Olive Oil

A few weeks ago I was at our local Middle Eastern Store looking for some Rose Water to make some yummy Mango Lassi. While I was there, I was looking at the great assortment of Olive Oils they have from different countries. I asked the owner of the store what the difference was between them and he said that depending on where they come from, the soil conditions, weather and harvesting the quality will hinge on these things.
He proceeded to tell me additional information about the regions of each oil, and how some are from farms within the same area, though some cost more than others... even though they are of similar quality. Many olive oils are organic, as the farmers do not use any chemicals on their olives or in any of the processes, just the cost of certification is steep, so they do not get labeled as such.
He showed me a couple of bottles that were from the same area. One of the bottles had a map on it, to show where exactly it was from. The one I chose was from Abea on the Island of Crete, where they have (from the information I recieved from the owner of the store!) no industrial pollution. So I bought a bottle and put it in the cupboard when I got home. We go through a lot of olive oil in both our house and in using it for customers. It is amazing how even olive oils from the same brands can change in quality from one bottle to the next. We had one open already, so left this one in the cupboard until we finished up the last one.
Last night, I made some Raw Spaghetti Noodles with Zucchini. I sprinkled a bit of salt and olive oil on the dish, and tasted it. WOW!!! What AMAZING flavour it had. SOOO yummy. I was ready to eat all the zuchini just like that, before it had a chance to soften up. I distracted myself in doing other things while I waited. It was worth it... the softened noodles were so fantastic!
Tomorrow I will post more on these yummy noodles I made! OOOHHHH sooo good!