All About Olive Oil

Olive oil is the oil extracted from the fruit of the olive trees. Olive oil is an important part of the staple diet of the people in the Mediterranean region, where olive trees are abundant. When the green olives ripen, they turn violet-red/black and are ready for oil extraction. The olives are mixed with water and crushed into a paste. From this paste the oil is extracted using mechanical pressure. There are three major types of olive oil:

1. Extra virgin olive oil: This is the purest form of olive oil extracted from the freshly plucked olives and cold pressed within 24 hours. No synthetic chemicals are used and the oil is free from any solvents. Extra virgin olive oil is of the highest quality and has a lot of vitamins and nutrients, therefore it is the costliest grade of olive oil.

2. Virgin olive oil: After the first pressing, the paste is pressed again and the resultant oil is virgin olive oil which has a slightly higher acidity.

3. Olive-Pomace oil: When all the oil is extracted from the olive paste using mechanical means, the resultant pomace (left overs) are treated with chemicals and solvents and this oil is known as Olive-Pomace oil. It is the cheapest grade of olive oil.

Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil contains a lot of mon-staturated fats (good gats), OMEGA-3 fatty acids, lots of Vitamin E and many other nutrients good for your health. Some of the major health benefits include:

1. Olive oil keeps your heart in shape by lowering the cholestrol levels and reduces the chances of strokes.

2. Olive oil helps in reducing the blood pressure.

3. Olive oil helps to reduce cancer.

4. It is good for your skin and hair.

5. It helps reduce weight.

6. It helps fight osteoporosis and arthritis.

To enjoy these health benefits, one has to make sure he is buying the right grade of extra virgin olive oil. Beware of cheap imitations. Fresh extra virgin olive oil has a sightly pungent odour and is peppery in taste. It does not taste smooth, and you can almost feel its peppery taste on the back of your throat. Also, buy olive oil which is stored in dark glass bottles as both light and oxygen degrade the quality of the oil.

Olive oil for Indian cooking

Most of the Indian cooking involves deep-frying and high heat cooking (tadkas). Extra virgin olive oil, though highly recommened for cooking purposes, has a lower smoke point when compared to refined or chemically treated oils.

Smoke point: This is the temperature when the oil, when heated, starts to smoke. The smoke comes from the breakdown of the oil into fatty acids and glycerol. After the oil hits the smoke point, the nutrients and flavour of the oil starts to degrade. Therefore it is recommend not to heat the oil above its smoke point. For high heat Indian cooking, most people use refined oils which are chemically treated to have a higher smoke point. As a thumb rule, if you heat any oil and it starts to smoke, then you should not use that oil at all. Pour fresh oil and heat it again but keep it below the smoke point.

Even though extra virgin olive oil has a low smoke point, chefs around the world use it for high heat cooking because the benefits overweigh the breakdown of the oil and the loss of the flavours. The reason is because olive oil is more resistant to heat degradation than other oils like the sunflower oil. It is recommended that you quickly saute or fry in order to preserve all the goodness and flavour of the extra virgin oil. A lot of people suggest using Olive-Pomace oil for Indian cooking, but that is not good for health and you are much better off using sunflower or peanut oil instead. Recently EU (European Union) ordered a ban on all exports of Pomace oil because it was suspected to contain certain carcinogens. Pomace oil can badly affect your health so stay away from it.

So extra virgin olive oil is a must in your kitchen. Even though its costlier than refined oils, but olive oil comes with major health benefits which far outweigh its cost. Always store the olive oil in a cool dark place and make it a habit to replace your normal cooking oil with olive oil. 

Review of the new 2012 BMW 320d Sportline

With fans eagerly waiting all across India, BMW introduced its sixth generation 3-series on 27th July 2012 in Mumbai. This is a completely new model and not just a facelift. Though the new price list is a tad bit disappointing (starting from 36L+ on-road for the Sportline/Luxury series), the higher pricing could be attributed to the constantly falling Rs with respect to the dollar.

The Car

I got a chance to drive a BMW 320d Sportline just a few days after the launch. Though I really loved the 18-inch alloys on the 328i (petrol version) but the 17-inch double-spoke on this car looked sporty enough. I just fell in love with the Melbourne red color, black trims and the menancingly-white LED angel eyes. This model is  slightly wider and longer than the previous 320d. But there was no sun-roof 

Interiors

The car has sports seats for both driver and front passenger. These sport seats are quite different from the normal luxury seats, they are more comfortable and driver friendly. Extended thigh support makes long drives easier. Dakota leather upholstery on all seats + steering with red accents worked well to give the car a sporty feel. But this model had a lot of missing features which ought to be standard for a car in this segment. Absence of both cruise control and navigation system, an iDrive without a hard drive, no sun-roof and no memory buttons for the passenger seats almost stole some sheen away from the car. But the dashboard is still awesome, tilted slightly towards the driver affirming the driver-centric DNA of this car. All buttons are easy to reach and iDrive shows all important statistics like tyre pressure, engine, torque + HP digital gauges on screen.

The cockpit is angled towards the driver by around seven degrees and puts all the important controls within easy reach to provide a sense of personal control and comfort. Seats in the all-new BMW 3 Series are electrically adjustable on both the driver and front seat passenger sides. The back seat might be a slight bit uncomfortable for the third (middle) passenger because of the transmission line running all the way from the engine to the rear-wheels, but it is a very small price to pay for owning a rear-wheel drive juggernaut!

The Drive 

Once you place yourself in the cockpit (thanks to the sport seats) and start the engine, every missing feature fades away instantly! The 8-speed triptronic gearbox is just mind-blowing, and the moment if put the car in Sports+ mode with manual transmission, you can feel the immense acceleration surge pushing you back in your seat. It truly feels as if you are driving a sports car, the handling is out-of-the-world. In Eco-Pro mode, the car peforms reasonably well, and the mileage goes up. I was able to reach 14kms/litre in crowded city driving with the AC on. Comfort mode eases the suspension and it is the most comfortable mode to drive, though the mileage goes down by 1km/litre. In Sports and Sports+ mode, you can feel the raw power this car has on offer, and if you stick to manual shift with Sports+ mode on, the car behaves like a wild beast. Handling is superb, car is firmly planted on road. I did not find any issues with steering, I have driven E90 with semi-hydraulic steering but I have no complaintes with servotronic EPS in this new F30. 

The new-generation RFTs (run-flat tyres) are better than the old ones as you do not feel the stiffness even while driving over potholes. Handling, cornering and gear shifts in the new ZF8 auto-transmission is much more improved.

No wonder this car scored five-star rating in the latest Autocar UK test drive review . The last car to achieve this status was the Ferrari 458 Italia, one of the best Maranello-built sport cars. From the review: “In an unusual comparison, the UK magazine compares the highly-efficient 320d against Volkswagen Golf GTD, Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI Elegance estate, Range Rover Evoque and Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI BlueEfficiency SE. …the keen driver will always choose the BMW 320d. It isn’t merely the latest generation of a much-loved model, but the ultimate expression of automotive progress. Until recently, it was not possible to associate such performance and desirability with such practicality. Now it is.”