Like a Virgin (Olive Oil)

What am I looking for when I buy Olive Oil? VOOU - Virgin Olive Oil User

Many years ago when I first started cooking seriously, the issue wasn’t acquiring skill or knowledge as much as it was finding ingredients. To make something that is now as ubiquitous as pesto, and by ubiquitous, I mean available at Applebees/Friday’s – I would have had to locate, in exurban Chicago fresh basil, bulb garlic (as opposed to the powered kind), Italian Cheese that didn’t come in a green cardboard shaker and olive oil. Out of all those 4 simple items, finding non-rancid to good olive oil within 30 miles of the kitchen of my youth would have been the ultimate food challenge.

Visiting my mom's last year, finding olive oil was no longer an issue, deciding which olive oil to use was. Dozens of olive oil of varying quality lined the shelf at the local Jewel - there was light olive oil, ‘Italian’ olive oil, Virgin, Extra Virgin, Kalamata, a grapeseed & olive oil salad mix and Rachael Ray’s own EVOO.

What to choose, what to choose… The US isn't part of the exporting community, olive oil wise. Native Extra Virgin or Virgin Olive Oils aren’t exported to Europe and domestic producers don't have to abide by International standards. Beginning this October, olive oil sold in the States must comply with International grades:

• Extra Virgin is a designation for oil that contains less than .8% acid – other terms like ‘first-pressing’ and ‘cold-pressed’ are often associated with Extra Virgin but have no legal (or practical) standing. 10% of all oil produced meets this standard.

• Virgin Olive Oil is 100% olive oil, less than 2% acidity.

• Pure or Olive oil is 100% olive oil, 1.5% acidity usually virgin olive oil that has been blended with refined olive oil. This will be the least flavorful oil.

• Refined Olive Oil - 50% of all olive oil produced in the Mediterranean needs to be refined in order to be edible. This oil is going to be used at an industrial level more than found in a bottled-to-the-consumer packaging.

Back in my professional cooking days, I used a Pomace olive oil, a lower grade of olive oil obtained from stems, stones and skins – the oil is extracted with heat or solvents (usually hexane) then mixed with virgin oils. I used it for making gallons of Caesar Salad dressing, and this is a very unfoodie admission, I loved it: The stuff was inexpensive, had a great shelf life, possessed a strong olive taste and because it has already endured the harsh industrial extraction – a few more minutes in a food processor didn’t kill the flavor.

U.C. Davis Olive Center at the university's Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science recently tested 14 brands, concluding 2/3’s of the samples did not match the labeling or international standards (including Ms. Ray’s EVOO). So if labels mean little, and endorsements or brands aren’t an assurance of quality or standards. Then considering something as straight-forward as ‘Italian’ on a label doesn't mean the olive oil was grown or pressed in Italy, only that it was bottled there...If all the identifying information is confusing rather than clarifying, the question of what are you looking for in an olive oil is compounded by the fact that what the label says doesn't reflect what is in the bottle.

Like many things in the kitchen you are looking to triangulate price, quality and flavor. I like the ‘Spanish’ olive oil packaged under the 365 label at Whole Foods. It might not actually be from Spain but it is lovely, green tinted, tastes good and is affordable. This oil is so much better than what was available at the start of my cooking days. This is the oil that grills my cheese, gets whizzed with chickpeas, heated with garlic and tomatoes and is occasionally pounded into aioli. But I also keep a bottle of stupidly expensive oil for salads, pesto, and to drizzle on soups. Purchased in small quantities, this is an oil that shall never know heat or whisking or the blades of a machine, not unlike a good whiskey or brandy, it isn’t for everyday use, but it is so very nice to have when you want it.

The best thing to do is just ask: Go to a nicer grocery store or specialty/wine & cheese shop and ask. Tell them what you are looking for and ask for a recommendation – just don’t flinch at the price tag.