Olive Oil
Source of Recipe
Internet
List of Ingredients
History of Olive Oil
Olive oil is one of the oldest culinary oils. In ancient Athens, the olive was a symbol of the city's prosperity, and its oil was used both in cooking and as fuel for oil-burning lamps. Olive oil has been the cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet for thousands of years.
Legend has it that the first olive tree grew on Adam's tomb. Remember the olive branch the dove brought to Noah, signaling the end of the Flood? Olive trees have a life span of 300 to 400 years. Some grow to be 700 years and older.
Cooking with Olive Oil
Cooking with olive oil is like cooking with wine. Never use a wine or olive oil that does not taste good to you. An inferior one will leave an aftertaste. If you do the taste test and compare the "pure" to the "extra-virgin" and the "premium select extra-virgin," you'll understand the difference.
Marcella Hazan who wrote the cookbook called "Marcella Cucina" wrote the following: "The taste of a dish for which you need olive oil will be as good or as ordinary as the oil you use. A sublime one can lift even modest ingredients to eminent heights of flavor; a dreary oil will pull the best ingredients down to its own level. Partial clues to the quality of the olive oil you are buying are supplied by the label and the price, but ultimately, the only way to determine which one, among those available, is right for you is to taste and compare."
Buying and Storing Olive Oil
Buying oil in small sizes, or splitting larger bottles with friends, is a practical way to buy expensive oils. Oil purchased in bulk should always be poured into smaller containers, preferably in a can or a dark-colored bottle.
Air, heat, and light will cause olive oil to turn rancid, so it should be stored in a cool place in an airtight container. Store at a temperature of 14 degrees C. or 57 degrees F. If you have a wine cellar, store your olive oils there and keep a small amount in your kitchen. Always replace the cap on the bottle. Do not put olive oil in a container without a tight cap.
When chilled, or in cold weather, the oil may turn cloudy and even solidfy. Such oil will clear again as it warms, so cloudiness should not be taken as an indication that the oil is part its prime. Be sure bottles are tightly sealed. Olive oil can be refrigerated but doing so will cause it to congeal and turn cloudy, but should not affect flavor. If refrigerated, olive oil will return to its original, liquid state when warmed to room temperature again.
Tinted glass, porcelain, or stainless steel are the best materials for containers; oil should never be stored in plastic or in reactive metals. Stay away from plastic containers as the oil can absorb PVCs.
Types of Olive Oil
Olive oil is made only from green olives. Nearly the entire production of green olives in italy is converted into olive oil. Flavor, color, and consistency vary, like fine wines, due to different olive varieties, location, and weather. The olive oils of some small producers are treated and priced like fine vintage wines.
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil:
Any olive oil that is less than 1% acidity, produced by the first pressing of the olive fruit through the col pressing process. Most olive oils today are extra virgin in name only, meeting only the minimum requirement. Extra virgin is a chemical requirement that does not indicate quality and taste.
Virgin Olive Oil:
It is made from olives that are slightly riper than those used for extra-virgin oil and is produced in exactly the same manner. This oil has a slightly higher level of acidity (1 1/2%).
Pure Olive Oil:
Also called commercial grade oil. It is solvent-extracted from olive pulp, skins, and pits; then refined. It is lighter in color and blander than virgin olive oil. It is more general-purpose olive oil. Pure refers to the fact that no non-olive oils are mixed in.
Notes On An Olive Oil Tasting or
How To Taste Test Olive Oil
I learned how to tell the difference between olive oils. it was put on by Lucini Olive Oils. The owner, from Italy, gave the presentation. He brought his own chef from Italy with him (menu below). It sure was interesting. Here's kinda how you do it.
(1) Pour a little olive oil (approximately 1 tablespoon) in a small glass. Cover the glass with one hand, shake it delicately with the other until the oil adheres to the entire inside surface. Warm oil in the glass with your hands until it is close to body temperature.
(2) Lift the glass to your nose and sniff rapidly and deeply three time (raising your nose up and away from the oil between each sniff). Olive oils have aromas just like wine. We then tried to analyize the aroma. There really is a difference in aromas!
(3) Tasting: Take a sip (approx. 10 drops into mouth). DON'T SWALLOW! Roll the olive oil around in your mouth for appx. 6 seconds and then spit it out (novices have to remember not to spit out the oil too quickly). The oil should touch all areas of the mouth so that the various tastes and sensations can be noted. Then it is spit out.
(4) Daniel Graeff, President of Lucini Italia Co. says, "Only a low quality of bad extra-virgin olive oil will leave an aftertaste. An extra-virgin olive oil of high quality will leave your mouth clean with no aftertaste." They said it is suppose to have a peppery taste. He also said, "The pepperiness is noticed on finish (like with wine, extra-virgin olive oil has a beginning taste, a mid-pallate taste, and a finish). The pepperiness wil not linger - it is only present when healthy, fresh olives were crushed to make the olive oil - this is why experts always look for it." They then taught us how to analyize the taste. As in aromas, there is a difference.
(5) Between tasting each kind of olive oil, drink lots of water and eat a small piece of bread to cleanse your palate. No wine - just water.
After we did the tastings, they feed us some wonderful Italian food (using extra-virgin olive oil naturally) and poured wine. Very, very good and best of all this was all free. Since I wrote a cookbook, they think I have more clout than I do. We won't tell them the true and I'll keep getting invited to all these wonderful things.
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