Olive oil tasting: how to recognize an extra virgin olive oil

A mini guide for everyone on how to taste EVO oil and identify, through its organoleptic characteristics, a superior product.

By‘olive oil tasting‘ we mean all those techniques that are used at a professional level to identify a quality extra virgin oil, in a market where there is a wide, and sometimes confusing, supply of products. In an age when information can reach everyone, learning to understand what one is buying is a most useful service for the end consumer, as well as an indication of responsibility and autonomy of choice.

Learning to taste olive oil and understand, through the senses, the nature of this excellent food is a real opportunity for everyone. In this article we will explain the steps that experts use to taste and recognize the organoleptic properties of the best and, above all, healthiest extra virgin oils. Let’s go and discover the wonderful world of EVO oil, so you can make your purchases safely and enjoy all the best that this nutraceutical can bring to our tables.

Extra virgin olive oil tasting, the ABCs for the consumer.

The classification characteristics of oils are regulated by a special directive, Regulation (EC) No. 640/2008, which you can find on this ministerial page. (If you would like more information on the subject). At this page of the oil company Congedi, on the other hand, you can view the certification system for extra virgin olive oils, as a guarantee for the consumer. Let us now move on to list the home method of evaluating EVO oil, taking care to set up a suitable environment, free of strong odors.

Preparing for oil tasting

Rinse your mouth with water to remove any food residue or other flavors. Obtain a small glass or plastic cup (such as coffee cups) and pour two teaspoons of oil inside. From this base, we move on to analyze all the sensory components of the product.

Visual analysis Extra virgin olive oil

Evaluating the color of extra virgin olive oil is an excellent starting point. Run the oil over the walls of the glass in a circulating motion. Observe the bright hue, which should tend from green to golden-yellow, depending on the variety of olive used.

Olfactory analysis: tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The second evaluation is done by smell, one of the most foolproof methods of identifying a 100% Italian oil. The essential steps to accomplish this involve slowly swirling a glass in the palm of your hand while resting the other palm on the glass. After that, raise the palm on the glass and smell the oil. The good smell of oil involves not only the typical scent of olives but also fresh vegetable, fruity and floral notes, depending on the variety of the starting fruits. Try to smell with both nostrils and, if necessary, repeat the analysis after a few minutes.

Olive oil tasting: taste analysis.

Taste a small sip of the oil, spreading it all over the palate to bring it into contact with the lateral taste buds of the mouth, inhaling several times at the same time. Typical aromas of quality extra virgin oil include bitterness, savoriness, fruity and fresh flavor, bitter and spicy aftertaste. A fine oil must return a very pleasant taste to the palate, as well as being persistent for a long time after tasting.