OLIVE OIL TASTING 1: THE BASICS
LESSON 1
Tasting Olive Oil “In Pills” Blog Series.
Do you want to become a real Olive Oil expert and be able to taste its flavors and aromas?
It’s necessary to slow down and take time to “observe” and appreciate aromas to move your approach to food from simple eating to a pleasurable experience.
Here we go with some basic rules and notions you need to be able to enjoy your food and your EVOO the most.
Not only what we eat but how we eat influences how we feel
To be called "extra virgin," any oil must meet specific criteria.
1. CHEMICAL PARAMETERS: EVO OIL (EVOO = Extra Virgin Olive Oil) must respect specific chemical parameters.
Therefore, an oil sample is analyzed in a chemical laboratory after the production. (i.e., check here the label of our Evo Oil as an example).
2. TASTE PARAMETERS: the oil must be tasted by a “TASTING PANEL” through a “SENSORY EVALUATION”.
The panel, composed of TRAINED PROFESSIONALS, can assess the quality and describes the oil’s sensory characteristics, negative or positive aromas, and flavors.
Why is the sensory evaluation conducted?
SENSORY DEFECTS are perceived by smelling and tasting the oil and are caused by: improper harvesting, storage, and production.
Any imperfection will lower the olive oil quality and health benefits.
Any imperfection will lower the olive oil quality and health benefits.
Sensory Evaluation: The Blue round glass
PROFESSIONALS EVOO TASTERS use the olive oil tasting glasses: they are blue, in the shape of a large bowl, and with a smaller opening.
This shape of the opening helps the aromas travel to our noses. The tastes arrive at specific points of the mouth.
The rounded bowl is kept in the palm of the hands to warm it up before the tasting.
In fact, because of the oil think consistency, it must be warm ( around 80 F/ 28C) for the aromas to be released.
Never with Bread!
Surprise! NO BREAD IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL TASTER
Bread is a generally sweet food and will counterbalance some other basic tastes ( bitter, salty, sour ).
Furthermore, bread dilutes the flavor of defects in the oil, deceiving the perception of quality.
“In short, a tasting panel gets together to taste and describe the oil’s negative and/or positive aromas and flavors.”
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