Nancy Ash says people give her a “funny look” when she tells them what she does for a living. She spends a lot of time slurping olive oil and biting into slices of tart green apple. “I’m an olive oil taster,” says Nancy.

As a trained taster and owner of the consulting firm Strictly Olive Oil, Nancy walked a group of chefs and culinary pros through an olive oil tasting at our recent Harvest Retreat in northern California.

Here’s how she does it.

An extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)  tasting – like a wine tasting – really lets you experience an olive oil’s aroma, flavor and peppery quality, or pungency. You can also figure out what might be wrong. Mustiness or rancidity are “defects” found in lesser quality oils.

To be certified as  true “extra virgin,” an olive oil must pass a barrage of tests – some conducted by lab technicians, and others done by a panel of olive oil tasters, such as Nancy.

“The definition of extra virgin olive oil is based on chemical factors tested in a lab and specific flavors in the olive oil,” she told us.

It’s the taster’s job to analyze the aroma, taste, and pungency of the oil to see if it passes muster.

Here’s how to conduct a thorough tasting  – something you could do with friends at home. (By the way, biting into a tart green apple is a way to cleanse the palate.)

First, pour about a tablespoon of oil into a wine glass, or similarly tapered glass. (Expert olive oil tasters sip from the blue olive oil tasting glass, like the one pictured here.) Cover the glass with one hand while you hold the bowl of the glass in the other hand. You want the oil to be about 70 degrees Fahrenheit – considered the best temperature for tasting.

Next come the “Four S’s,” as Nancy describes them:

1. SWIRL – While you cover the top of the glass with one hand, swirl the oil to release the aromas.
2. SNIFF – Uncover the glass and hold the top up to your nose and quickly smell the oil. The scent is key to the oil’s fruitiness. You want to get one big “sniff impression” of the oil.
3. SLURP – Take a sip of the oil while also “sipping” a bit of air. The slurping action combines the oil with the air and spreads it throughout your mouth. Notice the oil’s “smell” in your mouth – the retro-nasal aromas – as well as the different sensations throughout your mouth.
4. SWALLOW – Don’t worry, it’s just a small amount of oil! Notice if there is a peppery or stinging sensation in your throat, and how long the sensation lingers.

While tasting the oil, keep in mind the three positive attributes of true extra virgin olive oil:

• Fruitiness, which you can sense from smelling the oil.
• Bittery, reflected in a pleasantly bitter taste. “It’s a natural expression of the olive,” said Nancy.
• Pungency, the peppery or stingy sensation in your throat when you swallow the oil.

If you plan to sample another oil, take a bite from that tart green apple I mentioned, followed by a swig of water. That will cleanse your palate.

Finally, here’s something to keep in mind while you taste. Unlike other countries, the United States hasn’t adopted standards defining extra virgin olive oil. The bottom line: Not all “extra virgin olive oil” sold in the United States is the real thing – although EVOO produced in California must be officially certified.

That said, slurp away!

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

A colleague of mine trolling the Internet last night came across an electronic version of an article from this September’s issue of Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve been anxious to read the piece: It details a blind tasting of California extra virgin olive oils the magazine’s staff conducted earlier this year.

I already know the results. Food guru Jack Bishop of Cook’s Illustrated announced on NBC’s Weekend Today show earlier this month our Arbequina extra virgin olive oil was the best California EVOO among the 10 sampled.

We were told the details of the tasting would emerge in the September issue of Cook’s Illustrated. Now that the article is on my screen, I can tell you what the magazine said about our Arbequina: “This extra-virgin oil, made from Arbequina olives, won raves for its fresh, sweet, fruity flavor and pleasing hint of bitterness.”

The article also praised the quality of California extra virgin olive oils in general versus their European counterparts: “The California growers—particularly the folks behind our favorite, relatively affordable oil—have clearly struck something promising.”

To use a term the pros use when tasting olive oil, I’ll “slurp” to that.

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

I tuned in to NBC’s Weekend Today show yesterday and was thrilled to see Cook’s Illustrated magazine has rated our Arbequina the No. 1 tasting California extra virgin olive oil.

Food expert Jack Bishop, who oversees editorial operations at the magazine, raved about our Arbequina during a segment of the show focusing on olive oil and how to taste EVOO.

“We love this,” Bishop exclaimed to Weekend Today co-anchor Jenna Wolfe, as they stood on the set of the show with a bottle of our Arbequina on the counter. “This is California Olive Ranch. It was our top-ranked of the 10 California oils that we sampled.”

Bishop went on to say our Arbequina “tastes delicious.”

“We thought this was as good as any European oil.”

Cook’s Illustrated plans to publish its list of the top olive oils in its September issue.

Bishop – who also is editorial director of the popular public TV cooking show America’s Test Kitchen – praised California’s olive oil industry, likening it to the state’s world famous wine industry.

“The California olive oil industry is sort of like the wine industry was in California back in the 1970s. Nobody’s heard of it. But you’re going to hear about it very soon,” said Bishop. “They’re doing a tremendous amount of olive oil now out in California.”

And Bishop predicted strong growth for California olive oils: “They’re going to be in supermarkets all over the country in coming years.”

I couldn’t agree more!

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

Here’s something you can do with your friends that’s a bit out of the ordinary: hold an extra virgin olive oil tasting at your home. It’s similar to a wine tasting – except you “slurp” the oil rather than sip it. You also bite on a tart green apple to cleanse your palate rather than nibble on a cracker or piece of bread.

You can read a great article on holding an olive oil tasting at home. It was published originally in the Spring 2007 issue of California magazine. Its author, Nancy Ash, is a trained olive oil taster and owner of the consulting firm Strictly Olive Oil.

A tasting lets you learn the oil’s aroma, flavor and peppery quality, or pungency. Those features form the core attributes of true extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). A tasting also can help you gauge defects – such as mustiness – found in lesser quality oils.

I’ve been to a number of tastings, including one California Olive Ranch held in March for chefs in the San Diego area. The chefs we spoke to afterward enjoyed it. “By slurping the oil you really get the taste,” said James Montejano, executive chef at Vista Valley Country Club north of San Diego, in Vista.

Why slurp the oil? Let me explain. When you sip the oil you also sip in a bit of air. That slurping action combines the oil with the air and spreads it throughout your mouth. You’ll notice the oil’s “smell” in your mouth – the retro-nasal aromas – as well as the different sensations throughout your mouth.

Have a good time – and slurp away with your friends!

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch