How do you choose a quality extra virgin olive oil?
There are no universal laws, but there are suggestions for choosing an EVO oil suitable for the dishes you want to cook.
Usually extra virgin olive oil is combined by similarity of flavors.
This means that a delicate foods are combined with light fruity oilswhile a tasty foods medium or intense fruity oils that can dominate the flavor of the dish itself.
Oils with a marked bitter component go well with foods with the same aromatic tendency; for example, first courses with radicchio, ragù, borage, chicory, but also grilled red meat;
Very spicy oils are perfect for spicing up hearty dishes with full flavors. An example could be legume soups, grilled steaks, but also croutons with homemade bread, tomato-based sauces;
Oils with sweet scents (usually almond, white pulp fruit) go well with delicate foods such as white meats, boiled shellfish, salmon and grilled swordfish;
Oils with vegetable scents (tomato, artichoke, grass) refresh the flavors but at the same time cover them slightly. They go well with any type of bruschetta, tomato salad, cereal soup, caprese, roasted fish
Extra virgin olive oil can be sweet or bitter, spicy or delicate, its fruitiness can be ripe or green, light, medium or intense. Its scent and flavor can remind you of tomato, artichoke, fresh almond, fresh herb, even berries.
Extra virgin olive oil becomes an integral part of a dish, it is a real ingredient of the recipe
Pairings: some examples.
| LIGHT FRUITY: | MEDIUM FRUITY: | • INTENSE FRUITY: |
| • Mayonnaise • Boiled fish • Salads with a delicate flavor (lettuce, valerian ...) | Vegetable soups Carpaccio of meat or fish Grilled or baked fish Boiled vegetables (spinach, zucchini ...) Raw fennel Grilled eggplant | • Soups with a strong taste (ribollita, spelled ...) • Mixed salads (field chicory, rocket ...) • Cooked vegetables with a strong taste (turnips, black cabbage ...) • Chickpeas and beans • Raw artichokes |