Tanta Robina

Olive oil is one of my favorite things (okay, so I have a lot of favorite things when it comes to food) and yesterday I was delighted to find myself at an olive oil tasting event when I got to class early.

We were all given three glasses, an olive oil assessment sheet and a sensory assessment sheets. On all tables were sliced apples and bottles of water to clean our mouths between tastings, and at the end of the session, bread for conventional sampling.

The demo was given by Roberto Zecca of the restaurant Il Frantoio, "the only restaurant in the U.S. with an in-house state of the art Certified Organic olive oil production facility." Mr. Zecca has devoted his life to the love, study and production of olive oil and yesterday he shared with us a few tips on how to taste and evaluate this product. Obviously you can't learn much in less than an hour, but it was a good start.

The three oils presented for tasting were from the Puglia region, two filtered and one unfiltered, all of excellent quality. A couple of the region's oil producers were present (Olio De Palma).

Let the tasting begin.

I never knew that tasting olive oil is an art, not unlike tasting wine. You should have your oil at a specified temperature (28º C) in glasses of a particular shape and size, swirl the oil around in the glass while covering it with your hand (provided your hand is odor free), then sip and coat the sides of your mouth with it, breath in through your mouth and breath out through your nose three times after tasting to engage all the gustatory and olfactory areas of your nose and throat.

Our first sample, the unfiltered oil.

The effect was surprising and I found myself sneezing and coughing and almost with tears in my eyes for the pungent rush of flavors. The oils were very strong and tasting them that way brought up all their strength. This kind of oil is best suited for pinzimonio (crudité), and finishing soups and other dishes where a strong flavor enhances the dishes without overpowering it. Definitely not your all-purpose oil; besides, retailing at $40 a bottle may make you want to go easy on that bottle.

Mr. Zecca, olive oil expert and owner of Il Frantoio

I wish I could have gone to the bistro with the rest of group after the demo, but my class was starting.

For information on olive oil culture and production in California, check out the California Olive Oil Council.