The Passionate Olive (20 page)

People come from all over the world to be educated and meet renowned olive oil expert Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers store. He often consults and lectures worldwide on all aspects of olive oil, and his newsletters are filled
with products and information to “enliven, excite, improve and otherwise make delicious” your food experiences. Another well-known store (with a delightful, witty mail-order catalog), Zingerman’s, offers a wide selection of olive oils and provides specialized training in customer service, merchandising, and specialty foods for retailers. A friend of mine attended one of their training seminars. On the very first day, the participants were asked: “Who came the farthest distance?” She won (having traveled from Nevada to Michigan) and was awarded a gift called “Travel Oil”—a hip flask-sized bottle of olive oil—just like the one I have always included in my trusty carry-on bag! When my friend returned to her seat, another member of the seminar inquired of the moderator, “Why olive oil?” She responded that a traveler could use the Travel Oil in so many ways, including using the oil to make a small meal by “buying some bread and dipping away.” So remember this tip if you find yourself stranded at an airport by those inevitable flight delays—you’ll never go hungry traveling with your flask of olive oil.

Olive oil can be used as a hostess gift for parties and events and can make lovely gifts for special occasions. Your hostess will be most appreciative of your gift, as it will serve so many purposes. Every day, more and more people are discovering that they actually need to have on hand several olive oils to suit their cooking needs (and other needs). Just as people prefer different wines with different cuisines, people also prefer different olive oils to add distinct flavors. So, next time you think to bring flowers or wine to your hosts, think again and gift them with the treat of a special bottle of extra virgin olive oil.

Parties

92)
ORGANIZE AN OLIVE OIL-TASTING PARTY

An olive oil-tasting party is a unique way of helping both you and your friends develop your individual tastes for good olive oil. Just as wine-tasting events have become popular gourmet experiences, you can now dazzle your friends with your newly found knowledge of olive oil while at the same time introducing them to the many healthful and gastronomical qualities of extra virgin olive oil.

Traditionally, olive oil has been tasted and judged using several methods, for instance—on bread, on boiled rice, from a glass, or from a teaspoon. Olive oil is valued for its culinary attributes and also for its organoleptic properties: flavor
(sapore)
, bouquet (aroma), and color
(colore)
. It triggers sensations in four out of our five senses, whether olfactory (smell), gustative (taste), tactile (touch), or visual (sight). The time of harvest, oil-extraction method, variety of tree, climate, and soil can add to your organoleptic assessment of different oils, just as these same factors affect the taste of wines.

To help you with your olive oil tasting parties, see the Olive Oil Tasting Score Sheet for Drizzle It On … Parties on
this page
. To conduct an olive oil tasting in your home, assemble four or five different extra virgin olive oils. You may choose oils from the same state or regions (for example: California or Tuscany); you may choose from different regions within the same country (for example: Tuscany, Liguria, and Calabria), or from different countries (for example: France, Italy, Spain, Greece, United States), or from
different cultivars (for example: Arbequina, Frantoio, Koroneiki, or Nocellara). You will also need small tasting glasses (small plastic glass will do), sliced apples (for refreshing the mouth after tasting), and paper cups (for the expectoration of the olive oil after each tasting).

During any tasting, you will taste for defects as well as for positive attributes. The reason you check first for defects is that extra virgin olive oil must be free of defects. Defects include any flavor(s) that can be described as fusty, musty, winey-vinegary, muddy sediment, metallic, or rancid. If there are no defects, then positive attributes are judged. Positive attributes include any flavor(s) that can be described as olive fruity, pleasantly bitter, or pungent.

Olive Oil—Tasting Party

• First cleanse the palate by eating a slice of apple
  
• Pour about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a small glass
  
• Cup the glass in your palm to warm it (to room temperature) and cover the top with your other hand (to keep the scent from volatizing)
  
• Hold the glass tightly and swirl the oil for a minute
  
• Uncover the top and bring the glass to your nose and inhale slowly several times
  
• Sip a small amount, about 1½ teaspoons, and roll it lightly in your mouth as you would a wine. (Judge the “mouthfeel”; is it smooth and light or greasy?)
  
• Suck in air through your teeth to discover the flavors. (An unavoidable sound will be heard.) Keep the oil in your mouth for at least 10 seconds
  
• Spit the olive oil into a paper cup. (If you swallow the olive oil, no problem.)
  
• Decide if you like it or not! Or use a score sheet and record your responses (you will need a separate score sheet for each oil tasted)
  
• Discuss your assessment with others
  
• Cleanse the palate with a fresh apple slice before proceeding to the next oil
  

NOTE:
For your tasting party, you can use small plastic glasses (one for each olive oil tasted)

Olive Oil Tasting—What to Look For …

SIGHT

• While professional tasters use blue glasses so as not to be influenced by the color of the olive oil, you can study its color. Color ranges from light yellow to an intense green.
  

SMELL

Take a good sniff to assess the fresh and fruity aroma (of a good oil)

TASTE

• Since tasting olive oil is a new experience for most of us, it is difficult to find the words to describe the different flavors.
  
• Some familiar terms are often used to help describe the flavor of positive attributes—for example, the flavors of apple, grass, almond, and artichoke
  
• Positive attributes include:
  

Fresh olive fruitiness—is it ripe or more green? Bitterness—as it moves through the palate; is it a pleasant bitter taste?

Pungency—is there a biting sensation in the whole mouth and later in the throat?

Defects are easier to detect and are defined by the following descriptive terms:

Fusty—from olives stored in piles that have undergone fermentation

Musty—from yeasts or fungus in olives stored in humid conditions

Muddy sediment—from prolonged contact with sediment in storage containers

Winey-vinegary—due to the fermentation of the olives Metallic—from contact with metals during processing Rancid—from oxidation (the worst defect and the easiest to detect)

When tasting several oils, start off with the oil with the mildest flavor (for example, a late-harvest oil); save your early-harvest or green oil for one of the last. Also, taste lower-quality oil last, as defects can seriously affect tasting and can lead to an incorrect sensory analysis of better-quality oils. One additional tip for the party: if you can smell a major defect in the oil, there is no need to taste it; your olfactory analysis will be enough. And now, some additional tasting rules … which are hard to enforce at a party!

Hard-to-Enforce Olive Oil—Tasting Rules

• Don’t taste if you have a cold
  
• Do not use perfumes or scented deodorants
  
• No tasting after tobacco, coffee, or a heavy meal
  
• Best time to taste is in the morning after breakfast (wait at least 1 hour)—taste and olfactory perception is highest in the morning hours
  

Here is a score sheet you can use for what I call … “drizzle it on” parties.

OLIVE OIL TASTING SCORE SHEET

For Drizzle It On … Parties

Name
Sample Oil
Rating

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

• Sight
  Study the color of the oil. Color ranges from light yellow to an intense green color.
  
• Smell
  Take a good sniff to assess the fresh and fruity aroma.
  
• Taste
  First look for the defects, then assess the positive attributes.
  

PERCEPTION OF DEFECTS:

• Rancid: 0
  5
  10
  (The taste of old olive oil)
  
• Others
  (specify): 0
  5
  10
  (Fusty, musty, muddy sediment, winey-vinegary, metallic)
  0 = None | 1–4 = Slight | 5–6 = Average | above 6 = Great to Extreme If Rancid—use around the house, not in and on your body!