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The sensory characteristics of a food are essential to its acceptance by consumers. Even if no one ever invites a friend to come and have a drink of olive oil, the quality of the small amount used to season a salad or to prepare a pesto sauce is fundamental to the enjoyment of such foods.
The sensory analysis of Olive Oil There are two ways to approach the sensory analysis of a virgin oil:
Commercial sensory analysis The first operation carried out by any producer after processing consists of taking samples of the oil and carefully judging their color, smell and taste. The same operation is to be carried out by those who want to assess whether a certain oil is up to their requirements before purchasing it. Obviously a good taster must have significant experience and be able to distinguish between the subtle gradations of color, aroma and taste.
The best time for a perfect tasting is before lunch, between 10:30 and noon, because the palate is generally not conditioned by other flavors, and the taste buds react rather intensely to stimulation at that time. First the color is assessed, noting different shades that range from green to gold, according to the type of olive and its ripeness. The olfactory test concentrates on the bouquet and its fullness and quickly reveals certain defects which will be confirmed when the oil is tasted. To fully appreciate the different nuances of taste it is necessary to keep about a teaspoonful of oil in one's mouth for at least 10-15 seconds. The technique calls for vaporizing the oil inside the oral cavity, without swallowing it, while drawing in air through the lips. This allows the oil to make contact with sensory receptors of the mouth and nose. After the oil is eliminated, the aftertaste must be carefully evaluated as to pleasantness and persistence. Inexperienced persons who are particularly interested are urged to attend a tasting course. In Italy, such courses are offered by the National Organization of Olive Oil Tasters. Here one can learn how to judge and appreciate fabulous extra virgin olive oils and to discriminate between them and others that are sweet and fruity, imperfect with such characteristics as rancidity, winey, heated, mildewy, metallic; in sum, examples from the entire lexicon of tasting. Legal sensory analysis Enclosure XII of European Community Regulation n° 2568/91 establishes the criteria to be used for the evaluation of the olfactory and taste characteristics of virgin olive oil, in order to obtain numerical values that identify four categories of virgin olive oil:
Eight to twelve tasters (the Panel) chosen by a Chairman are required to carry out the test. The Panel Chairman must be a person adequately prepared, a connoisseur with expert knowledge of the different types of oils he to be tested. The test will be carried out in suitable tasting booths, and each candidate will have at his disposal a sample and a card to complete with the merits and defects of the oil being judged.
The Panel Chairman must collect the forms from the tasters, draw up a table of results, calculate the arithmetic mean and the range of error, and compute the final score or have the test repeated in specified circumstances. |
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Safety and nutritional value counsel the use of olive oil. That is why the oil selected must have the best possible sensory characteristics and acidity, best if below 0.3%. It is foolish and uneconomical to buy the finest and most expensive ingredients and then season them with rancid or otherwise poor-tasting oil!
