Tasting Olive Oil

Good characteristics

Good characteristics

Almond: nutty

Artichoke: a flavor which reminds one of artichoke.

Astringent: A puckering sensation in the mouth created by tannins

Bitter: Many new to olive oil are surprised to find that this is a preferred characteristic of olive oils; usually obtained from green olives or olives turning color.

Fresh: Good aroma, fruity, not oxidixed

Fruity: an oil is fruity when its flavor and aroma are similar to that of a mature olive. If you have stood over the olive grinder or press, fruity is what you smell. 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.

Grass: the taste of grass - seen often in green olives or those crushed with leaves and twigs

Green: A young, fresh, fruity oil. Often mixed with bitter. Spicy-bitter cough sensation at the back of the throat.

Green leaf: a sensation obtained when in the press a small quantity of fresh olive leaves are added. 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

Hay: Dried grass flavor

Melon, perfumy (ethyl acetate)

Musky, nutty, woody: trace characteristics which are very pleasing when not overpowering.

Peppery: a peppery bite in the back of the throat which can force a cough

Pungent: a rough, burning or biting sensation in the throat - peppery

Soave: mature olives can produce this characteristic. Sweet, palatable aftertaste.

Rotund: is said of an oil with a pasty body to it which fills and satisfies without aromatic character - always from mature olives.

Sweet: The opposite to bitter, stringent or pungent. Found in mellow oils.

Bad characteristics

Almond: associated with sweet oils with a flat scent.

Bitter: a good trait in moderation but bad if overpowering. Produced by olives that are unripe and with little meat.

Brine: salty taste

Burnt: prolonged heating during processing

Cucumber: off flavor from prolonged storage, particularly in tin

Dirty: oils which have absorbed the unpleasant odors and flavors of the vegetable water after pressing which they have remained in contact for too long.

Dreggish: odor of warm lubricating oil and is caused by the poor or lacking execution of the decanting process.

Earthy: this term is used when oil has acquired a musty humid odor because it has been pressed from unwashed, muddy olives.

Esparto: hemp-like flavor acquired when olive paste has been spread on Esparto mats. Flavors may differ according to whether the mates are green or dried.

Fiscolo: caused by the use of filtering panels which are not perfectly cleaned, and brings to mind hemp

Flat: oils which have lost their characteristic aroma and have no taste.

Frozen: due to olives which have been exposed to freezing temperatures. When cooked, this oil gives off very unpleasant odors.

Fusty: due to olives fermenting in piles while in storage waiting for pressing

Grubby: flavor imparted by grubs of the olive fly

Heated: prolonged heating during processing, burnt taste

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.

Lampantino: oil which should be sent to a refinery. When it does not present awful organic characteristics, it can be edible.

Musty: moldy flavor from being stored too long before pressing

Metallic: oils processed or stored with extended contact to metal surfaces.

Moldy: from unhealthy or fermented olives due to excessive storage in warehouses

Olearic Fly: oil from fruit stricken by this insect: the flavor is both rotten and putrid at the same time.

Phenic acid: pertaining to poorly kept very old oils.

Poor conservation: the oil absorbs the odors and flavors of everything surrounding it even if not in direct contact. A very common defect.

Rancid: old oils which have started oxidizing due to exposure to light or air.

Rough: pasty, thick greasy mouth feel

Vegetable water: stored in contact with the juice from the olive

Warmth: due to the fermentation of olives kept too long in bags.

Winey: high acidic taste