Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (original 2011; edition 2013)

by Tom Mueller (Author)

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493	22	50,158	(3.8)	15
For millennia, fresh olive oil has been one of life's necessities, not just as food but also as medicine, a beauty aid, and a vital element of religious ritual. Today's researchers are continuing to confirm the remarkable, life giving properties of true extra-virgin, and "extra-virgin Italian" has become the highest standard of quality. But what if this symbol of purity has become deeply corrupt? Starting with an explosive article in The New Yorker, the author has become the world's expert on olive oil and olive oil fraud, a story of globalization, deception, and crime in the food industry from ancient times to the present, and a powerful indictment of today's lax protections against fake and even toxic food products in the United States. It is also an account of the artisanal producers, chemical analysts, chefs, and food activists who are defending the extraordinary oils that truly deserve the name "extra-virgin."… (more)

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Member:	ebobka
Title:	Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil
Authors:	Tom Mueller (Author)
Info:	W. W. Norton & Company (2013), Edition: Reprint, 288 pages
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Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller (2011)

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Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)

This book converted me :D

Den85 | Jan 3, 2024 |

Interesting history of how olive oil came to be important and then corrupted.

BookyMaven | Dec 6, 2023 |

A fascinating look into olive oil. There's so much I didn't know.

Absolutely totally recommend. (

)

xaverie | Apr 3, 2023 |

Topic was very interesting. Stories were good. Organization not so much, but I still enjoyed the book. (

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kathp | Jun 10, 2022 |

It’s not the history or the scandal that makes this book amazing, it’s how passionate the author is. I loved this book so much, I wish every nonfiction book was this engaging. (

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Sennie_V | Mar 22, 2022 |

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What I had missed was a loophole in Italian regulations so big you could ship a freighter through it — the name "Tuscan" on the label only specified where the oil had been bottled, not where it had been grown or even pressed.

In other words, in 1986 there had been a whole lot of cheap Algerian and Spanish olive oil that had been magically transformed into pricey Tuscan with just a little glue and a slip of paper. And that's the best-case scenario; odds are there was a whole lot of cottonseed oil in those bottles as well. Talk about transubstantiation! That was my introduction to the olive oil business — the temptation to describe it as "slippery" is almost irresistible and certainly justifiable. If you're curious about just how slippery, Tom Mueller's "Extra Virginity" offers a smart, well-written crash course.

added by John_Vaughan | editLA Times, Russ Parsons (Mar 1, 2012)

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▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Gourmand World Cookbook Award (Sustainable – 2011)

James Beard Foundation Award (Nominee – Writing and Literature – 2012)

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Extraverginità: Il sublime e scandaloso mondo dell'olio d'oliva

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2011

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Puglia, Italy

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Extra Virginity

Unfiltered olive oil

▾Book descriptions

For millennia, fresh olive oil has been one of life's necessities, not just as food but also as medicine, a beauty aid, and a vital element of religious ritual. Today's researchers are continuing to confirm the remarkable, life giving properties of true extra-virgin, and "extra-virgin Italian" has become the highest standard of quality. But what if this symbol of purity has become deeply corrupt? Starting with an explosive article in The New Yorker, the author has become the world's expert on olive oil and olive oil fraud, a story of globalization, deception, and crime in the food industry from ancient times to the present, and a powerful indictment of today's lax protections against fake and even toxic food products in the United States. It is also an account of the artisanal producers, chemical analysts, chefs, and food activists who are defending the extraordinary oils that truly deserve the name "extra-virgin."

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