits the lowly little olive showers on those who embrace its many flavors and colors by using it – both internally (by eating it) and externally (by rubbing it on their skin and in their hair). Its health giving benefits (anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties) are legendary and can be traced back to its earliest uses well before the time of Christ. In the pages of this book, I hope to stimulate further interest in the use of olives and olive oil by presenting various "how to do it" scenarios that are practical and fun. For instance, making table olives is an easy and fun thing to do that takes very little actual "doing" on your part. Most of the curing time can be spent by your doing other things while the curing medium does the job of making the fruit edible. I provide specific instructions on how to do this. And what about getting olives from your own tree(s) pressed so you can enjoy home-grown olive oil? You might think that only commercial growers can do this. Well, I found two commercial olive oil processors who will accept your smaller loads of olives, combine them with other small loads, do the pressing and the bottling and return the resultant oil to you on a prorated basis. In addition, I tell you about the various grades of olive oil and what they mean to you in terms of their nutritional value. I think you'll be quite surprised at what you discover. The external uses of olive oil (and some internal uses as well) all involve using this liquid as a form of folk remedy. It's a skin lotion to soothe rough chapped elbows or lips; it's a diaper rash cure; it's a massage oil for easing aches and pains; it's a lot of things and we've only just scratched the surface. There are more inside the book. What you'll get out of reading this book is a greater appreciation for this elixir that can enhance your life and health in ways you may never even have thought of.
