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Choosing olive oil
THE plethora of olive oils on sale at supermarkets these days can be baffling. Each purports to be made from the finest olives and from the most carefully tended groves. But how do you separate the marketing hype from the truth?
The general consensus seems to be that in most cases, as with so many other things in life, you get what you pay for. If it’s cheap, generally speaking it will be of lesser quality.
You should always look for 100 per cent extra virgin olive oil which means that it has not been processed as much as other oils and thus retains more of the ‘proper’ flavour. Some cheaper oils are produced from mixes, which can degrade the quality, and are more heavily processed.
Colour is also extremely important. Good quality oils are often a rich green colour unlike the typical yellow of most standard oils. This means the oil is fresher and the olives were healthy when they were processed.
Flavour is vitally important and you should be able to tell a good oil from its taste, even with your eyes closed. It should be fruity and rich in flavour and should leave a peppery taste at the back of your throat. Even if this experience is not full on, at least some of these characteristics should be present when you taste the oil.
Of course, a good quality oil is far more important in some circumstances than others. You can get perfectly good results from lesser quality oils if you are using them for cooking as opposed to a neat dressing when the taste is more noticeable.
One final thing to remember is that the taste of your oil can degrade over time, but you can prolong its life by storing it properly. Keep your bottle out of direct sunlight, cool if possible, and make sure the lid is screwed on tight.
You should always look for 100 per cent extra virgin olive oil which means that it has not been processed as much as other oils and thus retains more of the ‘proper’ flavour. Some cheaper oils are produced from mixes, which can degrade the quality, and are more heavily processed.
Colour is also extremely important. Good quality oils are often a rich green colour unlike the typical yellow of most standard oils. This means the oil is fresher and the olives were healthy when they were processed.
Flavour is vitally important and you should be able to tell a good oil from its taste, even with your eyes closed. It should be fruity and rich in flavour and should leave a peppery taste at the back of your throat. Even if this experience is not full on, at least some of these characteristics should be present when you taste the oil.
Of course, a good quality oil is far more important in some circumstances than others. You can get perfectly good results from lesser quality oils if you are using them for cooking as opposed to a neat dressing when the taste is more noticeable.
One final thing to remember is that the taste of your oil can degrade over time, but you can prolong its life by storing it properly. Keep your bottle out of direct sunlight, cool if possible, and make sure the lid is screwed on tight.
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An olive grove
