The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 960

oil, like Columela or Colavita; and a pungent and
spicy one from California, like McEvoy Ranch,
DaVero, or Séka Hills (you can order all of these
online). One thing to note is that there have been
reports that many olive oils claiming to be Italian
are actually onlybottled in Italy, the oils being
sourcedfromotherMediterraneancountries.Idon’t
let these reports bother me: if I like the flavor of
what’sinthebottle,that’sgoodenoughforme.
If I were marooned in a strange city with only a
supermarketinfrontofmeandnochanceoftasting
beforeIbuy,thebrandI’dtendtogravitatetoward
isColavita,whichhasafinebuttery,spicynoseand
verylittlebitterness.

HowtoTasteOliveOil
InDeborahKrasner’sfinebookTheFlavorsofOlive
Oil, she classifies olive oil into four distinct groups.
Thinking of these flavors is an exercise that I find
useful when shopping around. Her groups are:
delicate and mild, fruity and fragrant, olivey and
peppery,andleafygreenandgrassy.Tothesegreat
descriptors,I’dalsoaddbutteryandrich.
When you taste olive oil, start by smelling it,
noting its aroma, then place a bit on your tongue.
Swirl it around your tongue to coat each part and
trytopinpointwhatit’sdoingtoeachsection.Isthat
a hint of sweetness you detect? Are there bitter
notes? How spicy is it? Finally, inhale a bit of

oxygenthroughyourmouthanddrawitacrossyour
tongue to pull the aromas back to your soft palate
and up into your nose. You should get an entirely
newwaveofflavors,whichagainmultiplywhenyou
finally swallow the oil.Tasting good olive oil is not
unliketastinggoodwine.

HowtoStoreOliveOil
You wouldn’t believe the number of home kitchens
I’vewalkedintowheretheoliveoilwasstorednext
to or directly above the stove. In every single case,
whenIopenedthebottleandsmelledit,theoliveoil
wasrancid.
As with all fats, the enemies of olive oil are heat,
light,andair.Whenexposedtooxygen,long-chained
fatty acids can break down into shorter pieces,
lending the oil an off aroma. Heat and light both
hastentheprocess.Forthelongestshelflife,oliveoil
should be stored in a dark container (preferably a
metalcan)inacool,darkcabinet,asfarawayfrom
the radiator or oven as possible. If you like to buy
youroliveoilinbulk,getitingallon(orlarger)cans
and transfer some of it to a smaller container for
daily use. I use carefully washed-and-dried darkgreen wine bottles with small metal pizza-parlorstyle olive oil pourers, so I can choose between
differentflavorsdependingonmymood.
If you plan on using a very special extra-virgin
oliveoilonlyonrareoccasions,it’sbesttostoreitin