How to taste olive oil

The technique of tasting the oil varies from taster to taster but there are rules that can help guide those who want to try a taste of a professional olive oil.

• Look carefully at the oil light: shaking the bottle assessing the depth.
• Pour the oil into a glass, about a tablespoon. Needless to pour too much oil, that instead of improving the taste of the oil deteriorates.
• Smell the oil sample trying to capture all the sensations pleasant or unpleasant.
• Heat the palm of your hand to release and enhance the volatile aromatic components.
• Taste the oil sucking air with a slow and gentle sucking first and then more vigorously in order to vaporize in the mouth, bringing it into direct contact with the taste buds.
• Let rest a little mouth, slowly moving his tongue against the palate.
• Re-suck your tongue against the palate and lips half open.
• Expel Oil.

Continuing to move the tongue against the palate to carefully evaluate the semi-olfactory sensations. The recommendation more alive than you can do to an oil taster beginners is to have absolutely no hurry to expel the oil, but be calm and quiet, trying to save as many sensations. The first samples will be important to learn to become familiar with the vocabulary of the virtues and defects that constitute the ABC of the sensory. Very useful is to try to describe their feelings to others. Do not try to identify the oil tastes strange, no one will ever offer a glass of oil! Its sole function is to be a strong support to our food.

Standards of conduct for a technical tasting

The technical tasting oil must be made following some general rules of conduct:

• Do not smoke for at least 30 minutes before tasting.
• Do not use any perfume, soap or cosmetics with a persistent odor.
• Do not eat any food for at least an hour before tasting.
• Ensure that their physiological conditions are positive does not compromise the analysis.

The cultivation of olives

The olive harvest

The pressing of olive oil

Oil conservation