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About Olive Oil

■Virgin Olive Oils

Extra virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil (the two oils are hereinafter referred to as virgin olive oils) are olive fruit juices that are extracted exclusively by physical processes such as crushers, malaxers, decanters, or centrifuges.

The quality of virgin olive oils is determined by the quality of the olive fruit and its extraction process. The quality of the olive fruit depends on the fruit being healthy, free from excessive water stress as well as disease and pest damage in the olive cultivation, and the timing and method of harvesting and transporting the fruit also affect the quality of the oil obtained. In the oil extraction process, not only the oil extraction technology, but also the cleanliness and temperature of the oil mills and machines, the subsequent storage method and its management, bottling, and the entire flow of production until it reaches the final consumer and is consumed are all important.
 

■Categories of Olive Oil

Virgin olive oils, obtained exclusively by physical processes, is classified into the following categories after passing physico-chemical and sensory analysis. (Categories of olive oil as defined by the EU Community)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Virgin Olive Oil
Lampante Virgin Olive Oil
Refined Olive Oil
Olive Oil composed of refined Olive Oil and Virgin Olive Oils
Olive Pomace Oil
Crude Olive Pomace Oil
Refined Olive Pomace Oil

“Lampante Virgin Olive Oil”, “Refined Olive Oil”, “Crude Olive Pomace Oil” and “Refined Olive Pomace Oil” are not allowed to be sold as is in the EU.

Lampante Virgin Olive Oil is refined in a refinery to become “Refined Olive Oil”.
The “Crude Olive Pomace Oil” is refined into “Refined Olive Pomace Oil”.

These refined oils are then mixed with virgin olive oils (extra virgin olive oil or virgin olive oil) and marketed as “olive oil”.

These refined oils are then mixed with Virgin Olive Oils (extra virgin olive oil or virgin olive oil) and marketed as “Olive Oil” and “Olive Pomace Oil”.

In other words, there are four types of olive oil products available on the market

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Virgin Olive Oil
Olive Oil
Olive Pomace Oil

The pomace is a by-product of the production of oil in the mill obtained in the process of centrifuging the olives. Its composition is given by parts of the olive but also with traces of its oil. 

■About Sensory analysis

Virgin olive oils are classified into the following categories according to the median value of defects and the median value of olive fruit fruity, which are sensory analysis. 
Olive fruit fruity is defined as follows.

Range of smells (dependent on variety) characteristic of oil from healthy fresh fruit, green or ripe, perceived directly and/or retronasally.

A)    Extra virgin olive oil: the median of the defects is 0 and the median of the fruity attribute is above 0.

B)    Virgin olive oil: the median of the defects is above 0 but not more than 3.5 and the median of the fruity attribute is above 0.

C)    Lampante Virgin Olive Oil: the median of the defects is greater than 3.5, or the median of the defects is less than or equal to 3.5 and the median of the fruitiness attribute is equal to 0.

*Numerical values from 0 to 10

■Tasting Method

Pour 15 ml of oil into a standardized blue/red tasting glass.
Then, put on the clear glass lid, called a watch glass, and turn the glass slightly with the palm of the hand, tilting it to warm it up. 
Ideally, the temperature of the glass should be about 28 degrees Celsius, at which temperature the oil's own aroma can be easily detected. 
Then, remove the watch glass, take a short sniff, and try to detect the smell coming up.
Feel the first impression of the oil.
The second time, sniff a little more closely to see how fruity intensity the oil is, what type (green or ripe), and whether there are any unpleasant or strange smells (defects).
Next, a small amount of oil is placed in the mouth.
Then, with a few breaths, allow the oil to penetrate all parts of the mouth cavity. This allows the perception of different tastes and the evaluation of the fruity, bitter and pungent intensity, as well as the state of the fruit at harvest (green or ripe).

 
■Tasting Technical Terms

 

Positive Attribute

 

Fruity: range of smells (dependent on variety) characteristic of oil from healthy fresh fruit, green or ripe, perceived directly and/or retronasally.

Fruitiness is qualified as green: if the range of smells is reminiscent of green fruit and is characteristic of oil from green fruit.

Fruitiness is qualified as ripe: if the range of smells is reminiscent of ripe fruit and is characteristic of oil from green and ripe fruit.


Fruity Intensity
The term “intense” may be used where the median of the attribute concerned is greater than 6.
The term “medium” may be used where the median of the attribute concerned is between 3 and 6.
The term “light” may be used where the median of the attribute concerned is less than 3.


Bitter and Pungent
Bitter: characteristic primary taste of oil from green olives or olives turning colour. It is detected by the circumvallate papillae in the “V” region of the tongue.

Pungent: tingling sensation characteristic of oil made at the beginning of the season mainly from olives that are still green. It can be perceived throughout the mouth cavity, particularly in the throat.


The term “well balanced” may be used where the oil does not display a lack of balance, which is defined as the smell, taste and feel that oil has when the median of the bitter and/or pungent attributes is two points higher than the median of its fruitiness.


The term “mild oil” may be used where the median of the bitter and pungent attributes is 2 or less.
 

Negative Attribute

Fusty/muddy sediment: characteristic flavour of oil from olives that have been piled or stored in such a way as to have reached an advanced stage of anaerobic fermentation, or of oil which has been left in contact with the sediment that settles in underground tanks and vats and which has also undergone a process of anaerobic fermentation.

Musty/humid: characteristic flavour of oil from olives in which large numbers of fungi and yeasts have developed as a result of storage for several days in humid conditions.

Earthy: flavour of oil from olives collected with earth or mud on them and not washed.

Winey-vinegary/acid-sour: characteristic flavour of certain oils reminiscent of wine or vinegar. This flavour is mainly due to the aerobic fermentation of the olives or of olive paste left on pressing mats which have not been properly cleaned, leading to the formation of acetic acid, ethyl acetate and ethanol.

Rancid: flavour of oil that has undergone an intense process of oxidation.

Wet wood: characteristic flavour of oil extracted from olives damaged by frost while on the tree.

Heated or burnt: characteristic flavour caused by excessive and/or prolonged heating during production, particularly by thermo-mixing of the paste in unsuitable conditions.

Hay/wood: characteristic flavour of certain oils from dry olives.

Rough: thick and pasty mouthfeel produced by certain old oils.

Greasy: flavour reminiscent of diesel, grease or mineral oil.

Vegetable water: flavour acquired by the oil as a result of prolonged contact with vegetable water which has undergone fermentation.

Brine: flavour of oil extracted from olives which have been preserved in brine.

Metallic: flavour reminiscent of metal, characteristic of oil that has been in prolonged contact with metallic surfaces during crushing, mixing, pressing or storage.

Esparto: characteristic flavour of oil from olives pressed in new esparto mats. The flavour may vary depending on whether the mats are made of green or dried esparto.

Grubby: flavour of oil from olives heavily attacked by grubs of the olive fly (Bactrocera oleae).

Cucumber: characteristic flavour of oil kept too long in hermetically sealed containers, notably in tins, attributed to formation of 2,6-nonadienal.

 
■About the Official Olive Oil Tasting Panel

The Panel of Virgin Olive Oil Tasters carries out the sensory analysis of the extra virgin and virgin olive oil samples analyzed at “Centro de Investigación y Control de la Calidad ( CICC, Center for Research and Quality Control ) in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No. 2568/91, concerning the characteristics of olive oil and olive pomace oils and their methods of analysis.

Formed by a group of selected and trained tasters, belonging to the laboratory staff, it is authorized to carry out the official control by the European Commission, recognized by the International Olive Oil Council, and accredited under the UNE-EN-ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Standard.

Formed by a group of selected and trained tasters, belonging to the laboratory staff, it is authorized to carry out the official control by the European Commission, recognized by the International Olive Oil Council, and accredited under the UNE-EN-ISO 17025 Standard.

The CICC panel of tasters provides technical support to entities such as the International Olive Oil Council, The Spanish Olive Oil Interprofessional Organization and other entities of the Spanish Administration and other countries, in the tasting of oils for international competitions, and in the formation and training of new tasting panels. The CICC is an active member of the sensory analysis expert group of the International Olive Council.

 
■Acidity in case of Olive Oils

It will be the amount of free fatty acids of oleic acid in olive oil. It is the amount of triacylglycerols (a type of triglyceride) in the oil that changes due to hydrolysis. "Acidity" in case of olive oil is not sensuously detectable (taste and smell) at the level of virgin olive oils.

Because virgin olive oils are the juice of the olive fruit, the quality begins to deteriorate after the oil is extracted. The deterioration is mainly influenced by the olive variety, but the cultivation method (soil, pruning, irrigation, fertilizers, hours of sunlight, rainfall, etc.), harvest timing (maturity of the fruit), oil extraction method, as well as the method of storage after oil extraction can affect the oleic acid and polyphenol content, which in turn affects the deterioration process and time.

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