A: Sciabica is an Italian last name in which the "sci" makes the "sh" sound. In Italy, it would be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable: Shà-bee-ka However, here in the US it is pronounced with an accent on the second syllable: Sha-bèe-ka

A: This is a touchy subject for some. Here's our theory: The word organic should mean "trust". When you buy something at the grocery store, you want to trust in the product you're buying. Without knowing the company (or family) that produces a product, many rely on the word "organic" to gain trust. Unfortunately, in most cases, that's not enough. Here is a good article regarding organic: The organic food scam

We are a 100% certified organic grower and producer. Furthermore, we process all of our olive oil the same (organically) and ALL of our olive oils offer the same health benefit and full flavor (an organic olive oil will not taste better). Yet, most of our olives are not "certified" organic. Keep in mind, olives have very few natural pests, namely the "olive fly" which is controlled ONLY with an organic bait. The most likely non-organic practice is the use of an herbicide to control weeds.

The truth is, we do not find that organically certified olive oil offers a benefit for our family or customers, but it does offer considerable extra cost. Rest assured, we are meticulous regarding the quality of our olives and sustainability of the land. If you still would like to see the certified seal on your olive oil, we offer our Sadeg Organic line (designed for stores that only carry organic products; please give us a call to order)

A: Olive oil should be used every day because it reduces harmful LDL cholesterol while maintaining beneficial HDL. LDL cholesterol sticks in our arteries and causes blockages. Conversely, Jonathan Sciabica calls HDL cholesterol the "Roto-Rooter" for our system. HDL's job is to flow through and remove the bad LDL, leading to lower risk of heart attack and heart disease. Extra Virgin olive oil retains all of the natural health benefits of the oil. Refined olive oils, such as "100% pure" may not have the effect on your health that EVOO offers. Since all of our oils are extra virgin, you can't go wrong, though there is some evidence that shows stronger (fall harvest) olive oils have better antioxidant properties which have been correlated with reduced rates of cancer.

A: In a word, no. There are three terms that often have negative connotations that are not necessarily negative: Calories, Fat and Cholesterol. There are good sides to each of them.

Calories: Calories are essential because they give us energy; however, not all calories are created equal. 100 calories from fruit will burn off extremely fast, but 100 calories from saturated fat will take much more work. Olives are a fruit, and the oil from the olive is not nearly as "fattening" as the saturated and trans fats in fast food! The type of calorie is more important than the quantity. For instance, you can remove 500 calories of saturated fat and add 750 calories of fruits and vegetables and still lose weight! We believe that it is not possible to use too much olive oil :)

Fat and Cholesterol: There are two types of Cholesterol, LDL and HDL. LDL is considered "bad" cholesterol and HDL is "good". Having high cholesterol is not necessarily bad if it is high in "good" HDL. Saturated and Trans Fats have the "double whammy" effect of lowering good cholesterol and raising bad cholesterol. This is obviously bad, and should be avoided. Unsaturated fats do not have the negative effect of raising bad cholesterol, but not all are able to maintain good cholesterol. The Monounsaturated fats in olive oil have the opposite effect of Saturated and Trans Fats; they lower bad cholesterol and maintain good cholesterol. This significantly lowers the risk of blockage and heart disease.

There is also evidence to support the fact that Trans fats may raise the risk of Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity, Liver Dysfunction and Infertility.

A: You're right, the freezing process does NOT harm the olive oil. Yet, depending on how cold it gets, it may take up to a week to thaw!

A: The Sciabica Family produces the olive oil for all of those labels. Marsala is the original label used by the Sciabica Family going all the way back to 1936.  In fact, up until the late 80's, it was the only way that you could get Sciabica's olive oil.  It was essentially a blend of all the olives we crushed during that year.  At some point we decided that we could offer much more to our customers if we kept all varieties separate when we pressed them, also by season of year.  This is why we developed the Sciabica's label.  Today the Marsala is a blend of Sciabica's Mission and Manzanillo, and is a good all-purpose olive oil.   Sadeg is a different story.  It was an organic olive oil label that we purchased from our friend Adam Sadeg. At the time, we had a small market for organic olive oil and needed a brand with "market awareness".  Now we sell all of our organic olive oil that we produce under the Sadeg Organic label.