Spice Road Spices - The Art of Flavour

It was late 2021 when we first discussed the importance of olive oil. We said at the time that olive oil often appeared in a recipe without any real acknowledgement of the critical importance olive oil provides in the Art of Flavour.

Perhaps it has been the overbearing and trendy Herbs and Spices that are taking the glory. They do that sort of thing !

Certainly, many recipes will specify extra virgin olive oil which goes some way to acknowledge that quality olive oil is important in the flavour base. But that's about it.

Buying Olive Oils

Think about buying olive oil. You will face a bewildering array of labels and bottles. You know some will be dreadful and equally, some will be of genuine quality for your recipes. Whatever the price point you are choosing.

The difficulty of course, is that we can't trot along the supermarket isles tasting the olive oils or for that matter, even get a visual of the product.

As mentioned, basing your choice on price will not work. You will see olive oils from Spain or Italy that are quite expensive with smart labels and fancy bottles.

That's all very nice but if you knew their background you may find, because of their faults, they are not accepted in their home market.

The Art of Flavour

So, how do we get around this problem. Well, as always when finding the Art of Flavour, we need to understand how the flavours work. In this case olive oil.

To start olive oil (especially extra virgin) flavour has two basic essentials. Spiceness and Bitterness. For our health, both are excellent anti oxidents. Important.

The degree of Spiceness and Bitterness depends on the level of ripeness of the olives. Green olives have the highest of these essentials. Ripe black olives much less so.

Now for the serious bit. The tasting for your kitchen. We can do no better than borrowing the words from the noted olive oil authority Lorenzo Mazzoto.

"Take a small glass with a few teaspoons of oil inside, warm it with one hand and with the other hand, cover the glass. In this way, you will concentrate the flavor and smells. Wait a few seconds, take a whiff, judge the high intensity, and recover with your hand."

"Then taste it: put a small quantity of oil on your tongue and with tight teeth take a deep breath to spread out the oil on every part of your mouth and vaporize it in your throat. This process will help you to evaluate the intensity of bitterness on your tongue and spiciness in your throat; both must be present in a high quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or a regular Olive Oil.

To conclude, Many home chefs, have established their preferred brand and style of olive oil. They keep a mellow olive oil and a robust olive oil in the cupboard, ready to suit their particular recipe at the time. A nice idea.