Few other things match the passion Italians have for olives. It is almost a religion for them?just like wine is to the French. And the Italians make no secret of it. In fact, much of it extends to the olive oils as well. There can be a endless debate about whether a certain olive oil is fruity, muddy, musty, acid-sour, metallic, rancid, pungent, greasy…the sensory dictionary of olive oil is seemingly no less than a Bible.

And now a three-year campaign financed by the EU, in collaboration with the Consortium of Guarantee of Extra Virgin Quality of Olive Oil, is all set to share some of that passion with India with the hope to ?increase its use in traditional local and daily cuisine, and to spread awareness of its health benefits.? All at a cost of Euro 2 million.

A similar campaign earlier, from 2007-2009, by the International Olive Council with a budget of Euro 1.2 million, also tried to achieve the same. ?The second year of the campaign was not successful. The budget could have been more judiciously spent on aggressive marketing?that would have given us better returns. They may not do another campaign in future,? says VN Dalmia, President, Indian Olive Association.

In India olive oil is still considered exotic and it?s high price prohibitive. The import of olive oil in India from Italy and Spain has nevertheless increased from 1.2 lakh kg in 2005 to 2.62 kg in 2009. Interestingly, the import of virgin olive oil has increased almost four fold during this perriod, though that of olive oil has not even doubled. Reason enough for Keith Sunderlal of SCS Agribusiness Consultants to feel optimistic. ?The consumption of olive oil in India is growing by almost 20% annually,? he shares.

Though an important issue is the labelling of the imported olive oil, feels Gurdeep Kaur, dietician, Department of Dietetics, AIIMS, Delhi. Kaur surveyed the market to understand for herself and her clients which olive oil is the best. ?In some bottles the nutritional information was completely missing and when I compared labels for extra virgin olive oil and olive oil, despite their price difference I found their nutritional properties to be exactly the same. So, how does a common man understand what?s a better buy,? Kaur asks.

However, that is not to deny the nutritional benefits of olive oils. Consider a recent study, published in Biomed Central Genomics, which explains the reduced prevalence of heart disease risk among people living in Mediterranean countries where virgin olive oil is the main source of dietary fats. Researchers fed two olive oil-based breakfasts to 20 volunteers suffering from metabolic syndrome. One of the breakfasts contained virgin olive oil with high-content phenolic compounds (398 parts per million) and the other breakfast contained olive oil with 70 parts per million phenolic compounds. The researchers studied the expression of more than 15,000 human genes in blood cells during the after-meal period. The results indicated that 79 genes are turned down and 19 are turned up by the high-phenolic-content olive oil. Many of those genes have been linked to obesity, high blood-fat levels, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. On the other hand, several of the turned-down genes are known promoters of inflammation.

Mumbai-based nutritionist Naini Setalvad claims that replacing the cooking medium in lunch with olive oil helped her feel an immense difference. ?Earlier I used to feel raveneously hungry at about 4 in the evening. But now I feel fuller for a longer time, so just a fruit is enough,? says Setalvad adding ?olive oil can also help prevent diabetes, reduces cholesterol levels and prevent cardio vascular diseases.? But would she recommend olive oil as the sole cooking medium ? ?No, olive as part of a variety of other oils is the best bet.?

Judge the olive oil by its taste

Positive attributes

Fruity: Set of olfactory sensations characteristic of the oil which depends on the variety and comes from sound, fresh olives, either ripe or unripe. It is perceived directly and/or through the back of the nose.

Bitter: Characteristic primary taste of oil obtained from green olives or olives turning colour. It is perceived in the circumvallate papillae on the ?v? region of the tongue.

Pungent: Biting tactile sensation characteristic of oils produced at the start of the crop year, primarily from unripe olives. It can be perceived throughout the mouth cavity.

Negative attributes

Fusty sediment: Charcteristic flavour of oil obtained from olives piled or stored ins uch conditions as to have undergone an advanced stage of anaerobic fermentation.

Metallic: Flavour that is reminiscient of metals. It is characteristic of oil which has been in prolonged contact with metallic surfaces during crushing, mixing, pressing or storage.

Rancid: Flavour of oil which have undergone intense oxidation process.