07-05-2014
Despite the excellent results obtained during the New York International Olive Oil Competition, Italian extra virgin olive oil has not yet managed to free itself from the ambiguities penalising it, especially with regards to export. And while the sensorial analysis of oil does not involve sight, as demonstrated by the coloured glasses used for this purpose, some light should nonetheless be shed on some regulations
One of the first things they teach you during extra virgin olive oil sensorial analysis courses is that transparency – that is to say the physical characteristic – is not a value one should take into consideration: light, as well as oxygen, is an enemy of olive oil, which means transparent bottles should be avoided in packaging; colour, besides, is not a parameter on which to base one’s judgement, which is why cobalt blue glasses are used for the tasting, not transparent ones. In other words, sight is not a part of the sensorial analysis and the less we see the olive oil, the better. As a paradox, today, Italian olive oil is suffering exactly because of the little transparency, that is to say because of the ambiguities in the sector. During the last few years the quality of Italian extra virgin olive oil has made giant leaps, and today the quality has reached an excellent level, often paired with an extraordinary consistency.
The book by American journalist Tom Mueller, titled Extra Virginity generated a strong debate. The author, however, dissociated himself from the infographic run by the New York Times, attacking Italian extra virgin olive oil
The third edition of international olive oil competition Extrascape takes place in San Martino in Pensilis, a small village in Southern Molise (photo credits extrascape.org)
Themes and characteristics linked to extra virgin olive oil, told by Luciana Squadrilli
by
a journalist born in Naples now living in Rome, she tries to make her three passions meet: eating, travelling and writing