Spanish food scientists experiment with new textures and colours of olive oil. A team of researchers at CTAEX (Centro Tecnológico Agroalimentario de Extremadura) have given olive oil a whole new look and feel in the hope that this will diversify and extend the use of what many people in Spain call liquid gold. Spain is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of olive oil, and according to one of the members of the CTAEX research team, the aim of the Spanish scientists is to provide companies commercializing olive oil with new “formats” leading to new “uses” and, in turn, to new “consumers”. The team claims to have produced a solidified olive oil that can be used to make ice cream, or can be presented in slices as a complement on a cheese board or in cubes in salads. The hard oil comes in different shapes, colours and flavours according to what kind of olive is used in the process. The scientists would not go into any detail about their methods so as not to “give away any ideas” to competitors, but they claim that the process used to produce the solid olive oil in no way damages the nutritional benefits of this famous component of the Mediterranean diet.