How to taste EVO oil

Oil tasting is the best known method for evaluating the quality of an extra virgin olive oil.

Expert tasters rate various characteristics of oils on a scale of one to 10 and assign a value for each of the characteristics of the oil:

• Fruity aroma
• Amaro
• piccante

Alongside these characteristics of extra virgin olive oil, oil experts also note the possible defects of the oils such as the presence of unpleasant odors and flavors that can be caused by the low quality of the olives or by an excessive time elapsed between the olive harvest and squeezing (pressing).

How to examine an EVO oil?

SIGHT: bright green is not synonymous with quality. The color of the oil can vary from a straw yellow to an intense green depending on the cultivar, the time of harvest and the type of processing. It is not the color shades that make the difference. An unfiltered extra virgin can be purchased, but on one condition: it must be consumed within a month, a month and a half before the unstoppable process of deterioration begins.

SMELL: before proceeding to the olfactory examination, the glass is held in the palm of the hand in order to bring the oil to a temperature close to 28 ° C, a point where the oil expresses its aromatic components to the maximum (just wait the moment in which there is almost no difference between the glass and the warmth of the hand). And then, you dive in with your nose inside.

TASTE: fruity, bitter and spicy. During the tasting it is important to take in air with short and successive aspirations, place the tongue against the palate keeping the lips half open, emulsifying oil, saliva and oxygen, savoring the oil for at least 20-30 seconds. In this way it is possible to identify the valuable characteristics: olfactory such as fruity and gustatory ones (bitter, spicy, grass, vegetables, fruit, etc.).

It is important to know that the color of the oil does not determine its quality, therefore to avoid that the oil tasters are influenced by the color of the same, colored glasses are used for tasting.

Another way to taste quality extra virgin olive oils is to sprinkle a made of toasted Tuscan bread with extra virgin olive oil. Tuscan bread is typically salt-free, which is why a pinch of high-quality salt can also be added to the oil.

What are the defects in the oil?

The main defects can be:
• Heating / Sludge: characteristic flavor of oil obtained from olives piled up or stored in conditions such as to have suffered an advanced degree of anaerobic fermentation
• Mold-humidity: characteristic flavor of oil obtained from fruits in which abundant fungi and yeasts have grown due to being stored for many days and in humid environments.
• Winey-inacetito: characteristic flavor of some oils reminiscent of that of wine or vinegar. It is essentially due to an aerobic fermentation process of the olives or the remains of olive paste in not washed properly, which leads to the formation of acetic acid, ethyl acetate and ethanol.
• Metallic: flavor reminiscent of metal. It is characteristic of oil that is kept in contact with metal surfaces for a long time during the grinding, malaxing, pressing or storage processes.
• Rancid: flavoring of oils that have undergone an intense oxidative process.
• Hay-wood: characteristic flavor of some oils from dried olives.
• Coarse: thick and pasty oral / tactile sensation produced by some old oils.
• Earth: flavor of oil obtained from olives collected with earth or muddy and unwashed.
• Worm: flavor of oil obtained from olives strongly affected by olive fly larvae (BactroceraOleae).

What are the advantages of EVO oil?

Fruity: the intensity of the bouquet of aromas that the oil emanates both on the nose and by the retro-nasal way with the taste. Fruity is classified into light, medium or intense fruitiness.
Bitter - this component is perceived only upon tasting; a more bitter oil is a more valuable oil from a chemical point of view as it is very rich in polyphenols with an antioxidant nature (vitamin E);
Spicy - even this component can only be perceived upon tasting; this as the amaro represents the richness in polyphenols of an oil, generally a bitter oil is also quite spicy.