THE GOURMET SPY: FINDING THE TRUE “EXTRA VIRGIN” OLIVE OIL

The art of tasting and selecting the perfect EVOO

When it comes to finding the true “extra virgin” olive oil we have seen a few common mistakes customers make when finding an olive oil (so many that if you want more, we recommend Tom Mueller’s book Extra Virginity). The words Extra Virgin Olive Oil can be found in almost any grocery store but not all are held up to the same standards so we recommend you follow these guild lines the next time you look for an Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO).

Avoid EVOO’s that can’t name the olive it’s pressed from. Olive groves grow only select olives (all of which that have different names) and if you find an olive oil that cannot name the olives its pressed from and instead is just named “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” it may mean that a variety of olives were pressed together, all of which most likely have different polyphenol levels and tastes that may not compliment each other.

Avoid using the color to describe the quality. We see this many times with customers, thinking the greener the better. But in actuality every olive comes in different shades of green and the oil will portray these colors.

Don’t pick out an EVOO solely upon its place of origin for a “good quality.” Most of the olives used in olive oil can be grown all around the world, so in many cases you may find the same olive you love from Greece also grown in Australia. So only in certain seasons can that area be freshly grown, which moves us into our next point.

Understand when the olive was pressed (this is where the place of origin comes in handy). Like everything that grows, it all has a season to be freshest at. For olives they have a season in the northern and a season in the southern hemisphere that both work opposite of each other. So in the summer make sure to look for olive oils grown in the Northern Hemisphere and opposite for the winter. 

Olive Plumping. Now this is a difficult fact to find when purchasing an olive oil, but important to understand. A lot of times if you are buying a cheaper bottle of olive oil, understand that most likely when these olives were growing the supplier kept the olive on the vein longer, which causes the olive to grow to a larger state but also causes most the olive juice to be mainly water. This gives a larger profit to the supplier and also a lower and more watered down taste to the consumer.

Avoid clear bottles. Olive oil will age quicker when exposed to light and heat, and aside from keeping your bottles at home in a dark cupboard away from the stove make sure to look for bottles that are not clear but instead tinted to a darker shade to slow the aging process. Also keep in mind (not essential) that any product including olive oil will always taste better in a glass bottle compared to plastic. For example if you have a choice do you pick the plastic milk or soda container or glass?

Use within 6 months to a year. You may notice some olive oil products may not carry an expiration date, this does not mean it never expires, EVERYTHING expires and actually expired olive oil can hurt more then help you.