The Village Press

Tasting Notes - what to look for when tasting olive oil:

Positives:

  • Bitter - a preferred characteristic of olive oils, usually obtained from green olives or olives turning colour.
  • Bitter - a good trait in moderation but bad if overpowering.
  • Fresh - good aroma, fruity, not oxidized.
  • Fruity - an oil is fruity when its flavour and aroma are similar to that of a mature olive. Many oils initially seem fruity. This characteristic may disappear in a few months in some oils, a truly fruity oil maintains this characteristic aroma through time.
  • Green leaf - a sensation obtained when a small quantity of fresh olive leaves are added to the pressing. This is a trick which is done to approximate the genuine green taste of green olives.
  • Harmonious - all the qualities of the oil blend and work well with each other.
  • Musky, nutty, woody - trace characteristics which are very pleasing when not overpowering.
  • Soave - mature olives can produce this characteristic. Sweet, palatable aftertaste.

Negatives:

  • Dirty - oils which have absorbed the unpleasant odours and flavours of the vegetable water after pressing which they have remained in contact with for too long.
  • Dreggish - odour of warm lubricating oil and is caused by the poor or lacking execution of the decanting process.
  • Flat - oils that have lost their characteristic aroma and have no taste.
  • Fusty - due to olives fermenting in piles while in storage waiting for pressing.
  • Pungent - A rough, burning or biting sensation in the throat - peppery.
  • Metallic - oils processed or stored with extended contact to metal surfaces.
  • Poor conservation - the oil absorbs the odours and flavours of everything surrounding it even if not in direct contact. A very common defect.
  • Impersonal - a serious defect for virgin oil, because it means it has neither character nor personality. It is a trait common in all manipulated oils.
  • Sweet - The opposite to bitter, stringent or pungent. Found in mellow oils.
  • Rancid - Old oils which have oxidized due to exposure to light or air.

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