Wholesale prices at the Chef’s Store (US Foods) January 2024 EVGE’s 2024 Harvest After 7 years of relative price stability, a bad harvest last year and an even worse harvest this year have caused prices of extra virgin olive oil to soar worldwide. They began rising quickly last winter, but EVGE did not raise prices in line with the market as our stock was from the previous harvest (21-22) before the crisis hit. The new harvest we just received cost us a little more than double, but paradoxically, is the best quality ever! However, we had to raise the prices as our previous prices were below the cost of the new harvest (!) And we have only raised them according to our increased cost–not by the margin percentage, which is why our price is still better than lesser quality EVOOs. The current crisis was triggered by mass olive oil farming practices (as outlined below), which never produced quality EVOO like traditional, small batch farming does–where the trees and soil are treated with respect. The future seems bleak indeed for the mass producers. Fortunately, the olive groves that produce EVGE have not suffered at all during the extreme climatic conditions of the past two years because they are cultivated the right way. This past summer, Greek olive oil reserves were depleted and in the grocery store a 3L can was selling for 87 euro –around $95! So this year, producers have organized to keep a steady supply at market prices. (photo from 8/23) The price increase is global. “Since the International Monetary Fund began tracking global olive oil prices in 1990, there has never been a steeper price increase than the one experienced over the past 12 months.” source In 2022, a severe drought in Spain (the world’s largest producer of the extra virgin variety) triggered prices of olive oil to jump by more than 80%. In 2023, Mediterranean oil production was down by 41%, which means prices for the 2024 export season are expected to rise even more, and are not likely to fall any time soon, making the market even more attractive to criminals.source Harvest, best by date and International Olive Council (IOC) regulations Olive harvests are always in the late autumn, November-December (in the northern hemisphere), so this year’s harvest would be 23-24 and last year’s, 22-23 and so on. Freshly pressed olive is stored in stainless steel vacuum sealed containers until it is bottled–and must be chemically analyzed at the time of bottling to carry the extra virgin label (acidity under .08–ours is .02). The IOC stipulates that best by dates cannot exceed 18 months after bottling in the EU and 2 years everywhere else in the world. However, inspection of what is actually on the shelves in the US is non-existent (unlike Greece). In my local research, I found many examples of 21-22 harvest with best by dates 3- 4 years later (I even saw a 2019-20 harvest) And this was on the very few bottles that did print the harvest date–who knows how old the oil is in the other “evoo” bottles without the date. Photos above taken at Columbia, SC grocery stores February 2, 2024The chemical analysis of this year’s harvest. High quality EVOO should be high in polyphenols –industrial EVOO has around 50mg/kg–EVGE has 365mg/kg. Mass produced EVOO is not only at fault for driving prices up globally, but also deceiving consumers that they are getting a product on par with truly extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil. First of all, they blend different varieties from older unsold olive oil, not to mention rising levels of adulteration to meet the demand for extra virgin olive oil. Factors that Most Affected the 2023 Harvest: Weather extremes–unprecedented drought, heat waves, severe storms, pests–infestations of the olive fruit fly, labor shortages and a 64% increase in production costs since 2020 triggered by global inflation. source Culpability of massive olive farming Mass olive farming is also very much to blame in this current crisis. “Since the rise of global demand for EVOO in the 1980s and 1990s, olive oil has become dominated by big companies that intensively blend products from giant industrial farms “super high density” cultivation. Many of them are based in Andalucia, a region that provides 30%-50% of global supply all by itself. These farms, and other intensive crops, have destroyed regional ecosystems through intense chemical agriculture, making their landscapes highly vulnerable to climate change. Megadroughts and local heat waves have devastated supply in these key regions, driving up global prices to 30-year highs. No one in the industry has seen anything like it. The land couldn’t support this massive increase in nutrient and water demand, but this didn’t matter; artificial fertilizer would provide the nutrients, and local aquifers the irrigation. Water tables collapsed, with chemical runoff poisoning the water that was left. Grasses, shrubs and soil were replaced by bare, hard-packed dirt surrounding kilometers-long rows of trees, raising ground temperatures and eradicating animal, insect, and bird life.” source Exposing fraudulent practices However, as the global reserves are being depleted, the mass producers are having to raise their price in line with the price at the olive mills. And the good news is that this crisis is finally exposing the deceptive nature of mass produced EVOO on grocery store shelves and at restaurant wholesalers. EVGE–outstanding, fresh, delicious and healthy at the most reasonable price possible
EVGE is unique because it is single estate, small batch and we know exactly where it comes from (and have visited trees), gold medal winning, high in polyphenols & low acidity (see the chemical analysis documents above). The quality is most obviously noted in the smooth and delicious taste as well as the aroma from the bottle. But also anything cooked in high quality EVOO is more delicious (smoke point of low acidity EVOO is about 410F). The choice of oil is the MOST important decision in cooking because its flavor and nutritional qualities permeate the entire dish. EVGE: available at www.evge.us Restaurant distributors: North Carolina: Freshlist South Carolina: Senn Brothers Produce Georgia: What Chefs Want , Savannah (formerly N’Laws Foods) Or contact Carol@evge.us OR 803-445-8545
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Vasilopita --or St. Basil's pita is cut at midnight as the year changes with family. It is called Vasilopita because Saint Vasilis (or Basil) is celebrated on January 1 (and anyone named Vasilis or Vasiliki). St. Basil of Caesarea (330-379AD) was the original Santa. He was from a wealthy family and legend has it that after becoming a monk, he would leave gifts and food on the doorsteps of poor families at Christmastime. Here is an article with more about him
There is not a standard recipe for Vasilopita--each family seems to have their own version. However, there is a politiki version (from the Poli or City, which is Constantinople or Istanbul), which is more like tsoureki--a sweet yeast bread made with milk, butter, eggs and aromatics). What essential makes it "Vasilopita" is the coin baked inside and the year written on the cake usually using either powdered sugar, chocolate or almond slices. Above is our cake--my son got the "flouri" or lucky coin in his piece this year! This cake is incredibly easy & fast to make and it turned out really well--delicious, moist and perfect for a light dessert or to accompany hot beverages during the winter. Recipe for 9x13 pan 1 1/2 cups EVGE EVOO 2 cups sugar Zest 2 oranges and 1 lemon Juice from the zested oranges and lemon 1/2 cup milk 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 4 eggs 6 cups (750gr) flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon dash of salt 1. Preheat oven 350F 2. Sprinkle oil and flour in the baking dish 3. Beat the olive oil, zest and sugar for 2 minutes 4. Add the other liquid ingredients (juice, milk, vanilla) and beat for another minute 5. Add the eggs one at a time and beat another minute 6. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt) 7. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just mixed 8. Pour into baking pan and cook for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean and golden on top. Kali Epitychia, Kali Orexi and ENJOY!!! This week in Greece, households are busy making Kourambiedes and Melomakarona. These are the traditional holiday cookies that are omnipresent during the holiday season and offered with coffee or tea everywhere one goes! Kourambiedes have been named "wedding cookies" over here in the US--I suppose because they are white. However all my years in Greece, I never saw them at a wedding! I think these were only made during the holidays because the secret to success is to beat the sugar and butter for about 20 minutes or until it is white and fluffy, which would have been quite a chore in the days before electric mixers! Melomakarona are vegan and was a proper sweet that could be eaten during the 40 day fasting period before Christmas. It has the holiday flavors of orange, walnut, cinnamon, cloves and honey. The recipe can be found below. KOURAMBIEDES Here is the recipe I use for Kourabiedes, which comes from the famous Greek pastry chef, Stelios Parliaros and it comes out melt in your mouth perfect every time--just be sure to beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until it looks as white and fluffy as whipped cream. 125 gr Almonds 300gr softened butter 110gr powdered sugar 25 ml Metaxa brandy 2 tsp vanilla 600 gr flour 1 tsp baking powder Dash of salt Put almonds in preheated oven 325F for 15 minutes then chop into big pieces Beat butter and sugar on high speed for 15-20 minutes (should be completely white) Add Metaxa and vanilla Then add flour, baking powder and salt mixture until just mixed Fold in almonds Shape into crescents Cook for 30 minutes in oven 325F After they have completely cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar And here is the recipe I use for Melomakarona, also from Stelios Parliaros
MELOMAKARONA First make the syrup because it needs to be as cold as possible when the cookies come out of the oven. Syrup: 500gr water 700gr sugar 1 orange cut in half 2 cinnamon sticks 100 gr honey Put the sugar, water and cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan and boil for one minute. Stir to dissolve the sugar and take off heat. Add the honey, stir and then the 2 halves of the fresh orange. Once cooled, put into the refrigerator. (I take out the orange & squeeze to use for the cookies). Cookies Zest 1 orange 400gr freshly squeezed orange juice 530gr EVGE EVOO 30gr powdered sugar 1/2 tsp soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2tsp ground cloves 1200 gr flour Toppings: honey chopped walnuts preheat oven to 350F In a deep bowl stir the zest, orange juice & olive oil with the soda, powdered sugar, cinnamon and cloves until well mixed. Gently fold in the flour until just incorporated. Form into finger length oval cookies and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. (a walnut can be stuffed inside the dough when forming each cookie if you'd like) Gently score the top of cookies with a tea strainer or anything you have on hand that would make the cookie surface rough (this is to hold the honey and chopped walnuts on top of cookie. Bake for 30 minutes. When cooked to golden brown, turn off oven, but leave the cookies in it. Place some of the cold syrup in a shallow pan (I use a pyrex), and put 5-6 hot cookies in the cold syrup. Leave for 1 minute and then them turn over for another minute. Then place on a plate--and continue doing this until all have been dipped in syrup, adding more cold syrup as needed. Then, drizzle honey over the cookies and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. KALI EPITYCHIA KAI KALI OREXI!!! (good luck and good appetite!) Salads have a very wide range in Greek cooking because the word "salata" in Greek is not just for raw vegetables cut and covered in EVOO, but also a range of boiled vegetables and spreads eaten cold or at room temperature. All salads are very simple in nature and do not have "dressing" as we know it, but copious amounts of high quality Greek EVOO (like EVGE) as a base (and only EVOO on the authentic Greek salad!) and depending on the vegetable and your taste, EVOO will be combined: 3 parts EVOO to 1 part either red wine vinegar for lettuce, boiled small zucchini or beets--and in some regions cabbage or lemon for boiled salad greens, such as vlita or amaranth, dandelion greens, mustard greens, radicchio greens, beet greens, collards and a whole gamma of what most would consider weeds over here--and also on the cabbage and carrot salad. Salads are also spreads (eaten on fresh bread) such as eggplant which is roasted and mashed with EVOO, a bit of vinegar and salt in its simplest form, but also garlic (roasted for less bite), walnuts, feta, yoghurt or tomato can be added as various combinations according to taste. Scroll down for some of the reicipes!
The lettuce salad commonly made consists of thinly sliced Romaine lettuce, finely chopped fresh green onions and fresh dill, salted and dressed with 1/3 red wine vinegar and 2/3 EVGE EVOO shaken well in a jar! The cabbage salad commonly made consists of thinly sliced cabbage, salted and dressed with freshly squeezed lemon and EVGE EVOO & topped with grated carrot. The Mediterranean diet has always been considered one of the healthiest lifestyles and diets that not only affects physical, but mental health. Here is an article that reports findings from multiple studies showing that following a Mediterranean diet can reduce depression and increase mental health. As for physical health, lately even more scientific studies have been published proving that eliminating other oils and using exclusively EVOO in all dishes considerably decreases multiple health risks. Specifically, the study found that:
And the quintessential dish representing the Mediterranean diet is the authentic Greek Salad as found in Greece--it is very simple to make, based on fresh vegetables with plenty of EVOO. In Greece it is called Horiatiki (or village salad). It is the perfect dish for a hot summer day and with bread, it can be a complete meal. The American version is nowhere to be found in Greece! They would never put lettuce with fresh tomato or any kind of vinaigrette (there is another salad for lettuce that is just Romaine, fresh onion and dill with EVOO, red wine vinegar and salt). The secret of this delicious and healthy salad is to have very fresh seasonal ingredients, Greek imported feta & excellent EVOO--like our EVGE! Here is the recipe: Salad for 4: 2 vine ripened tomato: cut into bitesize cubes 1 English /hothouse (the long one--or any seedless, such as Persian) cucumber: halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2" slices 1/2 green bell pepper: sliced 1/4 red onion: sliced Kalamata olives Slice of imported Greek feta EVGE EVOO Salt and oregano Layer starting with the cucumbers--salt & oregano, then onions and peppers, then tomatoes-- salt & oregano, onions & peppers until the bowl is full. Coat generously with EVOO, top with feta--put oregano and more EVOO and finally Kalamata olives. Enjoy with fresh bread or rusks (to soak up all the deliciousness at the bottom of the bowl!!). There is actually a word for this sopping up with bread--it's called papara and it's the most enjoyable part of finishing off any dish!! Super easy and fast--the key is to use excellent full fat Greek yoghurt like Cabot (10%) or Fage (5%) and to squeeze as much liquid from the cucumber as possible
(Makes 4 cups--32 oz) One long English cucumber (or 4 Persian ones or remove seeds of 2 regular cucumbers), grated and salted One large full fat Greek yoghurt-- Cabot (10% blue container) or Fage (5% blue container) 3-4 garlic cloves minced 2 tbsps red wine vinegar 4 tbsp EVGE olive oil About 2tbsp chopped dill (or mint--I prefer dill for raw veggie dip and mint for grilled meat) Salt to taste Grate cucumber, salt and strain for at least 30 min. Squeeze ALL excess liquid from grated cucumber with hands and add to the other ingredients. Mix and taste for salt This is a type of salad or side dish that usually accompanies fish during the summer but is delicious with anything! Traditionally, it is topped with chopped red onion and lemon, but can also be topped with caramelized onions and toasted pine nuts.
Ingredients • 1 pound Greek fava (yellow split peas) • 2 whole onions chopped • 2 chopped carrots • 2tsp salt and pepper to taste • ¼-½ cup EVGE Extra Virgin Olive Oil • 1 lemon zest and juice from 2 lemons • 4-5 bay leaves Instructions 1. Rinse the fava 2. Boil the fava in 6 cups of water and skim foam from top 3. Add the onions, carrots, salt and bay leaves and boil about 1 ½ hour (or 10 minutes in pressure cooker) 4. Pass it through a food mill or a food processor—or use immersion blender to puree 5. Add about ¼ cup of olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and pepper to the puree. 6. Serve with some chopped raw onion and lemon (to taste) OR sauteed, caramelized onions topped with toasted pine nuts. Kali Orexi!!! It is spring and the traditional Lenten period in Greece, which means spring cleaning for house, mind and body! It is the time when people try to eliminate animal products as much as possible from their diet until Easter arrives, so many salads and vegan "pitas" make up a typical diet.
A major component of the Greek Mediterranean diet are "horta" or wild greens, usually gathered in the countryside, all year round but especially during spring when fields are full of tender young greens. Often, when driving down country roads people will jump out of their car when they see a beautiful field full of what most in the US would consider weeds with a knife and plastic bag to gather enough for a salad. These greens are usually "vlita" or amaranth, dandelion greens, mustard greens, radicchio greens, chicory and many other wild greens I do not know the name of, as well as beet greens. These greens are boiled and made into a salad or put into a phyllo pie, called "pita" in Greek, and eaten a few times per week. (The US notion or pita is pita bread, which in Greece is a kind of fast food, eaten with souvlaki or gyros). Phyllo pies make up an abundant category of food that vary from region to region, and about which I will feature a series of posts beginning next week. Salads have a very wide range in Greek cooking because the word "salata" in Greek is not just for raw vegetables cut and covered in EVOO, but also comprise a wide range of boiled vegetables and spreads eaten cold or at room temperature. All salads are very simple in nature and do not have "dressing" as we know it, but copious amounts of high quality Greek EVOO (like EVGE) as a base and, depending on the vegetable and your taste, EVOO will be combined: 3 parts EVOO to 1 part either red wine vinegar for lettuce, boiled small zucchini or beets--and in some regions cabbage or lemon for "horta" or boiled salad greens and also on the cabbage and carrot salad. "Salates" are also spreads (eaten on fresh bread) such as eggplant "melitzanosalata" which is roasted and mashed with EVOO, a bit of vinegar and salt in its simplest form, but also garlic (roasted for less bite), walnuts, feta, yoghurt or tomato can be added as various combinations according to taste. "Taramosalata" or fish roe spread (made with onion, bread, lemon & EVOO), is another popular one which paradoxically is considered vegan for fasting. One of the most classic Greek comfort foods is Kokkinisto. Kokkinisto means "reddened" and is the name given to meat dishes braised in tomato. These dishes are quite simple to make and are served with rice, spaghetti, mashed potatoes or olive oil fried potatoes--or orzo, which is boiled in the pan sauces and is called youvetsi. The meat is usually beef, chicken, lamb, goat or rabbit. First, the meat is seasoned (and if the sauce needs to be thick, dusted with flour) and seared in olive oil, followed by red wine. The meat is then removed to saute the onion and the rest of the vegetables (usually carrots, leeks OR various peppers and also garlic if desired) or this can be done in a separate pan and added to the pot with the meat. Finally tomato (either fresh, canned or in paste) is added along with aromatic spices of choice, which could be any combination of bay leaves, cinnamon stick, allspice berries, nutmeg, cloves. I usually add bay leaves and a piece of cinnamon stick OR allspice berries. The dish should slowly braise for about 1 hour for chicken and 2 hours for red meat or if you have a pressure cooker, about 30 minutes (and 10 for chicken).
Hilopites with Kokkinisto Rooster The Greeks differ greatly from their Italian neighbors in cooking pasta dishes and instead of cooking sauce separately to put on top of boiled pasta, the pasta is cooked in the sauce itself, thus absorbing all the flavors of the dish . The pasta is usually either "hilopites" --village made egg noodles-- or orzo, called "kritharaki" or "manestra" and traditionally, used in tomato braised meat dishes that are cooked in covered clay dishes (gastra) in the oven and called "yiouvetsi"--when the meat is almost done, boiling water is added to the sauce and the uncooked pasta added to the clay pot and left to boil in the sauce, thus absorbing the delicious flavors from the meat, tomato and aromatic spices. This method can be expanded to vegetarian dishes, usually eggplant and/or zucchini braised with onion and garlic in tomato and herbs or any dish with plenty of flavorful sauce. This does not have to be an all day oven endeavor, however. You can braise the meat--usually beef, lamb or chicken--or vegetables in tomato on the stove (or even faster in a pressure cooker) and add some boiling water to the sauce before adding the pasta or orzo to the pot OR you can quickly par boil the pasta for 2-3 minutes separately if you want less starch & stickiness (which is what I do with pasta other than orzo) and then add to the main dish pot on the stove to let it finish in the sauce. You must stir it often so that it won't stick, but it only needs to boil for about 5 minutes before turning off the heat and covering so that it absorbs as much liquid as possible. For egg noodles the time is even shorter--around 3 minutes or so, because it continues to cook after you turn it off. Also, shrimp & lobster pasta is made in much the same way, but using broth made from fresh shrimp heads and shells (or boiled lobster broth) which is added to the sauce in which the pasta is boiled--and then the pasta itself is as delicious as the shellfish! Yiouvetsi
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