Olive

I was already aware that olive oil is good for you in a general sense, but I had no idea of some of the more refined applications. For example, oil beaten up with an egg yolk makes a face mask guaranteed to nourish the driest complexion. Oil laced with essence of rosemary takes the soreness out of stiff and aching muscles. A mixture of oil and gree

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MADAME SOLIVA, the eighty-year-old chef whose nom de cuisine was Tante Yvonne, had first told us about an olive oil that she said was the finest in Provence. She had better credentials than anyone we knew. Apart from being a magnificent cook, she was olive oil’s answer to a Master of Wine. She had tried them all, from Alziari in Nice to the United

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“You’re probably wondering about the pits,” said Jean-Marie. Ah, the pits. It turns out that they are more useful and important than anyone might think. At one time, there was a feeling among certain avant-garde olive-men that the quality of their oil would be improved by extracting the pits and pressing only the flesh, an extra complication and ex

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