Lore • The Olive Tree • The Olive • Harvest • Press • Olive Oil
Sales • Classification • Geography • Uses • Flavors • Storage • Taste
Flavored Oils
There is a long tradition in Europe of infusing oils with such aromatics as garlic, lemon, herbs, and other flavors. Citrus fruits are being used which result in oils that are great on salads, over fish, and in sauces. The value of keeping these oils on hand in the kitchen is that one can add the fresh taste of basil to a dish in the middle of January, spice up bruschetta, etc.
Typically flavored olive oils are made by crushing organic fruit with the olives, before the oil is extracted. The oils from the rinds of the fruit get blended with the oil of the olive. This procedure gives a fresh, true flavor to the oils.
We suggest when preparing infused oils that you put herbs in the oil, wash them carefully and pat them dry, as you do not want to introduce anything else into the oil. We recommend using only freshly prepared infusions. Adding olive oil, and oil infusions to dishes is a healthful, easy way to add flavor.
As consumers' craving for more exotic dishes continues to increase, you will find that our golden olive oil can spice up their menus, and customers� sales.
Fruttato
Our Fruttato olive oil from Italy has two premium characteristics:
- Lower acidity than our extra virgin (less pH)
- It is unfiltered
It coes from Umbria, where the olives are handpicked, crushed in the old world tradition with stone wheels. It is green in color, with a pronounced fruit flavor, hence �Fruttato�.
Unfiltered olive oil doesn not always meatn cloudy olive oil. It depends on if it is decanted or not. Good natural decantation makes it clear. Filtration affects the taste, that�s why filtered is softer, and nfiltered is more intense and fruity.
When you filter olive oil, solid substances (sediments) are removed but also the vitamins, antioxidants, and taste of fruitiness, peppery and bitterness are reduced. So, when we want to preserve all its aroma, flavour, fruitiness, antioxidants and vitamins we don�t filter it. However, we always decant it (which makes it clear).
After the milling process, our olive oil is stored in decanters (deposits with a special shape) for 5 to 7 days so that through natural static decantation, all the solid substances (olives) and watered components fall down. This process is made at all inert atmosphere of nitrogen. Dispite not being filtered, thanks to the decantation, our olive oil is very clear.
After decantation, we decide to filter or not to filter it, depending on the taste we want to obtain.
We use filtration mainly to make our olive oil softer, since filtration reduce its bitterness, fruitiness, and peppery of oil. When we want to keep full flavour, fruitness, and peppery, we don�t filter it. When we want to offer softer oil, we filter it.
The exclusive use of natural static decanters reqires more deposits, more staff and more time, so most producers do not do it. Despite these extra costs, we only use natural static decanters ofr long time, as this is the best way of obtaining high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Our unfiltered (and decanted) olive oil has the same taste and flavour as if it was cloudy with sediments.
Cloudy oils with sediment can be also very good, but normally it is more likely to rancidness (sediments tend to get ranid easily than oil). If you want a cloudy olive oil with sediments, we can also provide it to you, we would not decantit, but be aware that the taste would be the same as the decanted one, and it would be more likely to get rancid faster.
Organic Olive Oil
Organic food products - or those touted as such - have enjoyed such widespread appeal that growers and food producers are quick to slap the term on their label. But without government regulation, or an accepted industry standard, consumers have had no assurance of consistent procedures. Now that is changing. Following the lead of Washington State, 11 other states developed certification programs. Another five require certification, though they don�t have their own programs. Thirty private certification agencies operate in the United States, and national standards are on the horizon. The federal government is in the final days of hearing comments on a proposed regulation to implement national standards and national certification for organic foods. The regulation is under development by the USDA as a result of the passage of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990.
The problem with the proposed laws was that they allowed irradiated and bioengineered foods to be considered organic, according to industry members. These practices are not allowed under current standards. The collective voice of the organic industry reached the USDA loud and clear, resulting in the department�s May statement that it is making �fundamental revisions� to the proposed laws. Irradiated and bioengineered foods, along with foods fertilized with waste materials, are no longer up for consideration as organic. A revised set of organic standards will be released by the end of this year. And again, the USDA welcomes comments. Katherine Di Matteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, explains the consensus opinion of her members on the term. �Organic is an agricultural production system that grows food in harmony with nature, without the use of toxic persistent chemicals in fertilizers, weed control or pest control. In the processing of organic agriculture, the use of unnecessary incidental additives and processing techniques is avoided and eliminated.�
In the production of organic oil, no petroleum solvents are used to extract oil from sources nor would propylene glycol be used to stabilize oil products. Cold pressing as opposed to heat pressing is used in the processing of oils. In this way, the state of ingredients used to make the finished products are not altered. We offer two expeller-pressed oils � organic refined, and unrefined extra virgin (Fruttato). Unrefined olive oil has been only slightly strained to remove large particles. Unrefined oils may appear cloudy, with visible sediment after sitting. They have a darker, golden color and a more assertive flavor. Expeller-pressed, organic olive oils, stored well and used fresh, are ideal for nutritional health.
The basics of organics is what happens on the farm. When organic products are processed, no synthetic-based stabilizers or incidental additives can be used. �For a product to be labeled organic, 95% or more of the ingredients would have to be organically grown. The other 5% or less are items one can�t find organically, such as baking soda, baking powder, or citric acid.�
Prior to the 1940s, farmers didn�t use many chemicals. But there was no consistent practice of good farming principles to keep soil healthy and minimize environmental damage. In the early 1900s, writings by Sir Albert Howard and Lady Eve Balfour in England proceeded the whole thought of chemicals. In the �40s and �50s, the use of chemicals became popular and the U.S. Department of Agriculture adopted chemical usage as policy.
Then the agricultural revolution began, and J.R. Rodale began to observe the dangers of too many chemicals being used in agriculture. In 1960, Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, which reinforced what was at the time only known to a handful of people. Agricultural policy was affected as the registration of pesticides and tolerance levels were developed, in some cases taking products off the market. In the meantime, a small but steady set of principles and standards were being developed around the ideas of these early writings. By the mid �70s, there were organized farmer groups; and out of these came organic certification groups. By 1975, principles and practices were written down and followed on farms all around the country. A system of standards and verification through certification began to catch hold. By 1980, Washington was the first state to implement state laws regarding organic production and to create a state-run certification system.
A process flow for Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Italy)
1st Phase
- The farmer makes a request to an Association for biologic agriculture recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture
- The Association makes the census of the cadastral maps which must be attested by a public notary
- Once the documentary checks are made, the farmer is entitled among the list of producers of biological cultivations for the required products (olives, cereals, etc.)
2nd Phase
- The surveyors of the Association, acting as public officials, make a check on the land, on the number of plants, on the estimate of the crop
- The surveyors supply a list of the products certified as biological that can be used in the cultivation
- They make an analysis of the soil and estimate the time (usually 3 years) necessary for the crop to be classified as biological production
- The farmer must institute a sealed register where he must note all biological products coming and going during the production
3rd Phase
- The Association surveyors make spot checks on the cultivation without any previous notice, making analysis on the soil and on the leaves. Such checks take place also during the crop
- On their part the Association surveyors are controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture through spot inspections
- The raw materials (olives in this case) are pressed only in oil-mills with authorization and certification for the processing of organic oils. The oil mill must register in special books the quantity of olives received and the quantity of oil produced
4th Phase
- Once the producers have collected the oil, registered it and put in stock in certified containers, they can sell the oil to consumers or to companies disposing of certified production and embottlement facilities. These must note in special registers the quantities bought and the quantities produced and sold
- The biological product must bear on the label the name of the Biological Association responsible for the checks
How do I know its Organic?
Look for the words: �third party certified organic�. When a grower or processor is certified organic, an independent public or private organization verifies that it meets or exceeds defined organic standards. These standards include:
- Land on which organic food or fibers are grown must be free of prohibited substances for three years prior to certification.
- Farmers and processors must keep detailed records of methods and materials used in growing or processing organic ingredients.
- All methods and materials are annually inspected by a third party certifier approved by the Department of Agriculture.
- All farmers and handlers are required to maintain written argannic plans detailing their management practices.
- For organic oils production, processing must be cold pressed and produced at a certified organic facility
How to Store Olive Oil
Olive storage the oil mill
Olive storage, which takes place after the harvest and prior to mechanical oil extraction, must not exceed 24-48 hors, using perforated boxes (25-30kg capacity), or perforated plastic bins (250-350kg capacity) because they are good for
preventing the layers of olives from being too thick, since that can result in the fruit getting squashed, with an unavoidably negative effect on oil quality. Using plastic bins is rational and useful because they allow the olives to breathe, especially when leaves are present, and becaseu they can be stacked to reduce the amount of space needed for storage. Finally, bins are useful because they can be moved by mechanical equipment, such as forklift trucks, thus cutting down and rationalizing labor times.
Furthermore, olives should not be stored in great heaps in direct contact with the ground, while jute or plastic bags should be completely banned.
In any case, olives must be stores in roofed, cool, aired premises that are sheltered from the rain, excessive cold and, especially, from frost, which makes oil extraction difficult during the subsequent stages of processing. Olives should also be stored away from the odours (whether pleasant or unpleasant) of other activities and from high temperatures (which should never exceed 20?) and dampness, which could result in mould forming on the drupes.
There are only four (4) enemies of olive oil: Age, Air, Heat, Light
Olive oil should be stored at a cool temperature (below 70? F) and away from heat and light. Like wine, olive oil should be tightly capped against air. Olive oil is best consumed within 12-18 months of pressing for peak flavor. As olive oil degrades over time, its acidity level goes up. Plastic will impart a taste. Do not refrigerate olive oil, as the trauma of crystallizing/liquefying will harm quality extra virgin. Condensation can form inside the bottle, and dilute its contents.
How to taste Olive Oil
Olive oil tastings are becoming popular events -- they can be great fun, and provide an excellent way to discover a personal preference. Today, tasters' first cleanse their pallet with apple slices to allow for the full flavor, then dip their bread (rubbed with garlic and lightly salted) into the oil, then taste...and savor. Olive oil enhances the flavor (edonistic compound) of the olfactory, gustative, tactile and visual sensations.
An olive oil tasting is conducted much like a wine tasting, but unlike wine, olive oil is always better in the year of its production and the appearance of the olive oil is not a tasting factor. Olive oil is evaluated in 3 steps - with the nose, paletie, and throat. As the saying goes: Tasting is Believing! Olive oil is judged by organoleptic properties. Pour two teaspoons in a cup or glass. Cradle with one hand, and cover with the other to warm. Then notice the
Color—Hold a clear container of olive oil up to the light.
- Extra Virgin - greenish golden hue
- Olive Oil - golden to pale yellow hue
- Color is tinged green by the chlorophyll of green olives, or yellow by mature olives
- Some use opaque glass so that their sense is not influenced by color
Aroma/Bouquet—Pour a spoonful of olive oil into a small glass. Warm the content in the palms of your hands - to liberate the volatile aroma detected by your nose. Bring the glass close to your nose, inhale slowly/deeply, 2-3 times in succession. Memorize the sensation received:
- Some words used to describe olive oil are delicate/mild, fruity/fragrant, peppery, and/or grassy
- Olive oil should have a clean, fresh olive scent.
- High quality extra virgin olive oil should have a pleasant balance of aroma - light and pleasant with a hint of fresh fruit.
- Aroma/bouquet is determined by the volatile compounds in the oil; alcohols, hydrocarbons, aldehybos, ketones and esters. Oil processed at high temperature, improperly stored, chemically extracted or exposed to light will lose these ephemeral compounds.
Flavor—Pour 10 drops onto your cupped tongue. Move it slightly, consider the viscosity - its feel on the roof of your mouth, then clench your teeth. Move your tongue forward to touch the back of your upper teeth. Semi-close your lips, then use your stomach muscles to inhale rapidly 2-3 times in succession. The air, mixed with the oil, spreads over your tongue/palate. Spit out the oil. If necessary, repeat the tasting, but only after you've cleansed your mouth with natural water or an apple slice.
- Some words used to describe olive oil flavor:
mild, mellow, fruity, fragrant, nutty, zesty, peppery, light, grassy, heavy, intense, sweet, rich, assertive, subtle, delicate, slightly spicy, almond, apple, bitter, metallic, old, pungent, sweet. - Should be fresh, neither too bland/heavy. Olive oil should linger - create a wonderful "finish". Olive oil should be light, delicate and burst with a sunny flavor.
If the olive oil has a fresh vibrancy, that may you feel like coughing once or twice. You call this the "Two-cough Taste", and it is the final mark of a fresh/piquant extra virgin olive oil.
Bread is not appropriate in tasting, as yeast changes the taste, and bread's texture can obscure an oily viscosity in your mouth. Between tastes, cleanse the pallet with an apple, or sparkling water. Don't over do it. Limit yourself to six (6) types.
Olive oil cannot be judged, then, by acidity, aroma, color, flavor, grade, or region...individual preference, must dictate. We support our theme that our oil "makes good taste great." We don't mean to sacrifice a virgin, as olive oil is meant to be tasted/used, not wasted.
The choice, then, is yours. We know you should stock Napoleon - we offer you our oil in plastic, glass, barrels and tins, large or small, extra light, extra virgin, pomace or pure, French, Greek, Italian, or Spanish. Let the consumer choose - the colors of our labels highlight the difference of origin or grade.
We have local stocks, advertise/coupon throughout the West, and have come to dominate both the restaurant and retail business - by support of our brand and you, our customer. You, as buyer, offer to your customers the "miracle" ingredient, used by the area's finest chefs, and discriminating consumers.
The International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) has a toll-free number for buyers/consumers who have questions regarding olive oil: call 800-232-6548, Monday-Friday, 9-5 EST.
The North American Olive Oil Association is a trade association of importers, marketers, and packagers of olive oil in the United States and Canada, and their respective suppliers abroad. Established in 1989, the association strives to foster a better understanding of olive oil, its versatility and health benefits. For more information about olive oil and the NAOOA, visit www.aboutoliveoil.org.
We think you will find us to be a most competitive brand, with the highest standards of quality/service level, and that we offer a choice. We support this choice by promotion and consumer education...in other words, we dedicate ourselves to the dictates of our expanding customer base.
There are many good books dealing with olive oil, but we can suggest four:
- "The Good Book of Oil and Vinegar", by Michele Anna Jordan
- "The Feast of the Olive" by Maggie Blyth Klein
- "Zingerman's Guide to Good Olive Oil", by Ari Weinzweig
- "The Flavors of Olive Oil" by Deborah Krasner