Tag: olive

Extra virgin olive oil, how to choose it – Italian Cuisine

Extra virgin olive oil is the most common condiment on our table: a quality product that is not always recognized by the consumer. Here are some tips to choose well

Italy is at levels of excellence – also – in the production ofolive oil: a market worth about 2 billion euros, thanks to 250 million olive trees cultivated on 1.2 million hectares of land which makes the Belpaese the second European producer behind Spain. But to know what we bring to the table and avoid running into fraud and fraud, we need to be aware and know how to recognize what is good from what is not. Here are some tips to learn to distinguish theextra virgin olive oil from other oils and to choose the right one.

The classification of olive oils

Not all olive oils are the same: starting with the finest, here is the category of “Vergini” oils, of which “Extra Virgin” oils represent absolute excellence, always to be preferred.
Virgin olive oil. The legislation defines as "virgin" olive oils those "obtained from the fruit through purely mechanical (and non-chemical) operations and without any mixing or addition of oils of other nature". In general, the acidity levels (oleic acid) of this type of pressing can reach 2%.
Extra virgin olive oil. According to the minimum quality standards set by European legislation, we talk about "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" when yours acidity levels do not exceed 0.8% and when its extraction takes place exclusively by cold mechanical methods, ie at temperatures below 28 degrees. Cold extraction ensures that the oil does not undergo alterations caused by different thermal conditions.
Olive oil. Olive oil, which is commonly sold in supermarkets alongside extra virgin olive oils, is obtained from one blend of refined oil and virgin oil with a maximum acidity of 1.5%. By refined oils we mean oils subjected to chemical procedures aimed at lowering their acidity, bleaching them and sometimes even deodorising them: the frying oils, of that light and semi-transparent color, are refined.
Olive-pomace oil. It is the least prized of the olive oils on the market. It is obtained from a mixture of olive-pomace oils treated by the use of solvents and virgin olive oils. Its acidity does not exceed 1.5%.

How to choose oil: practical advice

It is not always easy to distinguish an extra virgin olive oil of inferior quality, also because not all the characteristics can be perceived to taste: for example, when tasted, it is impossible to grasp its acidity because the tickle in your throat that you feel tasting some variety of oil, above all the "strong" ones of the South, if anything, say of a high presence of polyphenols and therefore of beneficial elements for our organism. Here are some tips.

Read the label well … and the bottle. The labels are now "talking" and are the identity card of the product. On this fact, it is mandatory to indicate the geographical origin of the olives. The PDO designation of origin, for example, indicates that the oil was obtained 100% from Italian olives; to underline however that there are also extra virgin olive oils obtained from European Community olives which are not necessarily of inferior quality. But a little further cleverness is to look at those oils packaged in dark or foil-covered bottles: it is a precaution to prevent the squeezing of light and is usually a sign of a quality product.

Prefer filtered oils. If you let yourself be attracted by a label that reads "unfiltered" think about it for a moment: despite the aura of authenticity, the unfiltered oil is actually less stable. The filtered oil, on the other hand, ensures that the quality of the product lasts longer.

Eye to the price. It is really difficult for a good extra virgin olive oil to cost less than 7 euros per liter. Be wary of exaggerated promotions.

Open eyes and nostrils. Extra virgin olive oils have a bright color ranging from green to yellow, not a pale and transparent color. Also to the smell "they are recognized" with intense aromas. In conclusion. Odorless and colorless? It is not extra virgin.

Prefer organic oils. The quality of extra virgin olive oil can be threatened by the use of pesticides to eliminate parasites that settle in olive groves. But also the presence of acidity correctors.

Which extra virgin olive oil should be used for meat? – Italian Cuisine

Extra virgin olive oils that best accompany beef, sheep and pork. Recommended by our expert depending on the cooking

Red meats require well-structured oils, with much, much character: for example, those with medium to intense fruitiness and with very pronounced spikes of bitterness and pungency.
Usually this category of extra virgin is identified with those of Central Italy, Tuscan in the lead, or of the South, Puglia in particular.
Right, but only in part because it is not only the territory of origin that determines the characteristics of an oil and its flavor, but also the variety of olives from which it is obtained.

Here are those that, taking into account their origin, better enhance the individual preparations.
Good extra virgin olive oils with cattle
Beef and beef have a rather intense taste. On a base already rich in flavor it is therefore necessary to use equally tasty oil. It gives a greater palatability and a general sense of pleasantness to the use of an extra virgin olive oil with a robust character, rich in fruity and savory notes.

Good ones with roasts

Sicilian oils are excellent from cerasuola olives, but if the meat is marinated before being cooked, those from nocellara del Belice or tonda iblea are fine because they are savory and fragrant, able to better balance the taste of the preparation.

Escalopes (or slices)

They want fruity and fragrant oils like the Tuscan ones from the frantoio or moraiolo cultivar. If cooked with pizzaiola, with tomato, or with pepper, the Pugliesi of Salento are exceptional with coratina olives or cellina di Nardò. Tartare: the lean meat minced beef with anchovies, onion, capers, parsley and yolk and seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper wants a drizzle of oil, which should be of medium fruity like the Abruzzese from Loreto olives. Ribs: either grilled or grilled, they are accompanied by a medium fruity flavor, better still the Molise or Gargano oil from rosciola or peranzana olives.

Boiled

Still steaming it goes close to the intense fruity of the Barese from coratina olives, intensely herbaceous and very bitter and spicy; if it is served cold in salads or with sauces (for example with thyme), well also those from Umbria with moraiolo or Sicilians from nocellara del Belice. Stracotto alla fiorentina: perfect in this case a regional combination. Therefore, choose a Florentine oil from the oil mill triad

Overcooked At Fiorentina

Perfect in this case a regional combination. To be chosen therefore a Florentine oil of the triad frantoio, moraiolo and leccino, rather intense and sapid, bitter, with peaks of astringency. With pork, savory with judgment

Pork, although tasty, can contain less intense oils

With the ribs

If flavored with orange juice, they are a delight accompanied with a Sicilian extra virgin olive oil from Moorish olives, a Trieste oil from bianchera olives or a Sardinian variety of Bosana. For those with anchovies or olives, both Veneto and Lombardy medium-sized oils are good, obtained from Casaliva or Gargna cultivars.

With fillet and loin

They are the leanest cuts and for them both medium intensity fruity oils and those with a decidedly more intense and marked character are good. The difference comes from the type of cooking and the seasonings used: as a rule, the longer the first and the tastier the seconds, the greater the intensity of the oil used must be.

On the livers

Wrapped in the pork net and then baked in the oven, they require an oil with an intense flavor and a compact consistency like those of the Tuscan Maremma from olive Seggianese olives

For the kid, better little oil but with personality

Less savory than that of mutton but more than that of lamb, kid meat is nevertheless rich in taste and quite fatty, so the oil to be used must be little but very fruity and sapid, with a penetrating taste that pinches into throat. Particularly if, as often happens, it is marinated before cooking, the oil from Bari with pure coratina olives and the moraiolo of Umbria prove to be excellent. The grilled ribs are an exception: in this case it is better to use an extra virgin olive oil from Lazio from Itrana olives, with an intense fruitiness. It should be noted that the kid is often prepared according to regional recipes: in this case the suggestion is to also use local oils

Luigi Caricato – Number 11 November 2008

The extra virgin olive oil is not all the same: the advice to choose it – Italian Cuisine

How to extricate yourself among the many labels of extra virgin olive oil present in large retailers? Our tips to choose as consciously as possible

Extra virgin olive oil it is not all the same: some derive from monocultivar olives, others from a miscellanea of olives, others are made with olives coming from the European Union. On the shelves of supermarkets the choice is very wide, it is often difficult to understand what kind of extra virgin olive oil we are buying. For this it is fundamental to know how to read the label, which can provide us with the necessary information so as not to make a mistake.

Labels, guarantee of transparency and quality

Each label on the bottle of extra virgin olive oil tells something about him: who has milled olives, where they have been milled and where they have been harvested for the production of that particular oil. It may happen that olives come from one or more countries of the European Union, or that they have all been collected in an Italian region and then processed in a mill in our country. In this case also the words "100% Italian product" appear. Each label then specifies that it is indeed an extra virgin olive oil, "an oil of a superior category, obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical processes ". This information is mandatory, can not be missing if it is an extra virgin olive oil. Beyond that, one must appear nutritional table, with indications of energetic value, fats, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins and salt.

The "optional" information

On the labels some information can appear that better define the characteristics of extra virgin olive oil. It can be specified "First cold pressing", or "cold extracted": the first concerns extra virgin olive oils obtained at less than 27 ° C with the first mechanical pressing of olives made using hydraulic presses, while the second refers to extra virgin olive oils, always obtained less than 27th, with a process of centrifugation of olive paste. Optional information may include those relating toacidity of the oil (which can not be higher than 0.8%), taste characteristics and related to the harvesting campaign. All news that help to better understand what type of oil we are buying, to make a choice as conscious as possible.

In the tutorial all the tips to choose and best preserve your extra virgin olive oil.