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Olivado Avocado Oil » What is so special about New Zealand Avocado Oil?
A Healthy Fruit
Research has shown that avocado fruit is full of monounsaturated fats, which are the 'good' fats that help to reduce the 'bad' LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream. The avocado also has a very high content of a natural plant compound called Beta-Sitosterol that not only helps prevent absorption of 'bad' LDL cholesterol into the bloodstream it assists in redressing the balance by promoting 'good' HDL cholesterol.
Tests show NZ-grown avocados have among the highest Beta-Sitosterol levels in the world in this type of fruit - up to 950mg per 100grams content compared to an average of 750mg per 100grams content for typical avocados grown elsewhere (AgriQuality Lab Network, May 2000). This level is preserved in the avocado oil. Compare that to olive oil, another
recognized healthy oil, which has only 250mg per 100grams content and the New Zealand avocado is almost four times superior in this respect.
The avocado is also rich in vitamin E, which is why avocado is used as a base product in many skin and hair care preparations.
In conjunction with Alfa Laval and Bertuzzi of Italy, Olivado has developed a process to extract all this goodness from the New Zealand avocado and produce a premium oil for use in cooking and as a dressing (there's even an Oil of Avocado capsule for those who wish to further supplement their nutritional intake).
Avocado Varieties
Olivado does not grow its own avocados, preferring to leave that to skilled horticulturalists throughout Northland and the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand and throughout Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. The most popular variety is Hass.
The Olivado Process
Overseas, avocado oil is processed from poor quality fruit and made into a base product for the cosmetics industry by refining, which involves heating and chemical extraction. This process delivers an oil stripped of many excellent qualities and is not suitable for culinary use.
Olivado produces avocado oil in much the same way that olive oil has been made over many centuries in the Mediterranean - by pressing the mesocarp, or flesh of the fruit, at room temperatures. The average avocado contains between 13-22% of oil.
By pressing at temperatures below 50°C, our avocado oil can rightly be termed cold-pressed. The first pressing of olive oil is known as extra virgin, because it contains the purist, first oil from the fruit. Likewise, Olivado refers to its first pressing as extra virgin - in fact, there will only be extra virgin avocado oil.
Stability and Storage
Unlike wine, olive oil and avocado oil are best the day they are made and will not improve with age. They are harmed by light and heat. That is why Olivado uses only dark bottles for avocado oil and olive oil, to prevent sunlight/fluorescent light from prematurely aging the oil. We also recommend you store your oil in a cool cupboard, where the temperature will not rise above 30°C, but don't refrigerate or it will solidify.
Olivado New Zealand has also gone a step further in preserving the quality of our product by employing a unique stabilization system that guarantees its freshness in an unopened bottle for two years.
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