When Life Gives You Olives…

Recently, I was asked to comment about the color and flavor of olive oils from around the world. This blog entry was my answer. I hope that you enjoy it:

Concerning color, there is no coreleation between the color of an olive oil and its freshness or flavor attributes. Most olive oils start their life green in color, then (some slower than others – some faster) turn to a yellow hue. If you see a green olive oil in a clear container at your local food purveyor, I can almost guarantee that is not a natural color. It’s been added. You might, however, see a green oil in a dark glass container, but only if that olive oil is very fresh.

As for taste, this depends upon 3 major factors; the variety of olive (there are more than 500), the time of harvest (early, mid or late season) and the blending abilities of the producer. Just like wine, olive oil can be made from a single varietal or from a blending of different varieties of olives. Each variety has its own character in terms of bitterness, pungency, fruitiness and overall flavor. Here at Sylverleaf, we recommend that anyone interested in olive oils should
purchase and taste as many quality olives oils (read: domestically produced and FRESH) as possible. Unless you live in an olive producing region or have a VERY GOOD artisan food purveyor, this endevour will be difficult… If you’d like a suggestion or two, please ask.

Now to completely generalize on the basic regional flavors of olive oils:

Italy: Grassy, bitter, pungent, assertive, exotic spices
Spain: Smooth, fruity, astringent, somewhat assertive, tropical
Greece: Herbaceous, green (in flavor), piquant
France: Mellow, flowery, fruity, feminine, subtle
California: Depends upon the producer and their varietal choice. Most of the major varieties of olives, grown around the world, are also grown in California.

We at Sylverleaf produce a Spanish style oil using Spanish varieties of olives; Mission, Manzanillo, Picual, Hojiblanca, Arbosana and Arbequina. We tend to pick mid- to late-season so you get a medium bodied olive oil. Have a look at our product pages for specifics on each blend along with tasting notes (for the really nerdy olive oil lovers).

• Verde
• Sylverleaf Estate
• Foothills Blend
• end blend

You could also search this blog for tasting notes.

Also, keep in mind that South America, New Zealand, Australia and Africa have some very good olive oils.

If you have more questions, please feel free to contact Sylverleaf. We’d love to hear from you.

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…

I promised some tasting notes a few weeks ago, but have just now had the time to actually go back and taste the oil. So, olive oil nerds, here you go:

On the nose this release of Verde has notes of artichoke, green grass, ripe olives and a faint hint of olive flower.

In the mouth, you’ll notice the smooth taste of ripe olives, green apple, white pepper and leafy green, herbaceous notes. There is a mild pungency with very little bitterness.

In a few words, this is a classic smooth Spanish style olive oil. Very easy to use, not “in your face,” and very versatile.

As a side note, this is the first oil that we have produced that contains our new varieties, Picual, Hojiblanca and Arbequina along with the classic Mission and Manzanillo.

Enjoy!

I just thought that I’d create a link to a recent blog post over at SMARTLIFEWAYS. It contains some great links and an excellent view of farmers’ markets from a consumer/visitor point of view.

SmartLifeways Blog

Enjoy!

This is the first installment of several in a new series of blogs called, It’s a Matter of Taste. In this series, I’ll attempt to clarify how you, as a consumer, can approach olive oils and evaluate them. I’ll also do my best to explain some common myths and misconceptions regarding olive oils. If you have questions along the way, send them to me and I’ll work the answers into a future post.

Search With Confidence

Before one can begin the journey along the path to olive oil addiction, one must learn to differentiate between a good oil and a bad oil. Believe it or not, many people prefer rancid Bertolli olive oil over a high-quality olive oil in their first blind tasting (including your humble narrator). This is because these rancid, horrible flavors are what we, as consumers, have come to expect from olive oils. These flavors are familiar to us. It’s no wonder that many people simply say, “Oh, I don’t like olive oil.” When this series concludes, we hope that you’ll be well-equipped with the knowledge you need to go out to your favorite market, or better yet to an olive oil producer, and choose with confidence an EVOO that you’ll love.

Magic Formula

Unfortunately, there is no magic formula or even a simple test to determine the best olive oil. Although olive oil has been consumed for millennia, we have no truly scientific way to evaluate an oil for quality or flavor. It is a purely personal experience. There are a battery of chemical tests that can be used to predict the shelf life of olive oils, to gauge their worthiness to be called extra virgin and to determine if the olive oil is adulterated with other oils (as discussed in an earlier post). It is a priority for Sylverleaf to always provide the results of the chemical analysis of our olive oils in the Harvest Records section of our website. Other than these chemical tests, which very few olive oil producers make available to the consumer, how does one attempt to choose an olive oil with any certainty as to the quality? It’s simple, consult with your nose and mouth! I’ll tackle these two senses in the next couple of posts. One thing that I can tell you now: The label on the bottle is not going to help you.

Myth #1

Myths and misinformation abound in the industry; here in the US and abroad. One of the first bits of of misinformation comes on the label that sits on each handsome bottle. In the US, the labeling law for olive oil was written in the 1940s, when the terms extra virgin, virgin, and pure were not even in use! So, as of right now, 2009, there is no legal definition for these terms in US law!

An unscrupulous olive oil producer can simply combine a small portion of decent extra virgin olive oil with a large portion of any other oil and still call it extra virgin. Legally.

A producer can also take an old olive oil, with all the terrible flavors that old oil imparts, and run that oil through carbon filters. This filtering removes most all of the color, flavor and smell from the olive oil. Then, the producer can add some EVOO back into the colorless, flavorless and odorless liquid, then call it extra virgin. Again, legally.

I hope that you’ll read the two previous paragraphs again and let that information sink in.

These myths do, however, have one upside. They enable a consumer to walk into a supermarket and buy a gallon of “extra virgin olive oil” for $10. The product on the shelf is not really olive oil, much less an extra virgin olive oil. I’m not trying to say that all olive oils on the supermarket shelves are out to deceive the consumer. There are some large olive oil producers that make a fine product. I hope to give you the information that you will need to find those olive oils as this series unfolds. So, come back for the next installment, where I tackle an olive oil’s color. You’re going to be surprised.

I recently posted a link to our most recent chemical analysis for our the Sylverleaf Estate and Foothills Blend extra virgin olive oils. I have since received a few queries, asking “What?!” So, to soothe your inner EVOO nerd, here is what’s in a chemical analysis:

Free Fatty Acid (FFA):

From the IOOC (International Olive Oil Council, Madrid, Spain): “This is a crude indicator of the quality of the fruit and handling procedures prior to milling. It is a measurement of hydrolytic breakdown of the fatty acid chains from triglycerides into diglycerides and monoglycerides, liberating free fatty acids. It is usually expressed as percent (%) free fatty acids on the basis of the oleic acid, because that is the predominant fatty acid in olive oil.”

What it means: This is a measure of the amount of oleic acid present in each sample. Oleic acid is a compound that makes olive oil, well, olive oil.  The lower this number, the better.  The international standard for FFA is that it must be ≤ 0.8%.

Being at 0.2% and 0.4% FFA, both of our olive oils are well within the standard.

Peroxide (PPV):

From the IOOC: “This is a crude indicator of the amount of primary oxidation that has occurred, forming peroxide compounds within the oil. A high value indicates that the olives, or paste, was likely handled improperly, the oil could be defective, and the oil might not keep well. The Peroxide Value is a measure of the active oxygen content.

What it means: This is the level of active oxygen, suspended in the olive oil. Generally speaking, the higher the number, the shorter the shelf life. Most any extra virgin olive oil, if stored properly, will last for 12-16 months in the bottle. See our website for our storage recommendations. The international standard for PPV is that it must be ≤ 20.

The PPV values we see this year are higher than we normally have, and I’m working out how that’s possible.  The only rational idea that I have is that we tested the oils much later this year than in years past…  That being said, values of 12 and 16 are just fine.

UV Light Absorbency:

From the IOOC: “This is a more delicate indicator of oxidation, especially in oils that have been heated in the refining process. It measures the quantity of certain oxidized compounds that resonate at wavelengths of 232 and 270 nanometers (nm) in the ultraviolet spectrum in a spectrophotometer. Delta (Δ) K detects oil treatments with color removing substances and the presence of refined or pomace oil by measuring the difference between absorbance at 270 nm and 266 nm – 274 nm.

What it means: An unscrupulous olive oil maker can blend an olive oil with other oils (walnut, safflower, etc.) and achieve acceptable results for the FFA and PPV tests (and be within current US law). These UV Absorbency tests check for the presense of other, lower-grade oils. Fail these tests and you’re a cheater.  The higher these numbers are, over the standard, the lower the grade of oil.

UV232: The standard is a value ≤ 2.5. We’re all good, with results of 2.046 and 2.169.

UV270: The standard here is a value ≤ 0.22. We’re sitting at 0.125 and 0.133.

Delta K: To be extra virgin, the olive oil must test ≤ 0.01. We tested out at 0.00 and 0.012.

So, there you have it. Dare any other olive oil producer to give you these numbers every year. Geek out!

Well, it seems that a post blog post has now come full circle. In this blog post I commented on a person who was hostile to her neighbors “farming” their city lots and yards. Now, according to Mother Jones, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is looking for ways to bring farming to the City By the Bay.

I say that this is an AWESOME development and hope that the city can pull it off. Not only will it allow for city folks to get some much needed, fresh produce, it will provide that produce at a time of great need.

America’s most progressive city at work!

Well, it’s that magical time of year right now. This morning, while doing the daily chores, I noticed that there was the faintest of smells wafting through the air. It took only a few moments time to search through the nearest olive tree and what did I find? The first olive blossoms have opened on the olive trees here at Sylverleaf. Thus, the cycle begins anew. Flowers to fruit to olive oil!

I’m searching for the words to describe the faint, sweet smell of an olive flower, but those words won’t come… An olive flower smells exactly like an olive flower. That’s the best that I can do.