Beyond extra virgin: New standard aims to guarantee quality in olive oil
By Jane Black,
Paolo Pasquali does not like to be called a crusader for good olive oil. But when I visited his oleoteca, the tasting room he built at Villa Campestri, his “olive oil resort” in the hills north of Florence, it was impossible for him to talk of anything else. At lunch, dinner and breakfast the next morning, Pasquali rhapsodized about the storied history of the olive and fumed about consumers’ feckless embrace of cheap oil. And, for most of the time, his pitch sounded like that of any number of upstart chocolate, coffee or cured-meat producers: Like wine, my product deserves more respect.
That is, until Pasquali reached into an imposing antique sideboard and pulled out a silver tray holding several small, brown apothecary bottles. “Smell this,” he said, waving one labeled “rancid” under my nose.
It didn’t smell bright or floral, like Pasquali’s oil. But it did smell familiar. The rancid oil smelled like most olive oils I had had at restaurants and cooked with at home.
It has been about 30 years since many Americans began giving up their lard and Crisco for more-healthful extra-virgin oil. But that extra-virgin label has proved a poor guide to choosing the highest-quality oils. According to a recent study by the UC Davis Olive Center, 73 percent of the top five brands of imported extra-virgin olive oil failed to meet accepted international standards for extra-virgin. Moreover, a separate report revealed that 44 percent of consumers actually preferred rancid or fusty oil, a possible result of the prevalence of substandard extra-virgins available to American consumers.
Now, a new movement is afoot to redefine extra-virgin, teaching consumers — and the marketplace — what makes high-quality olive oil. Last year, Pasquali helped build an olive oil tasting program at the Culinary Institute of America in California’s Napa Valley. An international organization, 3E, has created a “super-premium” category for extra-virgin oils that meet exacting standards of production, milling and storage. At the “Beyond Extra Virgin” conference this summer in Cordoba, Spain, the executive director of the International Olive Council, the guardian of the current extra-virgin standard, acknowledged that better label information should be a “priority for the sector.”
New students of olive oil often believe the product was better before the sector industrialized. But extra-virgin oil is, in fact, a 20th-century invention. New technology allowed for faster picking and pressing and, therefore, fresher oil. Modern storage techniques eliminated exposure to heat and light, two factors that lead to rancidity. Indeed, the European Parliament invented the term “extra-virgin” only in 1960. Many Americans believe it refers to the first pressing of the olives, but in fact it’s a baseline standard that embraces any oil made by solely mechanical means, instead of chemical treatment, and with less than 0.8 percent of free acidity, a laboratory measurement of rancidity. (Formerly, the limit was 1 percent.) Extra-virgin oils also are forbidden to have “disgusting odors such as rancidity, putridity, smoke, mold and olive fly.”
“Extra-virgin just means it’s free of defects,” said Greg Drescher, executive director of strategic initiatives at the Napa CIA. “Can you imagine a stamp of approval in the wine industry that says it’s good enough because it’s not defective?”
The popularity of the Mediterranean diet in the 1990s was a boon to the olive oil industry. But olive oil fraud was also on the rise, according to a forthcoming book, “Extra Virginity,” by Tom Mueller (Norton, 2011). Generous government subsidies encouraged farmers and corporations to overstate their production figures and to make up the difference with inferior olive oil or even seed oils. Americans aren’t the only consumers who are cheated. “There is no difference between Tuscany and the United States,” said Pasquali, who takes his own olive oil with him to local restaurants. “We’re all in the same boat.”
Rampant fraud makes it difficult for high-quality producers to compete. But critics say the extra-virgin standard fails even the market of legitimate oils. The minimum sensory and chemical requirements admit a huge range of oils. Some are perfectly fine. Others are extraordinary. “But as a consumer, it’s impossible to look at a shelf of bottles and be able to guess which is which,” said Drescher.
3E (pronounced “tray ay” because it’s Italian), an international organization, is trying to change that with the debut of its “super-premium” category. The group gives that stamp of approval to 21 producers, including Pasquali’s Villa Campestri and McEvoy Ranch, in Marin County, Calif. To receive the 3E certification, oil must pass rigorous chemical and sensory analyses. (Where extra-virgin allows oils with 0.8 percent free acidity, for example, 3E allows just 0.3 percent.)
Producers also must submit documentation about cultivation, milling and storage practices and on-site inspections. The aim is to certify the oil in a particular bottle and not — as is done for, say, Burgundy and Bordeaux wines — the estate. So a producer’s oil might make the cut one year but not the next. Super-premium olive oils cost far more than the supermarket stuff. Half-liter bottles run between $30 and $55.
The new category offers particular opportunities for small California olive oil producers, which have difficulty competing with the scale and reach of their European competitors. California producers provide about 1 percent of the olive oil consumed in the United States; over time, they aim to grow that to 10 percent. “We see this as an opportunity to set our oil apart,” said Jeff Creque, McEvoy’s mill supervisor.
McEvoy’s 3E oil is available at the Flavor Bar at the CIA in Napa. Guests pay $15 to watch a video presentation that explains how super-premium olive oil differs from plain old extra-virgin. Then they taste: chickpeas, shredded cabbage and chocolate custard with marmalade, each paired with a super-premium oil.
As at Villa Campestri, the CIA also offers an olive oil menu in its restaurant, which employs Pasquali’s patented olive oil dispenser called OliveToLive. The shiny copper console keeps three oils under a layer of nitrogen gas — safe from heat and light — until the moment they are poured into small glass flasks and served.
The contraption, says Bill Briwa, a CIA chef-instructor, allows consumers to taste the variety of flavors in an extra-virgin oil that’s as fresh as if it had just been pressed. Since the CIA’s olive oil tasting program launched in February 2010, 3,500 visitors have sampled olive oils at the Flavor Bar or in its restaurant.
Educating consumers about peppery, grassy or fruity notes is fun. But freshness is the simplest and most compelling way to illustrate the difference between excellent and run-of-the-mill extra-virgin olive oils, says Luanne O’Loughlin, manager of Olio2Go, an online olive oil market based in Fairfax that sells about 75 varieties (including a spicy, fruity, 3E-approved Tuscan estate oil, La Poderina Toscana).
“Without tasting a good and a mediocre oil side by side, it is very hard to convince someone. Freshness is a concept they can grasp,” O’Loughlin said. It is also essential, she added, for reaping the health benefits of olive oil. Older, rancid oils lack not only vitality and flavor but also antioxidants, which are believed to protect against some cancers, heart disease and other chronic ailments.
Ultra-fresh oil is what brought the CIA’s Briwa to his olive oil “aha” moment. It happened about 10 years ago, when the culinary academy was given an olive press by a local producer. The oil straight from the press tasted “pure, unsullied, like sunlight,” he remembers. It was completely different from the oil served with bread he had tasted at Napa restaurants.
Still, even Briwa, an avid crusader, knows it will be difficult to reeducate the American public. “There are some consumers who get it. They’ve had their epiphany here or somewhere in Tuscany,” he said. But for the rest, it’s a challenge. “The question is: How do you make someone have an epiphany?”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/beyond-extra-virgin-new-standard-aims-to-guarantee-quality-in-olive-oil/2011/10/13/gIQAG8Q1uL_story.html?wprss=rss_lifestyle
Saturday, October 8, 2011 9:44 AM EDT
California Tightens Olive Oil Labeling Rules
California's burgeoning olive oil producers are counting on a newly enacted state labeling law to persuade more consumers that American brands are more virginal than their imported rivals.
The measure, signed into law on Friday by Governor Jerry Brown, tightens the definitions of various calibers of olive oil, such as "virgin" and "extra virgin," to conform with standards recently adopted by the Department of Agriculture.
Supporters of the bill say overseas labeling enforcement has slipped to the point where the overwhelming majority of imported "extra virgin" olive oil on supermarket shelves is actually a lower-grade product.
The aim of the new law is to help persuade California shoppers to reject imported olive oil touted as "extra virgin" in favor of domestic brands that are more honestly labeled, and more than likely made from olives grown in-state.
"We spend a lot of money for imported extra-virgin olive oil that in many cases isn't extra virgin, when we produce actual extra-virgin olive oil ourselves," said state Senator Lois Wolk, a Democrat who sponsored the labeling measure.
In 2010 studies, University of California at Davis and Australian researchers found that of the five best-selling imported "extra virgin" olive oils 73 percent of bottles tested failed to meet International Olive Council standards for "extra virgin."
To California's expanding olive oil industry, what "extra virgin" means is a big deal. The state's "extra virgin" is unable to compete against lower-priced and sometimes lesser quality imports claiming to be "extra virgin."
A tighter definition of olive oil grades is aimed at preventing that.
Each year, more California growers enter the marketplace. The amount of California farmland devoted to olives raised for oil has increased from 6,000 acres in 2004 to 30,000 acres today.
Given its Mediterranean-like climate, California accounts for 99.5 percent of U.S. domestic olive oil production. It ranks about 20th worldwide.
Still, roughly 80 percent of all categories of olive oil are made in the European Union. While labeling standards there are comparable to the USDA's, enforcement has been lax, allowing for adulteration and labeling abuses, critics say.
The volume of olive oil consumed by Americans has jumped ten-fold during the past 30 years, from 8 million gallons to 80 million gallons annually.
"One of the fastest-growing production crops is olives. They're being planted the way they were planting vineyards 10 years ago," said Wolk, whose kitchen contains bottles of olive oil made in her northern California district.
"The good stuff tastes different. More flavorful. Full-bodied."
http://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/articles/227560/20111008/california-tightens-olive-oil-labeling-rules.htm
A Surfeit of Pesto
By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
Summer is long gone, but my basil doesn’t know that. When tomatoes are around I have no trouble staying on top of my crop, as rare is the tomato salad on my table that isn’t showered with slivered basil leaves. Now I’m making big batches of puréed basil with olive oil to freeze and use later for pesto and pistou (the Provençal version of pesto, minus the pine nuts). I make the pine nut and garlic paste and blend it into the basil and olive oil along with the cheese when I need the pesto; the garlic will taste much better if it’s fresh. If you don’t like the taste of raw garlic, you can always leave it out.
I use pesto and pistou in many other dishes besides pasta. Pesto is a nutritionally dense condiment; basil is a great source of flavonoids that are believed to have antioxidant and antibacterial properties. It’s also an excellent source of vitamin K, and a very good source of iron, calcium and vitamin A.
Pesto and Pistou
Purists will only use a mortar and pestle for pesto. I like the results I get using a hand blender inside a straight-sided jar. As long as you make the full batch, this is the best machine to use, as it purées the basil much more efficiently than a food processor.
1 or 2 garlic cloves, to taste
2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed (2 ounces)
2 tablespoons Mediterranean pine nuts* (for pesto; omit for pistou)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan, or a mixture of pecorino Romano and Parmesan (more to taste)
1. If using a hand blender, place the garlic, basil, pine nuts, salt and olive oil in a pint jar. Stick the hand blender right down into the mixture and turn on. Blend until smooth. You may have to start and stop a few times at the beginning, and scrape down the sides of the jar. Once the mixture is smooth, add the cheese and stir or blend together. If using a food processor fitted with the steel blade, turn on and drop in the garlic. When it is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the basil, pine nuts, salt, pepper and olive oil to the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the Parmesan and pulse until well combined. If using a mortar and pestle, add the basil leaves a handful at a time and mash with the pestle. Add the pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper, and mash to a paste with the basil. Work in the olive oil and the Parmesan.
Yield: 1/2 to 2/3 cup
Advance preparation: You can freeze pesto or pistou for several months, and it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. If you are making this for the freezer, you’ll get the best results if you purée the basil with the olive oil and salt only. When ready to use, mash the garlic and pine nuts, blend in the thawed basil purée, and add the cheese.
*If I can’t find pine nuts that come from the Mediterranean, I substitute pumpkin seeds. Some people have a bad reaction to certain varieties of pine nuts, and I am one of them.
Nutritional information per tablespoon: 86 calories; 2 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 milligrams cholesterol; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 42 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 2 grams protein
For pistou (without pine nuts), per tablespoon: 98 calories; 2 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 53 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein
Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/health/nutrition/17recipehealth_pesto.html?_r=1
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