Conference turris::cooks

>    What is the difference in the different types of olive oil....that is
>    virgin, extra virgin, cold press, etc. ,etc.  Is their any noticable
>    difference in taste?  Is their a big difference in price? 
    
To SOME extent, the differences can be more marketting ballyhoo than real,
however, there are some important differences.  In general, cold-pressed,
FIRT -pressing olive oil will have the riches green hue in a clear
glass container, will be the "fruitiest" in flavor (have the most taste),
and will cost the most.  Depending on what you are doing with your
olive oil, this may be what you want or it may not...if you are making
a salad dressing, then buy small containers of the first-pressed, cold-pressed,
and expensive oil.  It makes a wonderful salad dressing and is great
drizzled over fresh pasta with snipped fresh herbs.
If you are planning on cooking strong flavored foods, or if you don't
particularly like the flavor of olive oil, then buy a cold-pressed virgin
or extra virgin oil - look for a lighter color (moving into the golden
range - there is even an "extra light" oil which is vry light i color).
I personally always use the cold-pressed (slightly more expensive
than the oil that does not clearly state whether it is cold pressed or not).

Oh, and for quality oil, you don't want to buy a clear glass container, but
a tinted glass (keeps the sunlight away - at least that's what Vinnie's
mom always said) or can.

  If it says "first cold pressing", you can be sure it's good. If it
  says anything else, it may be good, but you can't be sure.

  I think it's true that most of the designations are mainly marketing.
  As far as I'm concerned, it's either "first cold pressing" or it's
  not. I don't trust any bottle that doesn't actually have both of the
  words "first" and "cold" on it. I don't mean to say that there are no
  good oils which don't say "first cold pressing", only that you can't
  tell the quality by what it says on the label *unless* it says that.
  All of the rest of the stuff about "virgin", "extra virgin", etc. is
  BS, as there appears to be absolutely no consistency in quality across
  different brands which display these terms. I reserve terms like
  "extra virgin" to describe certain periods of my sex life, not olive
  oil.

  Among those designated "first cold pressing", there are some
  differences in flavor and color, depending on where it comes from. The
  three main regions I'm familiar with are Provence (Southeastern
  France), Italy (mainly Tuscany), and Greece. They're all good.

  In my experience, most of the better olive oils come only in glass
  bottles. Some (from Tuscany) are wrapped in foil to keep the light
  out, but they're not necessarily better oil. I agree that it's a good
  idea to keep the oil away from heat and light, but it's probably
  better to buy a good oil in whatever container it comes in, and just
  keep it in a cool dark place.

  One brand of "normal" olive oil which I've found is almost as good as
  "first cold pressing" is Pompeii. It's a bit less expensive, too.

    Does it have to be kept tightly sealed?  Will to go rancid in a
    short period of time?  
    Also, I've heard of storing things like garlic in olive oil.  Will
    the oil take on the flavor of the garlic?
    
    thanks

  Yes, it's best to keep it well-sealed, but even more important, in a
  cool, dark place. It does go rancid. In Europe, the bottles are
  date-marked, and they seem to indicate that the oil will last about
  one year from the date it's pressed. It depends on the storage
  conditions, though, and one problem is that you can't know how it was
  stored before you got it. I've had bottles go bad in only a few months
  from the date of purchase. On the other hand, I've had bottles that
  were almost a year old when opened, and lasted another couple of
  months. They didn't go bad, we just finished them. 

  I've been told that it will keep longer in a refrigerator, but once
  it's opened, that's not such a good idea, because it solidifies when
  it gets cold, and you have to heat it every time you want to use it.
  When you do that, it goes bad pretty fast. And just storing unopened
  bottles in a refrigerator is a waste of space most of us can't afford.
  We just keep unopened bottles in the basement in an area that's free
  of odors, though I imagine the bottles are pretty well sealed.

  As far as adding things to the oil to give it flavors, this is a very
  nice idea, and very common in Europe. You'll see all sorts of things
  added to the oil, such as herbs (thyme, parsely, rosemary, sage,
  basil, bay leaves, etc), hot peppers, garlic, etc. The oil will last
  longer if the things you add have less water in them, but I guess you
  could add just about anything.

  I've been asked for the names of brands of "first cold pressing" olive
  oil. One I've seen which I think says this on the bottle is by
  Colavita, but I haven't tried it, so I don't really know how it
  tastes.

Re:  1615.3 

>    Also, I've heard of storing things like garlic in olive oil.  Will
>    the oil take on the flavor of the garlic?
    

We store our garlic in a jar of olive oil to keep the garlic fresh, not
specifically to flavor the oil.  We peel the heads and just put the cloves
in enough oil to keep them covered.  Since we use it up pretty regularly
we have never had a problem with the garlic spoiling, nor has the oil ever
turned rancid.  We've been using essentially the same jar (keep adding
more oil and garlic as needed) for a year or two but I have no idea if
we're just lucky or that's normal.

It definitely imparts a strong garlic flavor to the oil, especially after
six months of aging!  You could probably use the oil as paint remover!!
It is a wonderful way to add a little zing when you don't feel like
chopping garlic, but a small amount is all you need.


Jan  

     
      I saw a show on a Public Service station a couple of months
    ago on the making of olive oil.It focused on a family operation
    in Italy,I dont remember where exactly.They showed the process
    from harvest to use.Pretty interesting.They also discussed the
    grading of the oil.Extra virgin,virgin etc is determined by
    tasters who look for color,aroma and taste among other things.
    There is supposed to be a big difference between certain grades
    if you know what to check for.These guy's could even tell which
    orchard the bottled samples came from.
    
                                            Mike

    When I was in Portugal visiting friends, I was told that olive
    oil is also graded by acidity.  Most or all of the oil that I
    saw had the acidity marked on the label.  I have not seen that
    here in the U.S.  Lowest acidity is supposed to be best, but it
    all depends on what you are using the oil for.  The lowest acidity
    that I saw was .15, the highest was somewhere around 5.0...
    
    Peter

    Nerd call.....
    
    
    I just read a recipe that called for a "fruity" olive oil.   What does
    this mean.   I know brand names aren't necessarily allowed in notes,
    but could someone send me a list of the brand names which have a
    "fruity" flavor?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Sarah

    Fruity, in this instance, probably refers to the 'First pressing' or
    'Extra Virgin' Olive Oil. Literally, this is refers to the oil obtained
    from the first pressing of the Olives. It results in a very flavoursome
    oil that has the 'fruity' taste of olive oil. I only use Extra Virgin  
    Olive Oil.
    
    Once the first pressing has been done, the remains of the olive (a
    rather pulpy mess) is taken away and further olive oil extracted by
    'industrial' and 'chemical' means. The result doesn't have the fresh
    fruity flavour of the First Pressing. Its still Olive Oil and cheaper
    than the First pressing, but the taste is pretty ordinary.
    
    So, I would suggest looking for the words 'First Pressing' and 'Extra
    Virgin' on the bottle label
    
    Angus
    Slightly merry after a couple of glasses of Edradour single malt.

  I've never seen the designation "fruity" outside of France, and even
  there, not all brands have it. Both "fruite'" and "doux" (mild) are
  available in "first cold pressing". The "fruite'" has a stronger
  flavor.

  I doubt that a recipe would be critically ruined by not being able to
  find an olive oil labelled "fruity". Any high-quality, highly flavored
  first pressing oil should do. In MetroWest, we find Colvita to be
  excellent.

    My impression was that "fruitiness" was a quality that some Extra
    Virgin oils have more than others, and that it is part of the reason
    why quality differs, and not all EV's are the same.  Presumably you
    *must* get something better for the more expensive ones consider the
    price difference...
    
    Anyway, I use so little oil I am not a connesieur, for sure.
    
    D!

As I said in a previous reply, I'm not convinced that "extra virgin" is
a reliable indicator, but every olive oil I've tried which said "first
cold pressing" was excellent.

The brands I've seen which offer a "fruite'" and a "doux" charge the
same price for both, and both are "first cold pressing". One might
guess that the difference is in the type of olive used.

	Hmm, I'd posted a recipe for garlic bread last week which had specified
	the use of a good, fruity olive oil ... could it be .. ?

	I use Extra Virgin Cold Pressed oil whenever better quality olive oil is 
	required.  It has more of the "fruity" taste of the olive as someone else
	mentioned earlier in this string of replies.  The better olive oils usually 
	have a slightly green tint to them as well.  Any good quality olive oil
	would do however, at least for the recipe I'd posted.

	Lv

    
    Like -1, I've found color to be the best indicator--the darker, greener
    the oil the more flavor.  Price is also a good clue.
    
    As has been mentioned earlier, unless this is a particularily subtle
    dish, it probably won't make much difference.  
    
    Mike 

    There was an excellent article about olive oil in the October 8, 1992,
    issue of "Awake!" magazine.  It discusses ancient and modern day uses of
    olive oil, some dietary and medical points, grades of oil, and other
    interesting facts.  If you would like a copy of the article, send me
    e-mail at the above node::name.
    
    
    Steve

Has anyone seen gallons of Pompeiian olive oil in the E. Mass. or So. NH area
lately?  Star Market used to carry it, but they don't seem to do so anymore.

re: .16

>Has anyone seen gallons of Pompeiian olive oil in the E. Mass. or So. NH area
>lately?  Star Market used to carry it, but they don't seem to do so anymore.

I can't help you directly from here in Baltimore, but since Pompeian (sp?)
is located around here I can look up there phone number for you:

	410-276-6900

Perhaps if you give them a call they can tell you who carries their stuff
in you area.

-Hal