Olio&Olive, Extra Virgin Olive Oil As You Never Tasted Before!

Grading and Tasting Olive Oil

Depending on its place of origin and the variety of olives used , olive oil has a
wide range of flavors and fragrances and the consumer should choose and buy
the type that best suits his/her particular taste and the food to prepare.

Extra virgin olive oil is like fine wine. Its taste and aroma can be easily
distinguished by the nose and the palate, then discussed and dissected.

A series of requirements are declared on national and international regulations
to identify Trade Standards for olive oils. The quality is measured in two steps:
acidity evaluation and taste test.

According to the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), these are the categories:

1)VIRGIN OLIVE OIL is the oil obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely
by mechanical or other physical means under conditions, particularly thermal
conditions, which do not lead to the alteration of the oil. It has not undergone
any treatment other than washing, decanting, centrifuging and filtering. When
virgin olive oil is intended for consumption in its natural state, it is called by one
of the following designations:

a- Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a maximum acidity of 1% and organoleptic
characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category;

b- Virgin Olive Oil has a maximum acidity of 2% and organoleptic
characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category;

c- Ordinary Virgin Olive Oil has a maximum acidity of 3% and organoleptic
characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category;

d- Lampante Virgin Olive Oil has more than 3.3% of acidity and organoleptic
characteristics stipulated in the standards for this category. It is not fit for
consumption in its original state and should be refined prior to its use as a food
stuff.

2)REFINED OLIVE OIL is obtained from virgin olive oils, generally Lampante,
by refining methods that do not alter the initial glyceride structure of the oil.

3)OLIVE OIL is a specific foodstuff term for a blend of refined olive oil and
virgin olive oil fit for consumption as is.

When you buy olive oil, consider how you'll use it, how it will enhance your
cooking style. For dipping and drizzling or if you have a fantastic salad, pasta,
red meat or some grilled vegetables probably you'll need a full bodied and big
flavored oil and you could choose to have a hint of olive with a background
flavor of tomato (typical with oils produced in Sicily) or artichoke (Tuscany and
central regions of Italy).

Try the oil on different food and determine if it enhances your food or if it is too
overpowering on a delicate fish for example. Another oil might be better if
drizzled on your pasta or fantastic with some hot bread...choose the right oil as
you would choose the right fine wine!

An official extra virgin olive oil tasting is performed after the chemical test to
determine if the oil meets the standards. The tasters must follow rules of
conduct that have been established by the IOOC.

Our experience with not food professionals taught us that
anyone can learn to taste well. You can replicate at home the
same procedure professional olive oil tasters follow to judge
olive oil.

To start your tasting experience, you'll just need a small plastic cup, a bottle of
olive oil and a glass of water. You'll have a better result if you don't drink coffee
or smoke at least 30 minutes before the time set for your test and if you don't
use any perfume, cosmetic or soap whose could linger during the test.

Usually we suggest to taste at least three or four different oils made with
different species of olives to discover different flavors and intensities. You'll find
many different species of olives used in the oils we offer in our Selection.

Pour just a small quantity of olive oil in the cup (enough to cover the bottom),
hold the cup top and bottom between your hands to warm it slightly and swirl it
for at least one minute.

Remove your hand and smell the oil. Keep in mind that extra virgin olive oil
should smell and taste of the fruit from which it is made...it should be fruity and
olivey.
You should smell something like olive, fresh cut grass, aromatic herbs or fresh
fruit, that are considered positive attributes.

If not, you could have just a flat olive oil with no flavor or a bad one that could
be defined rancid, old, metallic, musty-humid, fusty or winey. If you recognize
you are smelling the second one you should not procede with the tasting
because your palate will be affected by these defects (and you'll need the glass
of water you have prepared before!).

If the smell is good and you've found the positive attributes then take a tiny sip
and let it work in your mouth. Swirl it around and suck in air to oxigenate the
oil. Taste it some more and then swallow. Take notes on your sensations and
impressions.

Remember that every extra virgin olive oil works in your mouth in a different
way and with a different time so...let it work!

Do you like the taste? Is it light or heavy? Does it increase in intensity of flavor
as you hold it on your tongue? Is it pungent, peppery, bitter? Is it grassy, fruity,
oily?

Here a few important elements you'll find in both cases of a delicious olive oil or
a really bad one(green is desirable - red is udesirable):

Apple
Almond
Artichoke: a flavor which reminds one
of artichoke.
Astringent: A puckering sensation in
the mouth created by tannins
Banana
Bitter: Many new to olive oil are
surprised to find that this is a
preferred characteristic of olive oils;
usually obtained from green olives or
olives turning color.
Fresh: Good aroma, fruity, not oxidised
Fruity: an oil is fruity when its flavor
and aroma are similar to that of a
mature olive. If you have stood over
the olive grinder or press, fruity is
what you smell. Many oils initially
seem fruity. This characteristic may
disappear in a few months in some
oils, a truly fruity oil maintains this
characteristic aroma through time.
Grass
Green: A young, fresh, fruity oil. Often
mixed with bitter. Spicy-bitter cough
sensation at the back of the throat.
Green leaf: a sensation obtained
when in the press a small quantity of
fresh olive leaves are added. This is a
trick which is done to approximate the
genuine green taste of green olives
Harmonious: all the qualities of the oil
blend and work well with each other
Hay: Dried grass flavor
Melon
Musky, nutty, woody: trace
characteristics which are very
pleasing when not overpowering.
Peppery A peppery bite in the back
of the throat which can force a cough
Pungent: A rough, burning or biting
sensation in the throat - peppery
Soave: mature olives can produce this
characteristic.
Rotund: is said of an oil with a pasty
body to it which fills and satisfies
without aromatic character - always
from mature olives.
Tomato: a flavor which reminds one of
tomato.

Bitter: a good trait in moderation but
bad if overpowering. Produced by
olives that are unripe and with little
meat.
Burnt: prolonged heating during
processing
Dirty: oils which have absorbed the
unpleasant odors and flavors of the
vegetable water after pressing which
they have remained in contact for too
long.
Earthy This term is used when oil has
acquired a musty humid odor because
it has been pressed from unwashed,
muddy olives.
Flat Oils which have lost their
characteristic aroma and have no
taste.
Frozen: due to olives which have
been exposed to freezing
temperatures. When cooked, this oil
gives off very unpleasant odors.
Fusty: due to olives fermenting in
piles while in storage waiting for
pressing
Greasy - a diesel, gasoline or bearing
grease flavor
Grubby: flavor imparted by grubs of
the olive fly
Heated: prolonged heating during
processing, burnt taste
Impersonal: a serious defect for virgin
oil, because it means it has neither
character nor personality. It is a trait
common in all manipulated oils.
Lampantino: oil which should be sent
to a refinery. When it does not
present awful organic characteristics,
it can be edible.
Musty: moldy flavor from being stored
too long before pressing
Metallic Oils processed or stored with
extended contact to metal surfaces.
Moldy: from unhealthy or fermented
olives due to excessive storage in
warehouses
Olearic Fly: oil from fruit stricken by
this insect: the flavor is both rotten
and putrid at the same time.
Poor conservation: the oil absorbs
the odors and flavors of everything
surrounding it even if not in direct
contact. A very common defect.
Rancid Old oils which have started
oxidizing due to exposure to light or
air.
Winey High acidic taste