Another eBay scam

[Mr. Benn]

"ARWadsworth" wrote in news:Qoybn.37135 $ [e-mail]:

better.

What was the interview about?

[Steve Firth]

No more than I would confirm that it is of me. Why on earth should you be concerned either way?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Because you commented on it. And I often find it a surprise to see a pic of someone I've only read or heard on the radio, etc. To see how it compares to my mental image.

Just natural curiosity.

[Stuart Noble]

The interviewer was a bit of alright

[ARWadsworth]

Not too sure. I don't speak Italian. Genetic coding and biological weapons if the website is anything to go on.

Adam

[Mr Benn]

This happened to me as well. I spotted fraudulent activity on eBay and I contacted eBay about it several times. No response from them at all! The fraudulent auctions continued and I ended up warning bidders myself.

Either eBay are incredibly inefficient or they just don't care. I have little respect for the company.

[Appin]

The message from Stuart Noble contains these words:

Dyed blonde

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember [e-mail] (Steve Firth) saying something like:

Saw this on CNN the other day...

interesting. How does Tunisian olive oil measure up?

[Chris Hogg]

Another 'advantage' of sniping is that it puts a constraint on you not to be tempted to go above your maximum figure, as there just isn't time. When bidding early, there's always the temptation to go that little bit higher if someone outbids you.

[Steve Firth]

It's probable that the oils sold as "Italian" are mostly Tunisian olive oil. So for most people, the answer is perfectly good, fit for purpose. The only negative IMO is that there is a trade in unpressed olives being transported from Tunisia to Italy these olives are then pressed in Italy and the result can be sold as Italian olive oil. The slight problem is that olive should be pressed within a few hours of being picked.

Loading them in bulk into ships and transporting as unpressed olives results in inferior olive oil just because when you put lots of olives together they start to heat up all by themselves. As Mr Mahjoub says in that article the ideal is to keep the temperature low at all stages of production.

The ideal would be to keep the olives in Tunisia, press them there and to raise the profile of Tunisian olive oil in order to guarantee a higher value for the farmer. It's going to be a long job. I think Mr Majoub has the right idea, but I don't agree with his technique.

He's right that the press needs to run cold, he's also right that loving care in the pressing and in choosing the right time to harvest can make a huge difference to the quality of the oil. What I don't agree with is his idea of pressing oil as is shown in the photo leaving the oil open to atmosphere and ladling it by hand. That causes premature oxidation of the oil and that's counter productive.

We press ours in a completely enclosed press which is run cold from end to end. The oil is separated from the water content of the fruit by centrifugation and we don't filter the oil - it's allowed to separate in sealed containers until it is clear. The closed process ensures that as much of the perfume of the olive as possible is preserved in the oil. It's what I would recommend to the Tunisians.

It's a long time since I visited Tunisia and I didn't have the same experience then that I have now - so I'm not able to compare the quality of their oil to best current practice. I can say that it was good enough for me to fly home with 20 litres of it in my luggage. I also like Spanish oil produced by small producers with a similar ethos to us and Mr Majoub. I particularly recommend any Picual olive oils produced by small producers. It's exceptional.

If you want to know more, the best book on the subject is published by Judy Ridgway "Best Olive Oil Buys Around The World" the background to oils, tasting notes etc are all clearly explained and she focusses on oils available in UK supermarkets.

[Huge]

Is it not the case that Italy exports more "Italian" olive oil than it actually grows? I seem to recall reading that somewhere, many years ago.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember [e-mail] (Steve Firth) saying something like:

Thanks for that. Yes, watching the piece it briefly occurred to me that gravity settlement might be applicable to his operation, from my own experiences settling out waste veg oil. I was impressed at how effective it is, providing you have the time to allow it to happen. Depends on how much space he's got and throughput, I suppose.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Chris Hogg saying something like:

Exactly - I just set the snipe and forget about it until the auction's finished.

[whisky-dave]

I heard they're growing olives in sussex now .....

[Huge]

Or at least, they were. They aren't hardy.

[Steve Firth]

The first time I saw the claim it was made about wine. But it's true in both cases, the big producers are expert in manipulating the text on labels to stay legal while using the cheapest possible ingredients.

[Steve Firth]

You're welcome.

Bear in mind olives are a seasonal crop, so it's perfectly reasonable to harvest in November/January and then to store the oil for three months before bottling. That allows plenty of time for the solid vegetable matter to settle out. Allowing the oil to stay in contact with the olive particles greatly increases the flavour.

Stored in ideal conditions with air excluded the oil wll easily last for

12-15months in storage with a life in the glass bottle of a further year after bottling. The limitation on shelf life is oxidation which gives the oil an unpleasant soapy flavour.

[Steve Firth]

Somehow I doubt that Mediterranean olive growers feel threatened. They grow grapes in England and turn them into "wine". That production doesn't threaten to produce anything worth drinking yet.

[JimK]

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