Few Steps About How to Taste Italian Olive Oil

Health experts and scientists believe olive oil has many health benefits. It’s high in antioxidants and healthy monounsaturated fats and contains anti-inflammatory properties. One can mix olive oil in cooking and salad dressing with various dishes. Olive oil is a plant-based oil obtained by pressing the olive fruit. Different regions specialize in the production of olive oil. Some are marketed as refined or extra virgin oil, offering buyers an expansive list of options.

Olive oil experts recommend purchasing extra virgin olive oil. The extra pure olive oil has no “defects” from fruit picking, oil extracting, processing and bottling. Since olive oil is extracted from a fruit, one must check the harvest date. Expiration dates are misleading because they’re estimated from the bottling day. Let’s look further into Italian olive oil and how best to taste it.

Tasting Italian Olive Oil

Olive oil tasting is a sensory analysis of the oil’s aroma and taste to determine its overall quality. Taste a special olive oil, as Sweetalyfood suggests, to develop your skills and culinary knowledge. Olive oil-tasting connoisseurs recommend a few steps to ensure correct sensory analysis as follows:

1. Use an olive oil-tasting glass:
   It’s a small, thin, blue glass. The shape of this tasting glass helps concentrate the aroma of the Italian bread dipping oil, thus making it better and much easier to detect.
   
2. Smell the olive oil:
   One can pick up familiar scents when smelling the oil. Sniffing should be prolonged enough to allow one to analyze what they have smelled. So, take a good long sniff of the oil.
   
3. Sip the olive oil:
   When sipping the olive oil, allow it to coat your mouth and tongue. It’s critical to focus on detecting familiar tastes. Some textures and flavors to look for are pungency, bitterness, and fruitiness.
   
4. Swallowing the olive oil:
   The last and final step of evaluating the Italian bread dipping oil is paying close attention to the aftertaste right after swallowing it. Here, you should ask yourself, does it taste pleasant or bitter? Does it last longer on your tongue or fade away quickly?

Italian bread dipping oil tasting is a subjective experience. There’s a high possibility others will have a different sensory analysis (we’re all wired slightly differently). It could be interesting to compare your sensory analysis with others. The art of olive oil tasting requires practice and dedication. Frequent interactions with other tasting connoisseurs will help in honing your skills.

Italian Olive Oil

Olive oil from Italy is one of the best worldwide. It’s extracted from well-grown olives and uses an efficient, smooth oil-making process. Italy remains among the top three olive oil countries globally, with most production in southern regions like Calabria, Sicily and Puglia.

It’s also a great addition to any plant-based or vegan meals. Having Italian dipping oil for bread with Italy’s famous long-stick bread, Grissini, as starters, is a great idea for anyone, as the olive oil soothes and prepares you for the main course. Enjoy your olive oil tasting!