Sunday,
March 23, 2008
Olive Oil in US :
No Self-Respecting Italian Would Consume.
The
ANNOTICO Report
While olive oil
dates to antiquity, truly fine oil only came about in the last few decades, as
Europeans revolutionized production with clean, modern techniques. Stainless
steel spinners and decanters sped-up the process that eliminated
fermentation.The result was an entirely new
"authentic" taste that captures the fresh fruit flavor of the
olive.
But few in this
country have learned to appreciate this fresh taste. Just as post-Prohibition
Americans happily drank wine of such poor quality it could not be sold today,
so do many contemporary Americans make their salad and pasta with olive oil
no self-respecting Italian would consume. What Americans think of
as good oil is rancid, fermented or riddled with flaws that consumers would
easily detect if their palates were more sophisticated.
Olives have been
growing in
International Herald Tribune
From
The Associated Press
Friday, March 21, 2008
Now, it hopes to
do the same for olive oil.
The challenges to
the emerging industry are significant. They include finding economical ways to
produce fine oil, dealing with unscrupulous importers and educating
unsophisticated palates.
While
"This is the
big challenge for all of us here in
The center opened
in January under the umbrella of the university's Robert Mondavi
Institute, which also houses the campuses' Department of Viticulture and
Enology, the scientific names for grape-growing and wine-making.
That is where UC
scientists showed
Olives have been
growing in
Collectively,
they produce 500,000 gallons of olive oil each year, a tiny fraction of the 75
million gallons Americans consume.
The potential
The olive
center's executive director, Dan Flynn, said the center will be a resource to
delve into essential questions about olive production and consumption.
Undergraduate courses may come later.
Contributing
faculty include researchers from the UC Davis Medical Center, who are studying
the health benefits of antioxidants in olives.
Others already
have done work on genetic fingerprinting of olive varieties and how irrigation
affects growth.
Researchers also
make and sell oil from the 1,500 olive trees on campus and are launching this
year's oils with a party on Wednesday. The proceeds will make up half the olive
center's budget. The rest comes from industry and the university.
Charles
Shoemaker, a food scientist who is a co-chairman of the olive center, said a possible
topic of research - preventing oxidation, which ruins the taste -
could benefit olive oil lovers around the world.
In most of
the restaurants he visited were serving rancid or oxidized oils.
"It's not
just a new challenge in
But the answer,
he said, may be as simple as selling the oil in smaller bottles.
Fine olive oil is
a relatively recent phenomenon anywhere in the world, said Vossen,
who teaches an olive oil tasting seminar to the general public through UC's extension program. He also helped develop
While olive oil
dates to antiquity, Vossen said truly fine oil only
came about in the last few decades, as Europeans revolutionized production with
clean, modern techniques.
Stainless steel
spinners and decanters replaced the old, smelly mats that had been used to
drain oil from paste made of crushed olive pits and meats.
The sped-up
process eliminated fermentation, along with odors that had seeped into the mats
from farm animals and the fires workers used to warm themselves in mill houses.
The result was an
entirely new taste that could be as spicy, peppery and pungent as the olives
from which it was made.
"The new
olive oil industry of the world is capturing the fresh fruit flavor of the
olive," Vossen said.
But few in this
country have learned to appreciate this fresh taste. Just as post-Prohibition
Americans happily drank wine of such poor quality it could not be sold today,
so do many contemporary Americans make their salad and pasta with olive oil no
self-respecting Italian would consume.
Vossen and others say most of
what Americans think of as good oil is rancid, fermented or riddled with flaws
that consumers would easily detect if their palates were more sophisticated.
In his tasting
classes, Vossen teaches how to discern the mellow
flavors of oil made from ripe olives, such as nutty, floral, buttery, tropical, banana and spices such as cinnamon.
He also
introduces the pungent flavors of oils made from green olives, including those
of fresh-cut grass, artichoke or even straw. As his students' palates grow more
complex, he says, they quickly develop an appreciation for bitter green oils,
which are rich in antioxidants.
It is a leap he
hopes the greater American public will one day, as well.
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