CATEGORY
Olive Oil
2007 CHEFSBEST® AWARD FOR BEST TASTE WINNER
Colavita
What Makes a Great Olive Oil?
Whether for cooking, dipping bread or dressing salads, olive oil’s rich flavor and versatility can’t be beat. Keep plenty of extra virgin or pure olive oil in the pantry for sautéing vegetables, coating breads, baking fish and chicken, preparing vinaigrette or making any number of Italian dishes. For a real treat, serve it with rosemary for a sumptuous baguette dip. With its high levels of monounsaturated fat, it’s also a heart-healthy choice.
Our chefs define high-quality extra virgin olive oil as ranging in color from yellow to green. Pure olive oil will typically be lighter than extra virgin olive oil but darker than canola oil. Extra virgin olive oil will have a bold aroma with a complex character that features grassy, straw, green, floral, fruity, buttery, olive, woody, nutty, spicy and peppery notes. Pure olive oil will have a more moderate aroma with notes of pine, pepper, fruit, nut and wood. There should be no aroma off notes detracting from the overall olive oil aroma.
Olive oil is in taste balance when sweetness is the leading basic taste. This sweetness will be moderate in extra virgin olive oil and low in pure olive oil. Bitterness will be next, followed by minimal levels of sourness and saltiness—just enough to enhance the oil and round out the other basic tastes.
In both extra virgin and pure olive oils, the bold olive oil flavor will have more of an impact than the aroma. The flavor character for both oils will reflect the grassy, straw, green, floral, fruity, buttery, olive, woody, nutty, spicy and peppery aroma notes in extra virgin olive oil. Pure olive oil should exhibit notes of pine, pepper, fruit, nut and wood. Like the aroma, there should be no inappropriate flavor off notes.
Extra virgin olive oil will have a heavier mouth weight than most oils, but it should not coat the palate. On the other hand, it should not be so light that it dissolves too quickly. For pure olive oil, the mouth weight will be heavier and more full-bodied than canola oil, but not as heavy as extra virgin olive oil. Both oils will have some astringency, which makes the mouth pucker slightly, but it should be low. The finish should be long with a smooth, rounded and fruity character that is never harsh. When used with bread, both olive oils should maintain their flavor character without being overwhelmed by the bread flavor.
Product Category Definition
The category judged was defined as pure and extra virgin olive oil for the consumer market, not including vegetable, corn, peanut, spray, better-for-you or specialty oils.
Other Leading Brands:
Filippo Berio, Bertolli, Carapelli (Extra-Virgin Only), Pompeian Olive Oil, Inc., Crisco
ONE-STEP IDEAS
Put oil into a clean squirt bottle and spray just the right amount onto your baking pans and salads.
Wipe your cast-iron cookware with a little oil after washing and drying to keeping its surface non-stick.
Soak sticky labels and price tags with a little oil and the gummy residue should come right off.
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TASTING
TERMINOLOGY
PRODUCT
FUN FACTS
- Ninety percent of the world’s olives are used to make olive oil.
- Extra virgin olive oil is the first pressing of the crop’s best olives.
- There are an estimated 50 million olive trees in California, which amounts to less that five percent of the world’s crop.
The ChefsBest Award for Best Taste is awarded to the brand rated highest overall among leading brands by independent professional chefs.
