We caught up recently with Mueller to ask him about the olive oil business and his love for olive oil. What follows is the second of a two-part Q&A, based on questions submitted by our Facebook fans. (Click here to see the first installment.)

Did you expect your book to make as much splash as it has?

I really didn’t. It’s heartening to see the level of interest. Olive oil does have all the numbers to be the next home run food after wine, craft beer, artisanal cheese, dark chocolate, and fine sea salts. Unfortunately with olive oil, at the moment, there’s so much murk and so much confusion.

Is there an olive oil mafia?

The term “mafia” with a small “m” is used in Italian all the time, not for Cosa Nostra but for people who are organized in a secretive, usually criminal fashion. In the case of olive oil today it’s not organized crime – not like characters from The Godfather, with scars across their cheek – but there are organized criminals. Back in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, mafia figures in America did use olive oil import businesses as fronts for their criminal activities. But today that’s not really the case.

What’s the best olive oil to use on the market today and why?

Much like wine, it really depends on what you’re going to use the oil for. There are 700-plus different kinds of olives and thousands of different oils – some big bodied and some milder. The choice of the right oil depends on the specific dishes you’re going to be using with it. (Click here to see blog post about pairing foods with olive oils.)

As somebody who lives in Italy, what do you think of California’s extra virgin olive oil?

Some of the best oils I’ve ever had were made in California. Great producers everywhere – in the Old World as well as the New World – are dealing with the same challenges: Use healthy fruit, pick and crush it quickly, store it properly in an oxygen-free environment, and get their consumers to consume it quickly.

How do you like to use extra virgin olive oil at home?

I like to reinvent American comfort foods with olive oil. I think a baked potato with olive oil instead of butter is incredible. Olive oil on a steak as steak sauce enhances the flavor and the texture of the meat. A full-bodied olive oil over vanilla ice cream creates a counter-point to the ice cream’s sweetness. (Click here to see our February eNewsletter showcasing comfort food.)

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

We caught up with Mueller last week when he had some down time during a very busy book tour. He’d also just testified before a California State Senate panel looking into the olive oil business.  We asked our Facebook fans to give us questions to ask Mueller. And we got some great ones, which you’ll see below in the first of our two-part Q&A.

How important is packaging to the shelf-life, quality, flavor, and stability of olive oil – dark glass versus clear, plastic or metal can, etc.?

It’s very important. Light, together with heat and oxygen, is one of the enemies of olive oil. Light causes olive oil to degrade. So dark glass that filters out light is very important. A metal container also is good. Clear plastic and glass are to be avoided. At home when you store your oil, don’t store it next to a stove or another source of heat. You also don’t want to store it next to a window where the light could hit it. Instead, store it in a cool, dark place.

Is packaging an indicator of quality in your experience?

It can be. If it’s in clear glass or plastic, the quality is likely to be low. In terms of the labeling, a few things to look for are the specific producer and place of origin – instead of some generic reference to more than one country. A harvest date is a good indicator that the producer is good.

A “best by” date, however, is essentially meaningless. It’s calculated by when the oil went into the bottle. In other words, the “best by” date clock starts ticking on the bottling date. So you don’t know whether the oil had been sitting in a storage tank for one month or one year. Another good sign is a seal – for EU oils it would be PDO (Protected Designation of Origin – “DOP” in Italian) . And for California oils there’s the COOC (California Olive Oil Council) seal.

What can a regular customer ‘Joe’ do when shopping for olive oil for his own use?

Apart from looking for oils in dark containers and carefully reading the labels, try to look for places where you can try the oil before you buy it. And visit a mill if you can – there you can see olives actually become oil. In stores, look for places that have a high turnover so that there aren’t bottles that have been sitting on the shelf for many months or even years. I’ve actually seen bottles with dust on them.

What is the No. 1 trait in any olive oil people should look for when searching for a good product?

I think the word is “freshness.” Olive oil is a fresh agricultural product. And, unlike wine, it doesn’t improve with age. Instead, it degrades with age. The younger the oil, the better.

What are the best ways to determine if olive oil is truly extra virgin, regardless of what the label says? In other words, it hasn’t been ruined by light, heat, age, etc.

You can’t really tell before you open the bottle, which is why knowing or trusting the individual producer is so important. Once you open it, a fresh flavor, as well as a certain amount of bitterness and pungency are good signs, and recognized by international regulations. By “fresh flavor,” I mean it reminds you of the fresh olive fruit.

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

Esposito first sampled the dish at an Umbrian restaurant where a friend is the chef and proprietor. Esposito says the memory of the dish “stayed fresh in my mind” after she returned home. “It is a complete meal in terms of a balance of protein with calcium and vegetables,” she adds. (Click here to see the recipe.)

The speedy way to cook farro is to cover it with water the night before. Drain the water the next day and put the farro in a 1-quart saucepan. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare. Farro also can be cooked without presoaking. But it will need a longer cooking time, about 30 minutes.

For the salad, the cooked farro is tossed with extra virgin olive oil to coat the grains. Salt and balsamic vinegar are added. The farro is plated and accompanied by arugula and topped with halved cherry tomatoes and shavings of Parmigiano-Regiano cheese. You can drizzle the salad with additional olive oil.

Then, when you sit down and enjoy this dish, you’ll be getting a taste of Umbria.

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

“I like the red in this salad for its vibrant flavor,” writes Getty, author of the book Anna Getty’s Easy Green Organic (Chronicle Books, 2010), where the recipe appears.

You can find red and white quinoa in health food stores and well-stocked supermarkets.

“Make sure you wash the quinoa thoroughly to remove the bitter outer coating,” advises Getty, the great granddaughter of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.

To make the salad, cook the quinoa and let it cool. Then simply add the toasted pine nuts, chopped cranberries, cut cucumber, cubes of feta, and chopped parsley. The dressing combines lemon and extra virgin olive oil.

See our January eNewsletter for more recipes using foods that taste good and are good for you. (Click here to see the eNews.)

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

Mueller, whose book was inspired by a 2007 New Yorker article, blames loose laws and lax enforcement for oil fraud here. “Much of the fake olive oil sold in America is imported,” he writes in his book Extra Virginity (W.W. Norton & Co., 2012). He cites a “rare intervention” in 2006 when federal marshals seized 61,000 liters “of what was supposedly extra virgin olive oil” from a New Jersey warehouse; it was really mostly soybean oil.

Two recent studies conducted in Australia and at the Davis campus of the University of California, meanwhile, have found widespread mislabeling in the extra virgin grade. (We’re conducting a Q&A with Tom Mueller and would love your input on what to ask. Click here to go to our Facebook page and post a question.)

How rampant is olive oil fraud here? Mueller quotes an Italian olive oil producer who estimates 50 percent of the oil sold in this country is bogus. Mueller notes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers olive oil adulteration a low priority. “We’re inclined to spend our money on things where there’s a clear public health benefit,” an FDA officials tells Mueller.

But there are promising signs on the horizon. And both olive oil producers and consumers here have a role to play.

“America, it seems, is developing an appetite for good olive oil,” Mueller writes. “What’s more, though the U.S. currently imports 98 percent of its olive oil, within its borders lies a production area of enormous potential.”

That area is California, which Mueller calls “potentially the most important new world of oil.”

“Olives, highly adapted to hot, dry climates, thrive here,” he says of the Golden State. He adds that in the past 15 years “Californians have started to get serious about making first-quality oil.”

For our part, we go to great lengths to ensure the oil we make is of the highest quality. It’s certified as true extra virgin by the California Olive Oil Council. The oil must first pass rigorous lab and taste tests to earn that certification.

We also want you to know as much as possible about the oil that’s in each of our bottles.

Every bottle has a date showing when the olives were harvested. We also give you a “best by” date. Moreover, we keep close track of our olives from when they’re picked to the time the oil is bottled. In fact, we can tell you where the particular olives were grown that were used to make the oil in each bottle.

Consumers, too, can help ensure quality olive oil is sold in this country. If Americans loved olive oil half as much as the typical Italian, Mueller says, our consumption would “far exceed” the three largest olive oil consuming nations: Greece, Italy and Spain.

That would have important ramifications, as our friend Paul Miller notes. Miller, the president of the Australian Olive Oil Association, tells Mueller Australia helped set the “new quality agenda” for olive oil — “but there are only 23 million of us.”

“America, with 300 million strong,” Miller adds, “has a vital role to play in taking this agenda global, and making it stick.”

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

It’s filled with enticing recipes, including the crispy braised chicken thighs featured here. They’re paired with a tapenade made from olives, fermented black beans, and extra virgin olive oil. (Click here to see the recipe.)

“While I could be perfectly happy with these braised chicken thighs on their own (or even just nibbling the crispy skin), the fun part about this recipe is the olive and fermented black bean tapenade,” she writes.

Salty fermented soybeans are a Chinese product. Izard notes they can provide and “earthy pungent kick to American dishes.”

In this dish, the tapenade can be made up to three days in advance. The chicken, meanwhile, is marinated overnight with sliced orange, onion, garlic, toasted coriander seeds and red pepper flakes, along with salt and sugar. The next day the thighs are browned in a pan and then braised in the oven. When served, they’re topped with a savory pan sauce and the tapenade.

Izard, by the way, is a big fan of chicken thighs, noting “it’s the dark meat that holds all of the delicious flavor.” She used to avoid dark meat, instead buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts “to be a bit more health conscious.

“But the truth is there are only two more grams of fat in six ounces of chicken thigh than there are in the same amount of chicken breast. And for the extra flavor you get, that’s two grams of fat well spent.”

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

Photo by Terry McCarthy www.tmcphotography.com

How was the weather?

We couldn’t have gotten any luckier. We had dry, mild weather throughout. It was better than previous years. No frost and no large rains that prevented us from harvesting.

We did start a little late, because the spring was cool. So the crop cycle was behind. But because the crop-load was light, we ended up harvesting it right about on time.

What was the big difference between the 2011 harvest and the 2010 harvest?

Photo by Terry McCarthy www.tmcphotography.com

There were less tons of fruit per acre than in 2010. So the olives produced an oil with a more robust flavor profile, because the flavor is concentrated in fewer olives. It’s similar to a wine grape crop when you thin the crop to allow the flavors to concentrate.

How would you characterize the differences between the three olive varietals you picked during the harvest?

The Arbequina crop was light so the fruit size was large and the fruit matured early with more intense flavors. Arbosana had a heavy year and so was late in maturing. Koroneiki was an average crop.

What do you like about this year’s Limited Reserve versus previous years?

The 2011 Limited Reserve is much more intense in flavor than the 2010, while still having a good balance.  That’s due, I think, to this year’s lighter crop. We also try to “stress” the trees going into harvest by not giving them as much water. It intensifies the flavor of the oil and also speeds the ripening process. (Adam, by the way, tells us he and his family have been enjoying Limited Reserve on simple green salads, where the flavor of the oil really stands out.)

How did the new harvesters perform that the company acquired?

Photo by Terry McCarthy www.tmcphotography.com

We’d been working on some prototypes for a couple of years. So this year we were ready to go. They performed very, very well. The new harvester was kind of the superstar of the year.  It’s built specifically for olives, and so it’s taller. It’s gentler when picking the tree. The older harvesters were retrofitted grape harvesters – the kind that vineyard operators use.

What was the first thing you did when the harvest ended?

We actually got done halfway through the day. We shaved the beards off. And then we sent the guys home for the entire weekend. It was the first day we’d had off in about four weeks. I think everyone went home and slept. People were working 14-hour days. We plan on a 12-hour shift; but we end up working a little bit longer. And then we run a day and a night shift; so it’s a 24-hour operation.

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

Photo courtesy of Viviane Bauquet Farre

“The tender-yet-robust chickpeas happily provide protein even as the copious amounts of spinach leaves lighten the load,” says Viviane, who writes the food blog foodandstyle.com, where she publishes beautiful and innovative recipes and photographs inspired by seasonal ingredients and local farmers. (Click here to see the pasta recipe.)

The orecchiette — “little ears” in Italian — gets a good dose of smoked Spanish paprika, or pimentón, that adds a “seductive smokiness.” The dish is finished with shavings of nutty Manchego cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

“Hearty, smoky, savory, this pasta dish delivers heaps of flavor and leaves you feeling utterly satisfied,” Viviane says.

You can also see Viviane’s recipes for linguini with roasted beets and grilled vegetable brochettes. And you can see more flavorful, healthy recipes in our January In Season eNewsletter. (Click here to see the eNews.)

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

In a study prepared for a recent conference, the Johns Hopkins investigators say swapping out certain foods can improve heart health in people at risk for cardiovascular disease — even if the dietary changes aren’t coupled with weight loss.

“The introduction of the right kind of fat into a healthy diet is another tool to reduce the risk of future heart disease,” Meghana Gadgil,  a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, says in a news release.

Gadgil and her colleagues looked at 164 people with mild hypertension but no diabetes. The researchers studied their ability to regulate blood sugar and maintain healthy insulin levels while on a carb-rich diet, a protein-rich diet and a diet rich in unsaturated fats. People whose bodies fail to effectively use insulin usually develop type 2 diabetes, a major risk factor for heart disease.

The researchers say they found a generally balanced diet higher in unsaturated fats like those in olive oil, avocados, and nuts “improves insulin use significantly more” than a diet high in carbs — especially refined carbs like white bread and pasta.

“A lot of studies have looked at how the body becomes better at using insulin when you lose weight,” Gadgil says. “We kept the weight stable so we could isolate the effects of the macronutrients. What we found is that you can begin to see a beneficial impact on heart health even before weight loss.”

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch

Radicchio is in season here in California. It’s a colorful and flavorful member of the chicory family.

“When it’s not festooning salad bowls, this indelibly Italian vegetable is sensational grilled or sautéed, mixed into pasta sauces and risottos, or simply dipped in bagna cauda, the celebrated hot anchovy-olive oil dip of Italy’s Piedmont,” Christopher Hirsheimer and Peggy Knickerbocker write in their book The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market Cookbook (Chronicle Books, 2006), where the pasta recipe appears.

Hirsheimer and Knickerbocker describe radicchio’s taste as “refined and sophisticated.” Similarly, they call the pasta dish “sophisticated, yet simple.” (Click here to see the recipe.)

To begin, sauté pancetta or bacon in extra virgin olive oil until browned. Add a chopped onion, followed by the radicchio, which is cooked until wilted. Save a cup of the water used to cook the pasta. Toss the drained pasta with the radicchio mixture and some of the reserved pasta water to make a sauce-like consistency.

The final touch: Drizzle each individual serving with some extra virgin olive oil.

Bon appétit,

Your friends at California Olive Ranch