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How to Select Extra Virgin
Olive Oil
Pairing Olive Oil
with Food
 Climatic
conditions, olive varietals, harvesting methods and production processes are
key to the particular quality of each extra-virgin olive oil.
Like all products of nature, extra-virgin olive oils are marvelously varied
and are different in taste, color and fragrance in different regions. In
general, olive oils from Liguria and the Lake Garda region in the Veneto are
light, probably the lightest of all Italian olive oils; olive oils from
Tuscany and Umbria tend to be fruitier and more robust; and olive oils from
Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria are milder yet more full-bodied.
Different producers from the same region
offer widely different olive oils. Factors such as when and how the olives
are picked, as well as the processing method, play a significant role in
what the final product tastes like.
Think of olive oil as you would wine. If you use a poor quality olive oil it
will give your dish an off-taste, just like a bad wine would.
As with wine, olive oil should be carefully paired with food. Consider the
olive oil's flavor and aroma characteristics, making sure that these
complement rather than overwhelm the food.
As we have mentioned before, there are three broad flavor categories: mild,
fruity and fruity-spicy--each suited to different preparations.
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 When
dressing delicate dishes and sauces without garlic, use a mild olive oil
(which is also good for baking sweets). A fruity olive oil is ideal in pasta
sauces with garlic, herbs, spices and salads. For grilled meats and roasts,
aged cheeses, or dishes with generous amounts of garlic and spices, a
fruity-spicy olive oil works best.
Always taste an olive oil before cooking with it to decide what dish it will
enhance most, remembering that, when used raw, the oil's flavor is more
pronounced.
How to Buy Olive Oil
 There
are hundreds of extra-virgin olive oils on the market from different Italian
regions, and most of them are quite good.
But how do we choose one bottle over another? How many of us are buying a
product because of its price or packaging rather than its content?
Labels can say anything at all and are sometimes misleading embellishments
or contain outright false statements.
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Basics
It's very important to choose a
good quality olive oil if our goal is to dress food and highlight its
character and distinctiveness.
Unlike wine, olive oil does not improve with age.
It should be consumed within its first year before it loses all its sensory
qualities.
To be sure of its freshness, check the harvest year,
which should be printed on the label. Each olive oil has different
characteristics, depending on where the trees were planted, the type of
cultivar (tree) planted, how ripe the olives were when they were picked, how
they were picked and how they were processed.
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Location
Among the chief producers of extra-virgin
olive oil are Spain and Italy. Other Mediterranean countries like Greece,
Turkey, Morocco, Algeria and France are also large producers.
Argentina, Australia, Chile, the United States and South Africa all grow
olives as well. All Italian regions produce excellent and varied olive oils,
with the exception of the Northern regions, which produce no oil.
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Season
Olives picked early in the season yield a
fruity olive oil, while olives picked in the middle of the season yield an
olive with harmonic flavor. On the other hand, olives harvested late in the
season tend to yield a gentle olive oil.
Some of us prefer fruity olive oils, others are partial to milder ones.
There is no right or wrong: the only thing that matters is quality. Of
course, different olive oils are better suited to different dishes, so that
a fruity olive oil on a steamed fish might be a little excessive, and a mild
olive oil on a sauté redolent with garlic would be overshadowed.
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Storing
Olive oil should be stored in a closed
container, away from heat or light. Correctly stored, good oil has a shelf
life of 12 to 18 months. Do not store oil in the refrigerator, however. If
you do, it will congeal and acquire a gel-like consistency. Just leave it at
room temperature for half an hour, and it will return to its previous
texture.
Filtered vs. Unfiltered
 The
terms "filtered" and "unfiltered"
can apply to any type of olive oil, extra-virgin or otherwise. Whether you
prefer filtered or unfiltered is an entirely personal choice, since
filtering actually does not affect the taste of the oil,
nor is it an indicator of the oil's quality. You should be able to tell the
difference just from looking at the bottle:
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Unfiltered oil
is more opaque because it still contains tiny suspended particles of
the fruit. They will sink to the bottom with time, creating some sediment.
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Filtering
is performed by passing the oil through a thick layer of cotton wool, which
traps the small particles of fruit, leaving a clearer liquid.
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