Archaeologists Made Olive Oil With an Ancient Egyptian Recipe

Inside Hook ^ | June 4, 2022 | Tobias Carroll

[SunkenCiv]

Olive oil holds a rarefied spot in the food world — rich-tasting yet healthy, and able to be used in a wide variety of dishes and cuisines. It’s also something with plenty of history on its side — which is to say that people have been making use of olive oil for, literally, thousands of years. And if you’re looking for evidence of that, you can find it on wall paintings dating back to ancient Egypt, which illustrate the techniques used to make said oil many years ago.

But why stop there? If beer can be brewed according to an ancient Egyptian recipe, why not take a similar approach to olive oil? That’s what Emlyn Dodd, the Assistant Director of Archaeology for the British School at Rome, documented in a recent article for The Conversation.

Dodd writes that “[l]arge proportions of Greek, Roman and presumably Phoenician agricultural texts are devoted to the production of oil” — and set out to try some of those methods out in the present day. Among them was the torsion method, which was documented between 4,500 and 4,600 years ago.

Making olive oil using this method is relatively simple. First, crush olives and place them inside a permeable bag. The next step, Dodd writes, involves “inserting sticks at either end of the bag before twisting them in opposite directions.” Dodd tried a number of different approaches with this, and observed that “anchoring one end and twisting the other” gave the best results. Not all of the resulting liquid separated, but those that did resulted in “a delicious olive oil.” Not a bad result from a recipe dating back to the days when pharaohs walked the earth.

[SunkenCiv]

the rest of the "oliveoil" keyword, never had looked before:

• Democratic Socialism Is Nothing New—Part 3: Central Planning [05/01/2021]
• Forced Resettlement and Immigration at Tel Hadid [07/13/2020]
• These 10 Clean Eats Will Unclog and Protect Your Arteries [12/18/2018]
• 4,000-Year-Old Jar Contains Italy's Oldest Olive Oil [06/20/2018]
• How Climate Change Is Playing Havoc With Olive Oil (and Farmers) [10/24/2017]
• Olive Oil, Tea Kettles, and Toasters: The Untold Brexit Story [06/27/2016]
• Fake Olive Oil, It's Everywhere. Most Likely In Your Kitchen [11/15/2015]
• The Lowly Amphora (and ancient contact across the oceans) [06/01/2015]
• An ingredient in olive oil that appears to kill cancer cells [02/21/2015]
• Remains of 8,000-year-old olive oil found in Lower Galilee [12/19/2014]
• Yes, they ate Locust. A Review of Some the Common Foods at the Time of Jesus [07/17/2014]
• Scientists Discover Why Olive Oil Lowers Blood Pressure [05/23/2014]
• Corn, sunflower, safflower oil health benefits challenged [11/11/2013]
• EU retreats from olive oil ban after wave of ridicule [05/25/2013]
• EU to ban olive oil jugs from restaurants [05/17/2013]
• IKARIA, GREECE: The Oldest People On Earth Reveal The Secrets To Living Past 100 [07/15/2012]
• Don’t Eat Salad with Fat-Free Dressing Says Science [07/05/2012]
• Trash Talk [ Monte Testaccio, imperial Roman landfill ] [05/05/2012]
• Fried food heart risk 'a myth' [01/25/2012]
• Fried food heart risk 'a myth' [01/25/2012]
• Virgin Olive Oil & Fish Fatty Acids Help Prevent Acute Pancreatitis [12/22/2011]
• Book Review: Losing 'Virginity': Olive Oil's 'Scandalous' Fraud [12/12/2011]
• State lawmakers are being urged to scale back the number of laws they propose [CA] [03/07/2011]
• Top food was olives in time of the ancient mariner [08/15/2010]
• Molecular Biology Provides Clues to Health Benefits of Olive Oil [06/28/2010]
• Feds get picky over what makes oil 'extra virgin' [06/04/2010]
• Shipwreck Yields World's Oldest Salad Dressing [06/24/2008]
• The Secret To Long Life May Not Be In The Genes [05/05/2008]
• Slippery Path When Oils Ain't Oils [10/20/2007]
• Fish, Seafood Better Than Olive Oil, Nuts Against Heart Disease [05/07/2007]
• 'Church' of one defends drug rub [03/05/2007]
• Virgin olive oil deemed especially heart healthy [09/07/2006]
• Feds put lid on bogus olive oil [02/12/2006]
• Israelis Developing Alternatives To Arab Oil [11/08/2005]
• It's the age-old story, lying about virginity. (Olive Oil Ain't what is seems) [02/16/2005]
• Researchers discover why olive oil lessens breast cancer risk [02/15/2005]
• Fat Substitute Is Pushed Out of the Kitchen [02/13/2005]
• The Israeli olive oil guru [01/16/2005]
• Olive oil cuts cancer risk [01/10/2005]
• Oleic Acid Key to Olive Oil's Anti-Cancer Effect [01/10/2005]
• Palestinian olive oil farmers find new market through USAID-sponsored project [US Gov. pays $1M] [04/30/2004]
• 'Mediterranean Diet' Cuts Heart Attack, Cancer Risk [06/26/2003]

[SunkenCiv]

[Candor7]

Olive oil.

Are you a fan?

At home we use it for everything.

Including lube for squeaky door hinges.

[ptsal]

Bkmk olive

[telescope115]

I oil up my cast iron skillet with it after I clean it.

[M Kehoe]

Hi.

Long time ago some of the best olive oil came from Lebanon.

Now, no so much.

5.56mm

[Candor7]

I do that too.

We use it to fry pancakes.....very, very good !

[seowulf]

Of course I'm a fan of Olive Oyl.

[nicollo]

“oliveoil” keyword

---

FR wins the “Book of Knowledge” contest over Wikipedia!

Plus you get a few laughs here, which I’ve never encountered on that other, lesser resource. (Wait, I personally added there Livy’s story of Scipio Africanus meeting Hannibal later in life and asking Hannibal who’s the greatest conqueror.)

[GOPJ]

“Olive Oyl is named after olive oil, used commonly in cooking. Segar’s newspaper strips also featured a number of her relatives named after other oils, including her brother, Castor Oyl, their mother, Nana Oyl and their father Cole Oyl.”

Olive Oyl - Popeye the Sailor Wiki - Fandom
https://sweethaven.fandom.com

[GOPJ]

First, crush olives and place them inside a permeable bag. The next step, Dodd writes, involves “inserting sticks at either end of the bag before twisting them in opposite directions.”

Doesn't this sound like 'pressing' but with less pressure? Am I missing something here?

[seowulf]

Olive is the only truly edible one in the family, and quite tasty.

[seowulf]

Basically, first press olive oil which is still considered premium.

[SunkenCiv]

It’s a squeezer, not a press in the familiar sense.

https://www.google.com/search?q=olive+press&tbm=isch

[SunkenCiv]

Yup!

[CJ Wolf]

Yeah. As soon as I take my cast iron pan out of the dishwasher I scrape off the rust and lube it up with olive oil.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

There is a guy on youtube who is doing a "how to make everything" series that is really interesting.

For example before you could do this you would need to have learned how to make cloth to make the bag.

Before you could make the cloth you would need to know how to weave.

Before that you would need to know how to spin so you would have something to weave.

It is really interesting how everything we do is dependent on having something that came before.

[SunkenCiv]

It’s remarkable how the amount of labor to make garments has dropped, and how the resulting free time has turned so many of us into couch potatoes. :^) I was looking at a spinning wheel (donated by a cousin to a museum) from at least the 1840s and considered, at least one of these used to be in every home.

[telescope115]

I do that too.

We use it to fry pancakes.....very, very good!

————
Really?
I never thought of using OO for that!
Gonna have to try it!😛

[Candor7]

Really?
I never thought of using OO for that!
Gonna have to try it!😛>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Really good. With a little butter and Maple Syrup.

The Olive Oil makes it all quite good. A huge taste sensation
with Olive Oil.