Stonehouse California Olive Oil

Our organically-farmed olive grove, Silver Ridge, is located in Oroville, California. Our 80 year old trees grow in the beautiful foothills just East of Chico, at the edge of the Table Mountain. Oroville is known for both olive groves and stunning spring wildflowers. Our trees produce Mission, Manzanillo & Barouni olive varietals. Additionally, we purchase fruit from other growers, as well as custom crush for them. We are currently in the process of certifying our oils Kosher.
Olive harvest begins in October of each year and ends in January/February, weather permitting. Our fruit is crushed within 24 hours of picking, to insure the highest quality oil, as olives are technically stone fruit and the quality of the fruit will begin to deteriorate the longer it sits before crushing. We typically begin harvest at the beginning of November, when the fruit is still green, and crush through January, as the olives ripen to black, so that we are able to obtain oil that reflects the full spectrum of flavors--from the fresh, grassy, early oil to the soft, buttery, late harvest oil. We then carefully blend the oils to capture the best qualities from each stage. Depending on the year, we may also offer an early harvest oil, Olio Nuovo, as well as a late harvest oil.

Our information pn health and olive oil

What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
"Extra" is the highest grade for olive oil--the best you can buy. The virgin oil may be called "extra" if it has less than 1% free oleic acid, and if it exhibits superior taste, color and aroma. Thus, the "extra" in extra virgin olive oil means "premium," or simply, "the best."

How do you store olive oil?
Olive oil should be stored in a cool, dark place. Properly stored, olive oil can keep for at least two years, in an unopened container. Olive oil should not be stored in the refrigerator. If chilled, olive oil will become cloudy and eventually solidify or crystallize. Should this happen, the oil is perfectly fine; just leave the oil at room temperature for a time to restore it to its natural state. Buying olive oil in dark green glass further protects it. The four enemies of olive oil are: air, time, heat, and light. It is best to buy only what you will use in 2 months, once opened. The oil will not go bad in this time, but it's fresh flavor and scent will fade.

How long does olive oil stay good?
Evoo is optimum for 18 months after harvest, which ends in January of each year. A bottle of olive oil should be used within 2 months of opening, as, once open, it begins to oxidize, loosing freshness. Our olive oils are harvest dated, to insure freshness. Olive Oil is a fresh product and does not benefit from aging.

What are the health benefits of evoo?
The 7 essential nutrients for good health are: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, roughage and water. Evoo is a fat necessary for human health. The nervous system, hair, skin, and organs all require soluable fats, much in the same way your car requires not only fuel, but oil.

Should one cook with evoo?
As long as you are not deep-frying, certainly. Our evoo is an all purpose olive oil, suitable for sautés, sauces, grilling, vinaigrettes, as finishing oil, or enjoyed simply with fresh baguette.

What are the nutritional components of olive oil?
A tablespoon of olive oil contains 120 calories, 14 grams of fat, and no cholesterol. Seventy seven percent (77%) of the fat in olive oil is monounsaturated, and nine percent (9%) is polyunsaturated fat; fourteen percent (14%) is vegetable-derived saturated fat. Virgin olive oils also contain the antioxidants beta-carotene and Vitamin E, as well as the phenolic compounds tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol. Olive oil contains no salt and is naturally cholesterol-free. While there is no scientific concensus, studies suggest that when substituted for saturated fats, monounsaturated fat lowers blood cholesterol, especially the "harmful" low density lipoproteins (LDL) while protecting the "good" high density lipoproteins (HDL).

Why is olive oil superior to other oils?
Taste is the most obvious difference between olive oil and the commercially popular vegetable oils such as corn, soybean and canola oils. These oils are tasteless fats. You would not want to eat a piece of bread dipped in vegetable oil; for the same basic reason, many chefs refrain from adding tasteless fat to the foods they prepare. Olive oil, especially extra virgin olive oil, adds a flavor and textural dimension lacking in other oils, making it a suitable substitute for butter and margarine in almost any recipe. In fact, more and more restaurants are serving extra virgin olive oil, both plain or flavored with salt and pepper, as an alternative to butter for bread. Moreover, vegetable oils are industrial, processed foods. Vegetable oils are generally extracted by means of petroleum-based chemical solvents, and then must be highly refined to remove impurities. Along with the impurities, refining removes taste, color and nutrients. Extra virgin olive oils are not processed or refined. Extra virgin olive oil is essentially "fresh squeezed" from the fruit of the olive tree, without alteration of the color, taste, and nutrients or vitamins. Because of its antioxidant components, olive oil keeps longer than all other vegetable oils.

How does olive oil compare with butter or margarine?
Butter and margarine are essentially fats like cooking oils. A tablespoon of ordinary butter contains twelve grams of fat, of which 8 grams (66%) are saturated fat. In addition, a serving of butter contains 33 mgs of cholesterol, while olive oil has none! Saturated fat and cholesterol have been linked to increased levels of low density lipoproteins (LDLs)--the "bad cholesterol." Thus, compared to butter, a serving of olive oil contains much less saturated fat (only 2 grams) and no cholesterol. The comparison with margarine is more difficult because the fat breakdown in margarines varies by manufacturer and ingredient. Margarine typically contains approximately 10 grams of fat per tablespoon. However, to solidify the vegetable oils used to make margarine, the oils have to be hydrogenized. In the hydrogenization process, trans fatty acids are created. Trans fatty acids have a double whammy effect of increasing LDLs and lowering the high density lipoproteins (HDLs)--the "good cholesterol"

Can olive oil be used to replace butter and margarine in recipes?
Yes! Olive Oil can be used in place of butter or margarine in many recipes, such as on vegetables, rice, potatoes, in baking, on toast, just about anything!