As Providence foodies, we spend a lot of our time dining out. It’s hard not to when you live in a culinary capital! However, as many of you know, sometimes nothing beats a nice homecooked meal. One of our new favorite products to cook with is Zucchi Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
My interest in authentic olive oil grew when I started to read about the health benefits. EVOO is the world’s healthiest fat with proof that it can reduce the risk of heart disease and cancers, and provide better assimilation of vitamins, digestion, and also lower blood cholesterol. Sounds good, right? I started cooking with popular brands all the time.
But there’s a problem in the American EVOO industry that I wasn’t aware of – much of the products sold at our grocery stores are not honest. An academic food fraud study spanning 30 years in the Journal of Food Science showed that olive oil was the single most commonly referenced adulterated food of any type in scholarly articles from 1980 to 2010 (Forbes, 2016). In fact, 73% of these U.S. brands did not even meet the legal standard that makes an oil “extra virgin”! So, for years we’ve not only been cheated of the real taste of authentic EVOO, but have been missing out on the health benefits. Many of us have been putting ingredients into our body that we
didn’t intend to.
What exactly separates EVOO from regular olive oil? Find out here.
When I first stumbled onto the Zucchi website in search of authentic EVOO from Italy, I felt refreshed by the transparency presented – every bottle contains a code that gives access to information on the origin of all the raw materials used in the oils.
Another thing I was interested in was the different types of EVOO they offered. Through “the art of bleding” as they call it, they combine oils from different cultivars and different origins, merging their fragrances and flavors for an end result with great flavor. My favorite flavor that I tried was their “Sweet & Fruity” EVOO, which I drizzled over my salmon before cooking.
Overall, I’ve found a real, authentic EVOO brand with flavors that keep cooking at home exciting. I’ll stick with it!
—
Zucchi’s US activities are made possible because of the Flavor Your Life Campaign, which works to educate North American consumers on the benefits of authentic extra virgin olive oil hailing from Europe.
