How to recognize a good EVO oil? And how to taste it? A.I.C.O.O. explains it to us

May 7, 2021

VALDICHIANA EATING ASKED A.I.C.O.O. – THE ITALIAN ASSOCIATION TO KNOW OLIVE OIL – HOW TO LEARN TO RECOGNIZE GOOD EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL AND HOW TO TASTE IT.

The olive tree is the most important of the trees (“De re rustica” Columella 4-70 AD)

A clear golden river flows throughout our history, bearer of light, beauty and health and so appreciated since prehistoric times that it is sacred: Olive Oil.
The ancient kings were consecrated by unction, that is, by pouring olive oil, the most precious of liquids, on their head. Thus was David anointed as king of Israel 3000 years ago and this was the question asked to Jesus of Nazareth “are you the Lord’s Anointed?”. Thus the Archbishop of Canterbury, Fisher, anointed Elizabeth II of England during her coronation in Westminster on 2 June 1953. How many quotes, aphorisms, proverbs and even ancient and modern poems could we find about it! So many and in different languages. ​Oil is so closely intertwined with mankind.

The taste explosion that occurs when olive oil enters tje kitchen needs not be described to anyone: sweet oil, spicy oil, more or less fragrant and full-bodied, but always capable of “revisiting” the simplest of soups. provided that, of course, the oil is made by olive and is good, that is, pure and well made, flawless.
Today, oil knowlegde and culture has spread all over the world, wherever there are suitable conditions for the cultivation of the olive tree. The river has swelled and now flows everywhere, more vital and more important than ever. Well, very well, as long as it remains pure, perfect and can always be synonymous with health.
The determination of the chemical parameters of the oil alone (acidity, number of peroxides, etc.) is not sufficient to guarantee that an oil has good organoleptic characteristics, in fact it can happen that oils with excellent chemical parameters have organoleptic defects (taste, aroma, fragrance. ..) so to downgrade the product. Therefore today, the organoleptic analysis through the Panel Test remains the most valid test to highlight the organoleptic characteristics of virgin olive oils.

How to find out if an oil is of quality?

Extra virgin olive oil should be tasted “in purity”, alone. The organoleptic evaluation is the result of two different types of investigation: the Olfactory analysis and the Taste analysis.
To taste oil, get a small plastic cup, such as a coffee cup, clean and odourless. Open the bottle of oil and pour a small amount into the glass: a soup spoon is more than enough. Now place the glass on the palm of one hand while the other hand rest it on top of the glass in order to close it. Close both hands and with horizontal circular movements slowly move the glass, heating it until it reaches your body temperature.
The optimum oil tasting temperature is 28 ° C, so do not rush, heat and stir the oil to allow the scents and aromas to be released with the heat.
When the oil is hot enough, remove your hand from above the glass and quickly bring it close to your nose. In this phase you will have to evaluate the intensity (quantity) of perfume and the positive or negative olfactory sensations.
The scent of a quality extra virgin olive oil must refer to the origin fruit: the olive, with fresh, clear and pleasant aromas. Always with the nose, it will also be possible to grasp a whole series of positive aromatic notes of herbaceous, vegetable, floral type: freshly cut grass, artichoke, cardoon, lettuce, aromatic herbs, spices, tomato leaf, tomato at various ripeness, green apple, banana, dried fruit and. . . much more. If ,on the other hand, the scents are for example of dry hay, brine, vinegar, nail polish, glue. . . we have an altered and flawed product.
After the olfactory phase, move on to the gustatory phase. To appreciate the positive characteristics of the oil, take a small sip from the glass (a teaspoon is enough), swirl it for about ten seconds in your mouth and then swallow it.
You will immediately notice a bitter sensation in the mouth and subsequently the tactile sensation of spiciness in the throat will occur.
These two taste sensations of the oil are not to be considered two defects but on the contrary two essential characteristics to complete the olfactory part.
A quality oil must have these 3 characteristics of Fruity (olfactory), Bitter and Spicy (gustatory), possibly in similar intensity (quantity).

Good tasting from A.I.C.O.O.!

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