According to estimates, in Italy we consume on average more than 12 litres per person per year .
We like to use it for cooking, as an ingredient in traditional recipes such as Apulian pasta and chickpeas or the great Carnival classic , or to season a finished dish raw.
But it's easy to say extra virgin olive oil! How can we recognize a good extra virgin olive oil ?
To be considered a good extra virgin olive oil, it must have the following characteristics:
- It must have a bitter and spicy flavor (but without overdoing it)
- It is necessary to be careful: the perception varies depending on the ripeness of the olives, the cultivar of origin and the type of olive
- quality extra virgin olive oil emits the scent of freshly cut grass
- must have the characteristic smell of green olives
- the acidity value must be low because it guarantees a higher quality from the organoleptic point of view of the extra virgin olive oil
A good extra virgin olive oil has no defects .
So how do you tell if an extra virgin olive oil has defects and how do you recognize a poor-quality extra virgin olive oil ? Using three of our five senses:
- With our sense of smell, we can smell and recognize whether the aroma is fresh and vegetal. When the smell is stale or moldy, it means the olives weren't processed immediately after being harvested (promptness is crucial during an olive oil harvest). And if it doesn't smell? That's not a good sign; chemical treatments may have been used to eliminate unpleasant odors.
- By taste, we can identify the oil's notes: never too sweet, but be careful if too neutral. And above all, check for any sediment, or sludge: if the oil has any, it could contribute to an unpleasant flavor and odor.
- By sight , we can determine what type of oil we're looking at. The usual options are: green oil, when the olives are rich in chlorophyll and vitamin E; very yellow oil when the olives are very ripe and better suited for cooking; and orange oil: avoid it.
Another factor to consider is shelf life: remember that oil doesn't last forever.
On average, after 12-18 months it could be influenced by oxidation processes.
Store it well in a dark, cool place away from heat sources and consume it within a year and a half of purchase.
The data speaks for itself: extra virgin olive oil is the best-selling and most widely used. It's therefore not surprising, unfortunately, that there are numerous cases of counterfeiting.
How to choose a good extra virgin olive oil
To choose a quality extra virgin olive oil when purchasing and avoid unexpected surprises, you need to consider some aspects:
-
Always read the clear labeling.
The correct term is: "superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means," preferably from an olive mill like Frantoio D'Orazio or a farm. There are several advantages to purchasing EVOO from a mill, including its high quality, the certification of a product derived from 100% Italian olives and processed in compliance with Italian and European regulations, and the sale of a new oil, meaning a product recently processed and packaged (which is not always the case in a supermarket). Always read the origin: this too can be found on the label, where the provenance of the oil must always be stated. You'll find various terms: EU, non-EU, attributable to a blend of EU or non-EU oils. Be wary of labels where the origin of the oil isn't indicated and always look for the oil's vintage. - Quality extra virgin olive oil must be packaged in bottles that protect from light. The most popular materials are dark glass, tin, and terracotta. Light is one of the main enemies of oil during storage; oil, like all products high in fat, is subject to oxidation.
- Finally, the price. A thorny issue, one we've already discussed but which cannot be overlooked: a quality Italian-made extra virgin olive oil, produced with the help of experts and skilled labor, has an average cost of no less than 8-13 euros per liter, even if the price varies annually. Lower-priced oils risk not being pure extra virgin olive oil and therefore may have been mixed with other blends or counterfeit.
How to recognize counterfeit oil?
As mentioned above, extra virgin olive oil is unfortunately often the target of counterfeiting and therefore food fraud.
According to EU reports , olive oil is among the goods most affected by this phenomenon and is counterfeited by mixing it with other, less valuable vegetable oils, often with added colorants to improve its appearance, or by substituting lower-quality olive oils.
To recognize a counterfeit olive oil and be certain of it, laboratory tests are carried out by the competent bodies that analyze some parameters including acidity, waxes and sterols in chemical analyses, etc.
Another note we feel compelled to make concerns the origin of the olives.
Buy 100% Italian oil: this guarantees shorter transportation and storage times and also good quality based on the type of olives used.
Check out our rich selection of extra virgin olive oil: you can find different formats and blends and also organic Apulian oil , all in our shop !
