The Olive & its Golden Oil "We are the civilization of the oliv, Jean Giono wrote. We love the strong oil, the green oil, the oil whose smell inspires one to read the Iliad and the Odyssey". Approximately 4,000 years B.C., the Phoenicians were already consuming it. The Romans promoted the culture of olive trees and the commercialization of olive oil throughout their empire. Nowadays, a Greek consumes 20 litres per year, compared to two for a French person. Spain, Italy, and Greece produce 70% of olive oil on Earth. Its flavor depends on the balance between bitterness and ardency (tingling in the throat). Like wine, olive oil is offered in different grades of quality. The temperature when pressed, the origin, using only one or diverse types of olives are determinants in this quality. When an oil is named extra virgin it means that it comes from the first pressing (virgin) of the olives, and this was below 40° Celicius. The olive oil would lose all its therapeutic properties if heated above 210° Celcius, apart from becoming cancer-related. This ingredient is one of the essentials in the Mediterranean diet.