When Life Gives You Olives…

Quite a few people have been asking about the new USDA standards for olive oils, particularly “extra virgin.” In order to understand them, a little background information is needed along with a short history lesson.

What is extra virgin olive oil?

Extra virgin olive oil is defined by the International Olive Council as being made only from olives, containing no more than 0.8% oleic acid, and is judged to have a flavor without defects.

The Old Law

From 1948 until now, there has been no formal and legal definition for the words “extra virgin olive oil” in the US. We had Grades A-D, or Fancy, Choice, Standard and Substandard. Have you ever seen those listed on an olive oil label? Me neither.

So, since the term “extra virgin olive oil” is not defined in US law, a producer can pretty much make up what he/she thinks this term should mean. Anyone can sell a product that is barely olive oil and call it extra virgin. It’s completely legal. An unscrupulous producer might use old and rancid olive oil or use a different oil (soybean, corn, etc.) as a base, add in just a touch of olive oil, then sell that product as extra virgin olive oil. Again, completely legal.

Seriously.

The New Law

October 25, 2010, the USDA published new definitions for olive oil grades (i.e. virgin, extra virgin). These definitions closely match the IOC definition (above) and should allow for consumers to have an apples to apples, or olive oil to olive oil, comparison. But, just like any other piece of legislation, there was quite a bit of give and take. Instead of requiring all olive oils to verify and document their quality claims, the USDA has deemed the program to be voluntary.

Do you think that any unscrupulous olive oil producer would willingly participate in a program that would establish that his/her olive oil was no good? I don’t think so either. That, my friends, is the problem with the new law. It’s voluntary. From our experiences in our own tastings and from being a taste panel member, we can say that the vast majority of olive oils on your grocer’s shelf are decidedly NOT extra virgin (or virgin for that matter).

What benefit was this new law? To a consumer, there is, sadly, no benefit. But, for the small producers, like Sylverleaf, who are committed to quality, this new law is a small step towards bringing US-based olive oil producers onto a levelled playing field.

We’re now speaking the same language anyway…

Sylverleaf now offers a variety of services to the olive oil industry and to those who are interested in the entering the olive oil world. We have experience in all facets of the operation of an olive oil business, from startup to growing to sales. Please contact us if you would like more information on any of the services that we offer:

• Blending & Taste
• Horticultural Practices
• Organic Certification Advisement
• Design & Marketing
• Bottling & Labeling
• Information Technology

We might be a little behind the curve, but Sylverleaf is in full-on recycling mode. Unlike a city, there is no curbside pickup out here in the puckerbrush. So, if we want to recycle, we need to store the material somewhere until we have enough to load up in the truck and take it to the recycling center. We simply never made the time for this, nor did we exert the extra effort needed. No longer. So, being newly converted to the wonderful world of recycling EVERYTHING, we thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone that our containers are fully recyclable:

• Olive Oil Bottle
  Our bottles should be sorted into bins with other dark glass containers. It is no longer necessary to remove the labels for recycling (but they are recyclable!). Also, rinsing is not necessary for an empty olive oil bottle.
• Screw Cap
  The screw cap is made of tin, so it can be tossed in with your other light metals.
• Labels
  The labels we use are a Type 5 – PP plastic, commonly called BOPP. Other Type 5 plastics are refrigerated containers, some bags, most bottle tops, some carpets and some food wraps.
• Shipping Box & Inserts
  All of our shipping materials are made from paper pulp and cardboard. We do not use Styrofoam inserts or peanuts in our shipping boxes. Please reuse the heavy-duty single wall boxes or recycle them along with your other thick-stock paper goods.

If you have a creative use of empty Sylverleaf olive oil bottles, we’d like to hear about it.

The 2010 release of the Sylverleaf Estate Organic is again exceptional. It is of medium fruitiness in the mouth, dominated by greener fruit. You’ll find notes of green olive, green apple, fresh green vegetables and bitter greens along with light hints of green banana, ripe olive, avocado and citrus. It is a classic “typey” Mission olive-based oil. On the nose, you’ll sense a distinct floral note and herbaceous tones. The pleasant bitterness and pungency will catch your attention for up to one minute after tasting the oil. The most important integrative measures are (on a 0 to 10 scale):

• Total Aroma Intensity: 3
• Total Flavor Intensity: 5
• Balance: 4
• Complexity: 3
• Freshness: 5
• Class: Mild-Medium

If you’d like to sample it for yourself, please visit our online store: https://shop.sylverleaf.com/index.php?main_page=estate_notes

This year’s Foothills Blend is very balanced, smooth and fruity. It is a little less pronounced that the Estate Organic, but a fantastic oil on its own. The balance of green and ripe fruit is almost perfect. You’ll sense ripe banana and apple, a distinct nutty flavor, strong notes of butter, then green banana, tomato leaf, artichoke and a hint of mint. There is a distinct sweetness to this oil, with very little bitterness and a very mild pungency. The most important integrative measures are (on a 0 to 10 scale):

• Total Aroma Intensity: 5
• Total Flavor Intensity: 6
• Balance: 7
• Complexity: 6
• Freshness: 6
• Class: Mild

To get your Foothills Blend fix, visit our online shop: https://shop.sylverleaf.com/index.php?cPath=3

Enjoy!

We have been experiencing the most amazing spring and summer around the farm. No other year can compare to this year with regards to temperature, rainfall, wildflowers and wildlife. It’s simply amazing.

That being said, this is the time of year when we need to buckle down and work, work, work, work, work. The orchard is now disced and ready for leveling. We were forced to wait a little longer than normal this year to allow the hen turkeys to sit their nests and hatch out the cute little poults. For some reason, there are very few poults this year. Instead of the usual 8-12 poults, we’re only seeing 1 or 2.

The irrigation system is well on its way to being setup for the year after some surprising problems. We discovered a completely shattered pump head on our main irrigation pump. The freezing weather this past winter cracked the pump head and all of the seals. We’ll power everything up in the next week, then the bulk of the orchard chores will be done. …until pruning time anyway.

The fruit is also now set on the trees after a pretty good flowering. Unless there is some freak weather, we should have a pretty good crop this year. Finally. Keep your fingers crossed!

I promised you tasting notes a couple of weeks ago for the Sylverleaf Estate Organic and the Foothills Blend…  Well, this lovely head cold/flu that is going around got around. It has completely destroyed my senses of smell and taste, albeit on a temporary basis. As soon as I have all of my tasting abilities back to normal, I’ll have the official 2010 Tasting Notes here on the Sylverleaf blog.

Thanks for your patience!

If you read the last (very long) blog post, you would have noticed that the geek quotient was, ehm, very high. Lots of specific terms, technique and tasting jargon. It was my way of getting a little stress out while I waited for a letter…

Then, I got the letter.

After a nearly 6-year journey, Sylverleaf’s resident blendmaster has been selected to become a founding member of the University of California at Davis’ olive oil taste panel. The new taste panel is composed of a group of 20 of the most highly-trained olive oil experts in the United States. If you know what a Sommelier is, then that is what each of the panel members now is in the olive oil world.

To put a little more perspective on this nomination: More people have been to space than have this certification.

There are approximately 150 people in the entire world who have met the intense requirements set by the International Olive Council. Not only must a panel member meet these requirements, that panel member must also manage to maintain the high standards through constant training and testing. This taste panel will be the only internationally-accredited group in the United States, finally putting us on equal footing with our European counterparts.

Not to sound silly, but this is a HUGE step forward for the US olive oil industry. A real shift in the dynamic.

So, you might be asking, what does this taste panel do? In double- or triple-blind trials, we certify olive oils as extra virgin (or as not extra virgin). We look at the chemical testing results (see a previous blog post for more info), then sit down with the oil and rate it in a very controlled environment. After evaluating the IOC-mandated attributes (see previous blog), we go further and analyze more than 30 additional attributes. Our goal is to provide the olive oil producer with a very detailed and highly descriptive review of their olive oil. A review that could guide them to produce a better olive oil in the future.

I’m super excited to be working with my fellow taste panel members and helping everyone to make better olive oil!

As usual, if you have questions, send them over to blog@sylverleaf.com.