I prefer extra-virgin olive oils with fruit and grassy notes, rather than the peppery back-of-the-throat flavors that some folks enjoy. Are there particular olive varietals that are more likely to be fruity and/or grassy? Obviously when possible I taste before buying, but in the event that I need to choose just based on bottle info, is there any way to increase my odds?
EDIT: so just to be clear, I know well some brands that meet my needs. For example, Frantoia is widely available and hits just those fruit, grassy notes. My question is more for those situations where I don't have my own supply; maybe on vacation and just need to pick a bottle among the 6 at a small town-grocery, which ain't gonna give me a taste. At that moment, do I have a better shot of getting grassy and fruit with say an arbequina vs. kalamata oil? Or is there some other method of reading the bottle that might help?
Best Answer
When food researchers want to compare the flavors of a food item, they assemble a group of expert tasters and train them on a controlled vocabulary to describe the many different compounds that can be detected in the food item. Over time some of these vocabularies get standardized. A limited vocabulary has been adopted by the International Olive Council to describe commercial olive oils and will give you a rough idea of what to expect from a brand.
To try different oils you can look for a local tasting bar (similar to wine bars) or search for “tasting notes” and “olive oil” to find postings from olive oil enthusiasts. A good place to get started with oil tasting is the olive source, which enumerates a vocabulary with short descriptions, offers tips on tasting olive oil, and lists tasting bars.