Olive oil is an amazing substance; as a global community, it is the one thing that truly binds us together — we all use it, each person may have a completely different use than the next. It's in the foods we eat daily, as well as in many products we use with the same regularity, and many don't even realize that this is the case. Three chemical structures make up olive oil: oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Toss in a few more great things such as the fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6, vitamins A, D, E, K, not to mention the fabulous taste of this golden gift from the gods, and the substance becomes even more mysteriously wonderful. 

Valued throughout the centuries, famous Greek poet Homer dubbed it liquid gold.  In ancient Greece, athletes made a ritual of rubbing it onto their bodies before the stresses of an event, for luck and in hopes of receiving strength from the gods as well as to make their torsos and extremities so slick that the wind would give them added speed. Historians and forensic scientists have found proof that the golden oil was poured through the holes in tombs by followers of saints and martyrs as homage. Could it be that this amazing oil derived from the olive tree is still as popular and revered today as it was then? The answer is a resounding YES!

Olive oil has always been more than a food condiment to the people of the Mediterranean.  It’s the Mediterranean's lifeblood.  From ancient times to the present, people have used it for medicine, for magic, to anoint kings and priests and perform their everyday beauty rituals.  Crowns of olive branches were bestowed as a mark on those individuals for purity and consecration — they were even found in the tomb of Tutankhamen.  Even after thousands of years, the olive tree is a symbol of abundance, wisdom and quietude.  “To extend an olive branch,” continues to depict the sign of offering peace.

According to The International Olive Oil Council, olive oil sales in the United States have more than doubled over the last 10 years with it being used in the trendiest restaurants from New York to Napa. Chefs throughout the world use it to make magnificent culinary masterpieces — but that's not what this book is about. There are already a number of popular cookbooks featuring olive oil on the market.  Instead, author Carol Firenze introduces readers to the whole world of uses for olive oil.

After taking readers through a brief history of olive oil, she teaches them about the nuances of the substance and then introduces the more than 101 practical things to do with olive oil around the house, for health, and in everyday life.  She presents the uses through the telling of her favorite family stories and offers unique solutions, formulas and recipes using this precious oil. 

Did you know that you can use olive oil to remove ticks, smooth out wrinkles, remove eye makeup, relieve jellyfish stings, polish brass and guns, remove paint, condition hair, improve the appearance of nails and cuticles, soothe baby diaper rash, lubricate squeaky hinges, clean wax off of candleholders, polish pearls and diamonds? Did you know that it is also an antioxidant, can stimulate bone growth, calm an upset stomach, ease the pain of arthritis, treat ear complaints and sunburns, reduce the effects of alcohol, kill head lice, and soothe dry or chapped skin?

That's right! There are so many uses — more than possible with just about any other single substance on the face of the earth. Author Carol Firenze brings the practical applications of olive oil to her readers enabling them to enhance their lives and prepare them in advance for the unexpected.  The Passionate Olive — 101 Things to do with Olive Oil is small and to the point. Readers can jump to and fro in any order they wish.  Lovers of olive oil and will love this book and will want to keep The Passionate Olive — 101 Things to do with Olive Oil and a bottle of liquid gold in their kitchen, their bathroom and even in the bedroom. As a matter of fact, Carol Firenze shows you why it is practical to have olive oil in any room in the house.