taste

Taste olive oil

Follow these 5 steps to taste the oil:

Step 1 Casting
Pour a little bit of olive oil into a glass.

Step 2 Swirl          
Move the oil around the glass to heat it up, releasing aromas and flavors.

Step 3 Inhale             
Smell the oil ... is it mild or highly scented?

Step 4 Slurp                  
Cover your mouth with the oil to taste.
 
Step 5 To swallow             
Do you have to cough after tasting or do you get an itchin the throat, then it is a good quality olive oil.


Good flavors
Aromas to watch out for:

  • Green / grassy
  • Artichoke
  • Peppered
  • Fruit
  • Bitter
  • Olive leaf
  • Buttery
  • Tomato leaf
Bad flavors
These are the flavors you don't want to find in your oil.
  • Fermented / Yeast
  • Mold / Earthy
  • Vinegar
  • Burned
  • Metal

In a real tasting, small darkened glasses are used for the olive oil tastings. Darkened so that the color does not affect your appreciation for the oil.

Usually a tasting starts with the light oil, followed by a medium and ending with a robust olive oil.