Dive Deep into the World of Olive Oil | Easygoing Company for a Quiet Evening

In Dive Deep into the World of Olive Oil, Amanda and Marco pour themselves into a gently detailed conversation about one of the kitchen’s most quietly fascinating staples. From the differences between extra virgin and other grades to the mysteries of smoke points and flavour profiles, they explore olive oil with calm curiosity rather than culinary intensity. The discussion lingers on what good olive oil should taste like, how to choose a bottle at the grocery store, and whether they tend to drizzle delicately or pour with enthusiasm.
Along the way, they touch on unexpected uses beyond the kitchen, sharing mild confessions and practical tips in their usual soft, meandering style. As always, this calming podcast unfolds at an unhurried pace, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up — steady voices, simple pleasures, and just enough detail to keep you company as you drift toward rest.

​Dive Deep into the World of Olive Oil
(Original airdate March 20, 2024)

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda Barker and Marco Timpano

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. That, of course, is meant for you to drift off to sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:  I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco:  Amanda, I noticed that there's other podcasts now doing boring talk podcasts. Trying to what? Yeah, I noticed one recently. Competition. Competition.

Amanda:  That's okay.

Marco:  That's all right.

Amanda:  There's room at the table for everyone.

Marco:  There is, there is. And I. I like our conversations. I have to say, I've listened to a couple of other ones and it's like. Feels a little forced.

Amanda:  Not us.

Marco:  Not us.

Amanda:  As natural as the day we were born. Friends.

Marco:  Well, I wouldn't say that we're wearing clothes, folks, in case you're wondering.


Amanda, are we going to do another listener topic?

Barely but that said, Amanda, you, you have said, are we going to do another listener topic?

Amanda:  And here's how it works. Just so everyone knows. I have no idea what he's gonna spring on me.

Marco:  And what's funny, listeners, is I sent Amanda an email with all the listener topics.

Amanda:  Okay. Do you want me to look it up?

Marco:  No, it's fine. I'll just tell you.

Amanda:  No, I thought you're just gonna introduce it. That. Isn't that part of the charm, that I don't know what's happening?

Marco:  No, part of the charm is you looking at topics and then saying, oh, let's do this one.

Amanda:  Oops.

Marco:  There you go.


Diane B. asked us to do an episode on olive oil on salads

Well, we have. Diane B. Has asked us to do an episode on olive oil, different kinds, and what goes on salad. With regards to the oils that we use.

Amanda:  I would like my mother to listen to this episode once when all is said and done. I can tell you that right now.

Marco:  Okay. So maybe we can get it to her.

Amanda:  She's always like, I bought you olive oil for the salad. Like, she doesn't understand the concept of oil on salad. Should I explain?

Marco:  Yeah, Because I'm a little confused.

Amanda:  My mother has olive oil for cooking. Right. For her, it's just for cooking. And she doesn't really differentiate between tastes. And I'm sure we'll get into all of that.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  But for salads, she would never put oil and vinegar together on a salad. She would buy a salad dressing that sounds interesting to her, try it out, find one she likes. She's not a person that puts that on. Like, she'll only buy. She'll only put a bottled salad dressing on a salad.

Marco:  I see.

Amanda:  For as long as I've known her. Anyway, she might tell me I'm wrong, that she. Oh, no, she had her red vinegar days. I have no idea. But certainly in the last 30 years.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  That it's just been bottled salad dressing that she buys and likes.

Marco:  I've actually seen Amanda's mother saying, but you like this salad dressing. And Amanda's saying, I've never liked this salad dressing.

Amanda:  There's one that she loves, and. And it's great. I like it. But it has raw garlic in it. And it. Raw garlic is a little harsh on my stomach.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  And so I always get stomach pains when I eat it. So I tell her, please leave it off. And she makes a big production about leaving it off. And then I say, do you just have oil and vinegar? I could just do that. And then it becomes a whole thing of, where's the oil? And where's the vinegar. That's what Mandy needs on her salad.

Marco:  Right, right.


Nadio does tours in olive groves and at olive presses

But today we're talking about olive oil.

Amanda:  We are. Or we're trying to.

Marco:  We're trying to. And, I used to do tours in olive, groves and at olive presses.

Amanda:  So why don't you. Because you really are the aficionado Nadio, on this topic, why don't you start by telling our listeners, because you did tours all throughout Italy.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  What part of Italy did you do the olive oil tours in?

Marco:  It was in Puglia. so that's where the. If you look at Italy like a boot. The heel.

Amanda:  The heel of the boot. Not to be confused with the toe of the boot.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  Which is where some of your family is from.

Marco:  That's correct. So I was doing it in Puglia, but there's olive, like olive growing areas all across Italy. In particular, Lucca in Tuscany.

Amanda:  Oh, Right. Luca with two Cs.

Marco:  Right. Is really well known for its olive oil. so having said that, Puglia produces more olive oil in that province than any other region.

Marco:  And they export a lot of olive oil that then gets cut with French olive oil. Yeah. The French will buy olive oil from Puglia, cut their oil with it, and so that they.

Amanda:  When you say cut, what you mean is mix.

Marco:  Mix, yeah.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  Yeah. They cut it or they, they mix it because they, they might not have enough supply. So they'll get some supply from there. Does that make sense?

Amanda:  It does. Yeah. Not everyone uses that term, cut. That feels like, a. A chef term or a drug vendor term, frankly.

Marco:  Sure. Pick what you want and use it to your liking.

Amanda:  But, so is French olive oil not as good as Puglies olive oil?

Marco:  I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. I'll say.

Amanda:  The French have great olives, do they not?

Marco:  France has wonderful olives, wonderful food.

Amanda:  Let's not.

Marco:  I'm not going to disparage France or their culinary products because they're certainly fantastic. Diane, Amanda's trying to paint me in a corner.

Amanda:  Trying to oil you in a corner.

Marco:  She's trying to oil me in a corner. And that's not going to happen.

Amanda:  You're slippery.

Marco:  What I will say is this. So when it comes to olive oil, a good quality olive oil that is, ah, you know, virgin, extra virgin olive oil.

Amanda:  And what does that mean? Because a lot of people don't know what that means.

Marco:  I mean. Okay, so let me start by suppress.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  No, it's. So it means a couple of things. you're making me Try to think, to remember what we would learn. So the olives have to be picked and pressed right away. They cannot be sitting on the ground for a long time or you can't pick them and press them the next day. You're basically picking them or shaking them off.

Amanda:  So if you pick them fresh, get them off the tree, go right into the press. That would be virgin olive oil.

Marco:  And the first pressing of it is virgin, right?

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  Because you can press. You can press the olives even more second pressing and whatnot.

Amanda:  I see. I, see.

Marco:  And extra virgin olive. Virgin olive oil should have a peppery feel to it. So if you have a taste of it should look greenish. Like, you know, some olive oils look very yellow.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  And, for me, that's not a great quality olive oil.

Amanda:  Okay.


Margot recently got a really high quality olive oil as a gift

Marco:  So Diane B. Asked about olive oil, so I'm going to give some of my olive oil tips.

Amanda:  Great.

Marco:  You recently got a really high quality olive oil as a gift.

Amanda:  I did. It was a Secret Santa present. and when we have our. Not Secret Santa, what are they called? Like swap.

Marco:  Yankee?

Amanda:  Swap. I think they're called sometimes. But anyway, that at the Christmas party where you draw numbers and if you're one you go first and if you're 10, you go last. If there's 10 people. And so I went first and I. Which is not enviable because anyone can steal it from you. And I usually traditionally go for the bottle. So assuming, okay, it'll be a bottle of wine or liquor. And you can't go wrong with a bottle. I didn't go for the bottle one year. I went for the bottle two years ago or three years ago. And in the liquor bag was a book. And not even a good book. So I was not happy with that. And then last year I went, well, I'm not gonna get it tricked again. So I didn't go for the bottle. And it was this beautiful bottle of bourbon that I really wish I had grabbed. So this year I was like, okay, I'm back to my strategy. Just go for the bottle. And you know, it's hard because you don't wanna. If you don't like it, the person who. Kyle will be upset and all these things. So I really thought it was just a bottle of wine. And then I pulled it out and it was a bottle of olive oil. And I was like, olive oil. And at first I was a little bit like, And then, a new gal that works with us who's from Holland said it's really Expensive. In her little voice. And I looked at it and she said, I got it from Italy. And I was like, oh, yeah. And she goes, I actually, I said, believe me, I'm actually very happy with olive oil. I will always use olive oil.

Marco:  Right, Even though you were a little bit snarky off the top.

Amanda:  Well, I was trying not to be. I just wasn't expecting it to be a bottle of olive oil. What?

Marco:  No, no.

Amanda:  yeah.

Marco:  Then Amanda brought this olive oil home and I couldn't be happier.

Marco:  So just to clarify, Amanda, because I want to make sure that I give the totality of what extra virgin olive oil is.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  It's made from the first cold pressing.

Marco:  Of the olives and contains the least amount of fatty acids. 1%.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  It's the most fruity tasting and the most expensive of oils. Now, to me, olive oil doesn't taste like fruit. It has a peppery feel on the tongue. That's how I know. So that's, that's, that's how I, I distinguish it. But maybe for you, you taste the olives or you taste floral notes.

Amanda:  No, it. For me, it's peppery.

Marco:  I meant our listeners. I meant for, for you, the listener. So not for you. For one, for one. Now, olive oil or pure olive oil is a combination of refined olive oil and extra virgin. So you might be saying what's refined?

Amanda:  Right. What's. Well, what's refined, Margot.

Marco:  Refined means that the oil has underground undergone additional processing to neutralize any defects in the taste, aroma, or acidity.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  And I think that has to do with when you don't bring the olives quickly to be pressed.

Amanda:  Okay.


There are light and extra light olive oils. Light means the blend of refined oils

Marco:  That's my opinion. That's what I learned when I was on tours. People might say differently, but. Diane, that's what you heard from me. So then there's light and extra light olive oils.

Marco:  And they have some monosaturated fat and caloric content.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  As olive oil. Here, light means the blend of refined and extra virgin oils leaning heavily towards the refined.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  So the color, the aroma, the flavor are lighter and they're lighter relative to, you know, the greener, deeper olive oil colors.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  They look more like a, safflower oil or vegetable oil.

Amanda:  And they are a vegetable oil, just a. Their own version.

Marco:  But are all those vegetables or fruits?

Amanda:  Oh, gosh, I don't know. But I always consider, I mean, when a recipe calls for any vegetable oil, like a cake recipe, for example.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  I mean, we most normally have olive oil in the house, so that's what I use.

Marco:  You use olive oil in your cakes?

Amanda:  Yeah, I mean, if I have, you know, a safflower oil or grapeseed oil or something else, then I'll use our avocado oil. I'll use it. But we often don't have it. We often just have olive oil. So that's what I use.

Marco:  Okay, so. And you can make cake with olive oil?

Amanda:  Of course you can.


Has to be careful with Italian olive oils purchased here in North America

Marco:  So getting back to my recommendations with regards to olive oil, one.

Marco:  Has to be careful with Italian olive oils purchased here in North America.

Amanda:  Why is that?

Marco:  Because Italians can be a little bit m. How do I say this? I don't know, deceptive. With their oil.

Amanda:  What?

Marco:  So they will, keep very fine extra virgin olive oil for themselves and then they'll cut or mix olive oil with other oils that aren't even olive and send it across the pond.

Amanda:  So they could easily take like sunflower oil and olive oil and say, here's our olive oil.

Marco:  They could even take lamp oil and put it in. Well, they're not lamp oil.

Amanda:  No, I hope not. Don't tell our listeners.

Marco:  No, but it's like they're just, at

Amanda:  this point in the podcast, they're just cutting.

Marco:  Okay, so I'm very cautious with my olive oil from Italy because I need to know who's bottling and if they're not, if they're reputable.

Amanda:  How, how do you know these things? Is there an olive oil police?

Marco:  Okay, before I get to that, let me just say this. California has some delightful olive oil and they do a really good job. So I like California ol oil. I like olive oil from Israel, I like olive oil from. You know, there's a lot of olive oil coming from Spain, from Portugal, from Greece, from. You know, I'm only, I'm always cautious with European olive oil after what I heard that that happens.

Amanda:  Right?

Marco:  Because, you know, extra virgin olive oil is expensive and is time consuming and the process, you know, you know, takes time and, and so you also take

Amanda:  great pride in their wonderful olive oil.

Marco:  Right? The reputable people do.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  But there's a lot out there who will cut it. So if you're like, if you're like. But I want Italian olive oil because I like the taste. Because Italian olive oil is really delightful when you get good olive oil. My recommendation is go to Costco if you have one, because Costco is much like what you said, the olive oil police, where they ensure that their products meet their standards. And so the olive oil, makers would have to meet Costco's high standards.

Amanda:  So are you talking about the Kirkland brand? The Costco brand of olive oil?

Marco:  The Kirkland brand comes in Spanish and Italian. Both are fantastic. Okay, then they have non Kirkland Lake brands. So Kirkland, I believe is the, Costco label.

Amanda:  Yep.

Marco:  And I personally like a unfiltered olive oil. And the brand name happens to be Il Grezzo and El Grezzo is the brand name, but it's unfiltered, so it looks a little cloudy at the bottom.

Amanda:  But I don't know that our listeners all over the world have access to this. I mean, Costco is very, regional.

Marco:  Right. So then if you don't have access to a Costco.

Amanda:  Well, they might have a Costco, but it doesn't mean that they'll necessarily have El Grezzo.

Marco:  Sure. But I would argue that their olive oil, even if it's not their brand, is going to meet the standard.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  So if you buy your olive oil from a Costco, great. Otherwise, M. I would recommend getting your olive oil from a place that sells that deals in that kind of stuff so that it's not like your grocery store where they have a lot of different products.

Marco:  But when you, you deal with, let's say a specialty store like in Italy.

Marco:  They're going to have purveyors of good quality olive oil.

Marco:  If you don't have an Italy, a store that deals with, let's say olive oil, olives and the like, they'll be able to tell you if you can sample the olive oil. I, would say sample it. It should have a peppery feel in your mouth and that would be the olive oil and the finer. So when you're dealing with olive oil too, you could have a finishing olive oil. So that would be a high quality olive oil like the one that your friend, gifted you.

Amanda:  Right. Evie is her name.

Marco:  Evie got you on the, the Yankee swap or whatever you call it. I feel like that's not a correct term.

Amanda:  Well, I'm the Yankee here, so I'll take it back.


What do you use finishing olive oil for? The number one thing I use

Marco:  All right. So, and the, that's a great olive oil to finish things with Diane. So you have that sort of near. So you can put it on a salad or if you've baked some fresh bread and you've cut it and you're gonna serve it, put a little olive oil on that.

Amanda:  It's so good. I purposely have not been using. We're out of our El Grezzo right now. I do have some avocado Oil that's in a spray and m. Then I obviously have the really good stuff that I got that we're about halfway through. So I don't use it for cooking.

Marco:  So what do you use that finishing olive oil for?

Amanda:  The number one thing I use it for is a tomato salad. So when I make fresh bread, which I like to do a couple times, maybe twice a month, I'll make a fresh bread. I'll make a nice tomato salad with some fresh mozzarella and that's the oil that goes in there and that. So it's like so good with the bread.

Marco:  And a little bit of molten salt. Right.

Amanda:  Of course. Who am I?

Marco:  So that's what we use that for. You could even use it on Where else could you use olive oil like that on a pizza if you want to finish a pizza?

Amanda:  I have used it on our really good pizzas. We bought. We have like, we have a subscription box Right. Going right now of like really high quality pizzas that I'm enjoying frozen pizzas. And so they all say, well, not on all the pizzas, but certain pizzas they say finish it with a little bit of olive oil.

Marco:  I would argue too, you know how a lot of people will take the crust of pizzas and then they have some sort of dipping sauce. A jalapeno mayo type dipping sauce.

Amanda:  Or garlic. Yeah.

Marco:  If you have fine olive oil.

Marco:  You don't need those dipping sauces. You could just wave a little bit of that olive oil.

Amanda:  If it's a good Italian pizza, I'm with you. If it's like ah, sort of mass produced pizza, which to me is like a totally different beast, then I want the pre made dipping sauce.

Marco:  That's Amanda for you.

Amanda:  American and Italian.

Marco:  Right. I on the other hand, prefer to just eat the crust or a little bit of olive oil.

Amanda:  well, aren't you superior to me?

Marco:  No, just different strokes for different folks.

Amanda:  That's why they call it a Yankee swap, I guess.


What do you use olive oil for? Pretty much everything else

Marco:  All right, so then what if you save Evie's oil for finishing, what do you use the Il Grazo or the Kirkland Lake olive oil for?

Amanda:  Pretty much everything else. It's just, I'm out of it right now.

Marco:  Okay, so what would you be using it for?

Amanda:  I use it to saute.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  So if I'm making anything, you know, sauce or soup, whatever, very often you start with garlic and onion. Right. So when I'm sauteing either garlic and or onion, that's gonna go in with olive oil.

Marco:  Now if you're frying something and you don't usually fry. What oil are you using right now?

Amanda:  Avocado oil.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  Yeah. And that's usually what we have. That's usually what I'll use to fry because it has a higher smoking point. Right, right. So that's the thing. Yeah. Is it smoke point or smoking?

Marco:  Smoke point, I believe.

Amanda:  in other words, that's why you don't really fry in olive oil, because it can pop back out at you. Like, you know, you want an oil that can sustain a high temperature. And then when you put the. Whatever it is you're frying in there, say the fried chicken or the arancini or whatever it is, when you fry that in, you want it to just latch onto the food and fry it versus, you know, bubbling and spitting back at you.

Marco:  Right, right. So for me, smoking. Right, right. Because smoke point, it refers to the temperature when the oil starts to smoke.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  which it, which it will reach before its boiling point.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  So you, you know, if you're. If you're using something that's like a quick, quick cook, you. It doesn't really matter, like, if you're going to do eggs, let's say. Right. But, you know, you want to make sure. So, like, low, smoking oils would be like pumpkin seed or walnut or flaxseed. You don't want to be using those.

Amanda:  No, no. Those are really just made for eating, I think.

Marco:  Right, right. Or finishing for salads.

Amanda:  Right. Like walnut oil. Yeah, yeah.

Marco:  So, the last thing I wanted to say about olive oil is in some places, olive oil can be used even on dessert. Amanda.

Amanda:  Oh, really?

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  Tell me more about that.

Marco:  Like, you could have a gelato and put a little bit of olive oil on it. I've actually had olive oil gelato years ago. Yeah, They. I didn't love it, but it was really interesting. I was at a very, let's say, fancy restaurant that they were doing, like, avant garde things with food, and I had it there and I was like, oh, this is interesting.

Amanda:  But olive oil has. I mean, we've used olive oil for so many things. For dry skin, you know, a tablespoon in a bath, will soften your skin. Sometimes I'll just put it on my face. I like to mix old coffee grounds with a bit of olive oil and make a little mask out of that. It's really hydrating and wonderful on, on the skin. it's also. Olive oil is great. You know, I've used it, to be honest. I'VE used it on leather more than once. like on my boots, my black leather boots. I've used olive oil.

Marco:  I will use it for a couple things. So I'll use it. So here's a couple things that I want to mention. 1. Olive wood likes olive oil.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  So if you have utensils that are made of olive wood, or let's say you have a cheese, board or cutting board that's made of olive wood and you know when you're cleaning it and maybe you kind of use a bit of soapy water to clean it, you don't want that wood to dry out.

Amanda:  No, exactly.

Marco:  So what you would do is take a bit of olive oil and rub it on that wood and the olive oil will kind of seep into the net. It will oil the wood and keep it looking good and fresh and not oil, not old or like rough looking, if that makes sense. And it'll preserve those utensils or that cutting board or that breadboard or whatever you want to call it. M so that's one tip. The other thing about olive oil I'll mention, and this was, this works for any kind of oil if you're going to paint the house, the, a wall, window or whatnot. Well, not a window, but you know, if you're gonna paint. And you know how paint will sometimes splatter on your hands as you're painting?

Amanda:  yeah.

Marco:  What I always do is I'll take some olive oil and rub it in my hands.


You know, sometimes kids get diaper rash from wearing the diaper

Amanda:  Oh.

Marco:  Like a moisturizer pre rub before I paint.

Amanda:  Oh really?

Marco:  And then if I get little paint droplets that land on my hand or my arms.

Marco:  They don't stick because they're on an oiled arm or hand. and so when I wash it off, the paint easily comes off my skin.

Amanda:  Interesting.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  Ah, I know your mother used to use it for diaper rash.

Marco:  Oh really?

Amanda:  Yeah, I believe so. For our niece.

Marco:  Probably on me too.

Amanda:  Probably on you, yeah. because you know, there's different creams and that you can use for diaper rashes. But sometimes kids just from wearing the diaper. Right. It's rough on their little baby skin.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  And so you just want a healing balm of some kind. And there's, there's lots of products out there, of course, but if you don't want to use a petroleum based product.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  and maybe you're using a Baxitracin or a desitin or you know, one of those white sort of things. but if it's not that advanced. And you just want something other than, like, Vaseline.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  then olive oil is a great solution.

Marco:  There you go.

Amanda:  Your mom used to use it all the time. Yeah, I remember. And I thought, well, that's really smart. I mean, you can't argue with olive oil on a baby's skin, right?

Marco:  I don't try to argue with olive oil on the best of days.

Amanda:  Well, I don't argue with our niece when she was a baby, and I certainly don't now that she's a teen almost.


So, Amanda, how often would you say you consume olive oil

Marco:  So, Amanda, how often would you say you consume olive oil?

Amanda:  Oh, my goodness, probably every day, wouldn't you say? I remember I went to a holistic, doctor once, and she told me I needed to have, like, a tablespoon of olive oil a day.

Marco:  Oh, wow.

Amanda:  Yeah. Then I was like, I mean, I just naturally consume it pretty regularly.

Marco:  We do. I know we do.

Amanda:  It's our oil of choice.

Marco:  It's our oil of choice. So, Diane B. I hope this episode answered some of your questions with regards to olive oil.

Amanda:  I'd love to know what people's oil of choice is like. I just assume everyone's out there using olive oil for all these things, but maybe not.

Marco:  Of course. Let us know what your oil of choice is, and, you can find us on our Instagram. Our show notes will have all those links we have. We are listen and sleep and this podcast, and we are also, the Insomnia Project.

Amanda:  Yawning.

Marco:  Amanda's yawning. And Diane B. I just want to say thank you. Diane has a lot of photos of rescue dogs from Lebanon on her Instagram. So, yeah, I really enjoyed looking at some of those, those photos. I just wanted to share that maybe

Amanda:  she should tell us a little bit about the rescue dogs of Turks and Caicos. We'll see.

Marco:  We'll see, we'll see. We'll see about that. And until next time, we hope you were able to listen to this episode. Maybe get an idea of how to use your oil or find a good olive oil. Let us know what olive oil you like, and maybe you were even able to fall asleep. Thank you so much. And tune in next time. Until then, bye from me.

Amanda:  Bye. For me, that was a long, outro.

Marco:  Well, I'm trying to get to 26 minutes.

Amanda:  Oh, are we not there yet?

Marco:  No, not quiet. And you, you were yawning, so I figured.

Amanda:  I apologize. It was putting me to sleep.

Marco:  I figured we should get to the end. All right, until next time, folks.