Olive Oil

[Capo Boi]

I know there are many more knowledgeable people on this forum than me and it has been said before but olive oil unlike wine does not improve with age. Generally two years is considered the timescale within which extra virgin olive oil should be consumed but in reality for pouring over salads or dipping with bread it should be used within the first year. Even better, within six months. Olive oil supplied in the UK usually only has a "best before date" and not a "date produced" (there are exceptions though) and tends to work to the two year rule. At the moment you should be looking for "best before Oct, Nov, Dec 2010 as this oil will have been produced in the Autumn/Winter of 2008. Bottles giving a 2009 date will already be almost 18 months old at the very least.
Last year the local gardeners here produced 29 litres of oil from just over 200 kgs of olives. We were lucky enough to receive a litre the next day and I can honestly say this was the best olive oil I have ever tasted. The cost of the pressing was €40 and there was no problem pressing this small quantity. That said, Liguria is probably considered the region that produces Italy's best olive oil although I now expected to be shot down by the Toscani.

[Mediated Anarchist]

And the Campanians and the Puglians and the Sicilians and the ....

[Aretina]

Hi Capo Boi

Consider yourself shot down by a new Tuscan

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Mediated Anarchist

And the Campanians and the Puglians and the Sicilians and the ....

...Umbrians.

But what Capo Boi says is absolutely true. The one thing all big producers have in common is that they have an interest in disguising the age and source of their products. If there there was a standard of the same type as that of Parmeggiano Reggianno, which is uniformly excellent and reliable product then small producers would gain. The DOP standard comes nowhere near meeting the standards required for classifying a high quality oil, age and month of picking being the main omissions.

[giovanni]

capo Boi, maybe the lugurains consider it the best oil, just as maybe the tuscans consider theirs the best.But actually the best stuff comes from the south.but the northerners would not know that....Cuzz they are never allowed to try it................

Lets just get things into perspective.. When the Romans ruled most of the known world, they named a region campania [Italian translation] very Good reason for this... and nothing has changed geologically in those 2000 years............

[Mediated Anarchist]

Oh dear, now look what you've started Marc!
Umbrian oil indeed. I'm with Giovanni on this one.

[Gala Placidia]

Ligurian oil is excellent; however, I think that we cannot say that there is such a thing as THE olive oil, they all have different characteristics. If we generalise a bit, we find that the extra virgin olive oil from
LIGURIA is delicate, aromatic and fairly light
The one from TUSCANY is robust, spicy, with an aftertaste of nuts and pepper.
The one from LE MARCHE, coming from a careful blend of different olive varieties is very well balanced.
The oil from PUGLIA is fruity and highly acidic as it comes from very ripe olives.
The SICILY one is quite comparable to the oil from PUGLIA. It has a strong and penetrating taste, always fruity.
From UMBRIA we get an oil which smells of fresh herbs and has a characteristic green colour.
The one from ABRUZZO is emerald green, very fruity and has a very strong flavour.

Different regions, different tastes, different uses. I always use EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil in my kitchen for all purposes and I usually have 4-5 bottles which I use according to what I am preparing.

And I am always trying different labels and origins.

[Angie and Robert]

Hang on a minute, what about Marche!!!.
A

[Mediated Anarchist]

What about it?

[Oneto15]

Marc.

I note that you posted 34 minutes after my query about the deleted post, still waiting for an explanation though!