America's Heartland

(upbeat music) - Here we are at the Seka Hills Olive Mill & Tasting Room, enjoying olive oil that's been grown and produced by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

Seka Hills is producing the highest grade of olive oil, which is extra virgin olive oil.

"Extra virgin" means that the oil was actually pressed or made from the whole olive, the pits, the olive, and all.

And it was made as close to the picking date as possible, which they're able to do here, because they have a mill on premises.

And it's made just like a juice, and you wanna get it as fresh as possible.

So, what are some of the nutritional benefits that we get from olive oil?

Well, first of all, it's very high in monounsaturated fats, which are fats that can lower our bad cholesterol, and therefore protect us from heart disease and stroke.

The Mediterranean diet is such a famous diet.

And people often ask, "What is the secret sauce "that keeps people healthy from the Mediterranean diet?"

The olive oil is the star within the Mediterranean diet.

And its biggest health benefits are two-fold.

One is that when you're using olive oil, this healthy, monounsaturated fat, you're less likely to use less healthy fats like saturated fats.

These are oils that tend to be solid or semi-solid at room temperature like palm oils, or coconut oil, or lard, or butter.

So, are saturated fats necessarily bad for you?

No, in small amounts they're probably fine.

But research shows that, if you can decrease the amount of these saturated fats in your diet and replace them with olive oil, which is rich in monounsaturated fat, that that can actually lower your levels of unhealthy cholesterol.

It's also super rich in polyphenols, which are also very protective against ourselves.

Polyphenols are nutrients in foods that protect ourselves from injury and help our cells regenerate.

And so, they lower our risk of diabetes, and heart disease, and cancer, and stroke.

So, here I am with Jim Etters of Seka Hills.

Hey, Jim, would you mind teaching me how to actually taste olive oil the right way?

- Absolutely.

So, what you want to do is pick up your cup, place it in the palm of your hand, kind of cup your palm around it and cover the top, and give it a gentle swirl.

What we're doing is warming the oil, releasing the aromas, releasing the flavors, gently warming the oil so that you can get the full experience.

So, then go ahead and take a taste.

Just kind of let it coat your tongue to the back of your mouth.

(Daphne exclaiming) - That is delicious.

But I'm definitely getting a burn in the back of my throat.

- That's right.

That bitterness and pungency, that pepperiness that you get in the back of your throat actually is the polyphenols.

So, that's the sign of a good quality olive oil.

- As a family doctor, when I hear the word polyphenol, my ears perk up, because that's actually the medicinal property of olive oil are these polyphenols.

I would love to know about storage of olive oil.

How do you make sure that it maintains its health profile as long as possible, and its delicious taste?

- Right.

So, the first thing is you want to consume it in a reasonable amount of time, usually within a month or so of the time you purchase the bottle and open it.

Also, you don't want to store it anywhere that's above room temperature.

So, you don't wanna set it right next to your range or on top of your oven.

- So, it's not like wine.

You're not supposed to buy it and store it, and then it just gets better over time.

- It's more like fresh fruit juice.

- Got it.

- In that, you know, it does degrade over time, it doesn't get better.

And some of the most freshest, most flavorful oil you can buy comes right out of the spigot at harvest time.

So, once it goes into bottle and you pop that top off, it's gonna start to lose its life.

But as long as you consume it within a month or two, it'll be fine.

- And just for folks to understand that degradation of the oil isn't only an issue for taste, it's an issue for health as well, because as oil degrades, you get more of those denatured fats that can actually raise your bad cholesterol and turn what is otherwise a really healthy food into an unhealthy food.

This was great.

I actually learned a lot today, so thank you so much for joining us, Jim.

- Well, thanks for having me, and we appreciate your time coming out here today to see everything we have going on at Seka Hills.

(upbeat music continues)