Olive Oil - Buyer Beware!

[gjbingham]

I went to the store and read all the labels. There's no 100% Italian EVOO in our markets. They are bottled there, but come from all over the Med. I bought a cheap Turkish one just for the hell of it. Nice green color.

[james]

It's a complicated world. Olive oil is a food product, and if you manage the trees properly, let the olives ripen to the right mix of green and black, pick by hand, don't let them fall to the ground, rush them to the press, never get the paste hot, and use a non-offensive extraction technique -- you will make a really nice olive oil. Any country can do that. There are wonderful olive oils from every country throughout the Mediterranean, plus the U.S., Australia and Chile (I'm sure there are others).

Spain produces wonderful olive oil, and I've always thought they should have an international campaign promoting the Spain "brand."

But when you start bending the truth to charge more for something that it isn't -- that's a real problem. As the Tuscan farmers say, the mass produced "Italian" olive is good for one thing; lamp oil. :-) They say their production costs are higher than the cost of the mass produced extra virgin olive oil.

The good news is that the FB EVOO is the real deal. It comes from a single fattoria, who owns all of the trees and the press -- and the owners are related to everyone who picks the olives. :-) Still, it's a little pricey, but the production quantities are tiny and the quality is extraordinary. If you can, you should give it a try.

James

[PizzaPolice]

With the Italians screwing with the olive oil and the Mexicans messing with the vanilla, next we'll see the Saudis diluting the crude with camel urine.

[Inishta]

In order not to hijack Xjim's thread on Valencia oranges I thought I would reply to Georges question on Olive oil colour here.

Olive oil is as complex and varied a question as is wine. There is great, good and there is a lot of indifferent.

Soil conditions, climate and altitude of the olive tree grove have a defining effect onthe flavor of the olive oil as has the type or cultivar. I too have experienced the anomaly of the same oil from the same trees being different from one year to the next. I believe that, like grapes, the annual olive harvest differs in quantity and quality. The degree to which olives are ripe or unripe when harvested. Hand or machine picking, bruising of the fruit causes acidity, and the use of chemicals. The amounts of sun and water throughout the growing season. Single estate pressing and mixing of olives from differing groves. All these lead to differing colour and flavour.

Olive oil and wine production are, in my opinion, akin to each other and each year will produce a differing result.

[Xabia Jim]

...absolutely agree....oil tastings are almost as much fun as wine tastings

and you get to swallow....although I don't spit out too many wines

[thebadger]

My brother and mother in law are in Italy...

They purchased some olive oil for me from Vernazza. I'll let you know how it is. Now, if I can only convince my brother in law to sneak some cuban cigars in my mother in laws bags I'd be all set.

Dick

[gjbingham]

Good answer Inishta. As I thought. I'm curious XJ how this year's batch of oil differs in taste from last.