Student Excerpts: Olive Oil

Graduated student Monya did a wonderful job on all her assignments during the entire course. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some snippets of hers that I have set aside and will be sharing them with you. The following excerpt is from her essay on Herbs and usage in Middle Eastern countries. I learned some things about olive oil myself and found the local usage of some of the herbs she mentioned very unusual and interesting. It is truly amazing what we can learn from other cultures:

Olive oil – I was born with a hole in heart and was a very weak child. At the age of 5 my mum took me to Morocco and left me there with my grandparents for 6 months. As I was not eating properly due to my condition, my grandmother would feed me everyday a big tablespoon of pure olive oil. I was given this every morning and I remember I would be in tears, as I hated the taste. After the 6 months in Morocco I went back to the UK and had an appointment at the hospital for a check up. The doctors were amazed that the hole in my heart had closed significantly and also the murmur had disappeared. As my health had improved significantly I had also put on a bit of weight as I had built an appetite and was eating really well during those 6 months. My grandma always talks to me about the pure olive oil days. (Bless her)!!! This practice of olive oil is recognized all over morocco. Most people use olive oil for cooking or hair and skin as well as those who are weak. Morocco is second only to Greece in exports of olives to the world market and are one of Morocco's primary exports. Morocco has been producing olives for over 2,000 years. Over 395,000 hectares of cultivated land are devoted today to olive production and they produce 350,000-400,000 tons of olives each year.