Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012) • Hacker News Board

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#21

Post by lhc- » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:25 PM UTC

wahnfrieden wrote: post #20

Anyone know a good olive oil obtainable in NYC? (I'd rather not pay huge shipping fees for some of the other things listed here.)

I think there's a store in Chelsea Market (my brother lives there and sent me some OO) called the Filling Station which has some nice choices. I can't speak to the veracity of their origin, but that place will have a lot of choices and you will be able to get a very peppery, very strong oil (I am a big fan of Hojiblanca if you see it, but anything toward the more peppery end is my preference).

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#22

Post by zdean » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:30 PM UTC

colanderman wrote: post #4

Does anyone have any tips for finding quality olive oil? The only way I've had success is to buy inexpensive single-source stuff, even if it's inexpensive and non-Italian. Best olive oils I've had were single-sourced from Spain; $2 from a discount store. Maybe no-one wants to fake non-Italian oil?

Beware of 'local' oils, too. A few years back, I ran a food truck that served Belgian style fries. I tested a lot of oils and decided on olive oil, but everything I could buy at the store or farmers' markets were prohibitively expensive. After some research, I found a regional seller (I'm in Texas) that imports olive oil from throughout Europe and Africa. We ultimately settled on an African import that to me had the best flavor of the bunch.

The interesting things I took away from my meeting with this man were:

1. A lot (if not most) olive oils sold in markets are blends of oil that include cheap oils such as canola.

2. Many local producers throughout the country were unable to meet demand...so they would buy from him and then add to their "locally produced" olive oil which they would in turn sell at a huge premium on site, at farmers markets, and at grocery stores.

I don't have the business any longer, so unfortunately I don't have access to my supplier anymore. For now, I get all of my olive oil via Whole Foods...their store brand is the best priced and I assume that they have some relationships with their producers which minimizes the chance of being hoodwinked.

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#23

Post by elorant » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:30 PM UTC

colanderman wrote: post #4

Does anyone have any tips for finding quality olive oil? The only way I've had success is to buy inexpensive single-source stuff, even if it's inexpensive and non-Italian. Best olive oils I've had were single-sourced from Spain; $2 from a discount store. Maybe no-one wants to fake non-Italian oil?

Best olive oil is Greek. Italian or Spanish ones are nowhere near the quality of Greek. In Greece more than 80% of total production is extra virgin while in Italy the percentage is less than 40% and in Spain 20%. Italians buy bulk olive oil from Greece and they mix it with their own oils to raise the quality. There are small brands that offer high quality extra virgin oil and I guess you could look some of them at your local super market or grocery store. If you want top quality you should look for small privately owned brands rather than big companies, at least for Greek oil. A few well known and trusted producers are Gaea [1], Papadimitriou [2], WEP [3], Eleia [4], Moria Elea Deluce [5], Maleas [6].

[1] http://www.gaea.gr/, [2] http://www.papadim.com/en/products/extra-virgin-olive-oil/, [3] http://www.fiveoliveoil.com/five-olive-oil-from-greece/, [4] http://www.eleia.gr/index_en.html, [5] http://www.moriaelea.com/?page_id=42, [6] http://www.maleasoliveoil.gr/en/olive-oil.

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#24

Post by celebdor » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:34 PM UTC

There are many kinds of olive varieties, some of them growing in the span of one or two towns. Saying it is supposed to taste like this or like that without saying from which kind of olives it was made sounds kind of nonsensical.

Another matter is that of honesty. Italy is known to export more olive oil than it produces and it is buying production from quite a lot of towns in my country and then mixing it and packaging it with oils from other places.

If you want good olive oil, try to find small productions, ensure that it was stored in the dark if possible and taste it first (dipping bread on the oil not just sprinkling, it should be quite soaked). Supermarket olive oil of any price is only suitable for frying, that much is known.

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#25

Post by mynameishere » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:42 PM UTC

celebdor wrote: post #24

There are many kinds of olive varieties, some of them growing in the span of one or two towns. Saying it is supposed to taste like this or like that without saying from which kind of olives it was made sounds kind of nonsensical. Another matter is that of honesty. Italy is known to export more olive oil than it produces and it is buying production from quite a lot of towns in my country and then mixing it and packagi…

Supermarket olive oil of any price is only suitable for frying

Yeah, yeah.

and both the [eminent] foodies gave a thumbs-up to Unilever's much-derided Bertolli brand.

Same as with wine. It's just a fruit and the variations from its production simply aren't as great as people like to think. Anyway, the best fat comes from bacon.

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#26

Post by Fuzzwah » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:42 PM UTC

kafkaesque wrote: post #11

colanderman wrote: post #4

Does anyone have any tips for finding quality olive oil? The only way I've had success is to buy inexpensive single-source stuff, even if it's inexpensive and non-Italian. Best olive oils I've had were single-sourced from Spain; $2 from a discount store. Maybe no-one wants to fake non-Italian oil?

"But fyi, there is an ever-growing list of recommended oils on my website: www.extravirginity.com. Best wishes, Tom Mueller"[0] The only reason I quote the book's author is because on the Amazon review site, he exchanges some additional thoughts on olive oil with some Amazon users. Here is the list, which is linked from Mueller's site: http://www.truthinoliveoil.com/great-oil [0] http://www.amazon.com/review/R8G1CO1X…

Thanks for that. Turns out there is an amazing shop (somewhat) near me which it turns out I really need to visit:

http://www.oliveoilarizona.com/olive-oils.html

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#27

Post by ctdonath » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:43 PM UTC

hack_edu wrote: post #5

colanderman wrote: post #4

Does anyone have any tips for finding quality olive oil? The only way I've had success is to buy inexpensive single-source stuff, even if it's inexpensive and non-Italian. Best olive oils I've had were single-sourced from Spain; $2 from a discount store. Maybe no-one wants to fake non-Italian oil?

The article implies that you should find something that tastes good for you, not fetishize the origin/process.

I wish to educate my ignorant palate, not settle for a lowest common denominator, and somehow do so in a manner which will neither exhaust my wallet nor remaining lifespan.

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#28

Post by bobf » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:45 PM UTC

I found my favorite olive oil, Alfar La Maja, in a small shop in San Sebastian, Spain. It comes from Mendavia, Spain, which is part of the Navarra region and is well known for its' olive production. At the time I bought it I had no idea it would be the best olive oil I've ever had, but I had two things working in my favor: 1) San Sebastian's residents and tourists are incredibly serious about food, 2) it was fresh, single source, small production, local, etc.

Later, I looked it up online, and found this gem -- according to the NY Olive Oil competition, "Alfar La Maja is one of the world's best extra virgin olive oils for 2013."

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#29

Post by omegant » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:47 PM UTC

gpjt wrote: post #10

My parents retired to Italy a number of years ago, to a place with a hundred or so olive trees in the garden, and each November some of us head over to pick the olives (much to the amusement of the locals, who think we're crazy to do agricultural work in our spare time) and take them to a nearby pressing plant (where you can wander around and see the process to make sure your harvest isn't being mixed up with other,…

Once a year I get some 5 liters of cold pressed virgin organic olive oil. I know it´s origin for sure because it comes from a private guy doing his own stuff on a small cold press (he is not for quantity just for the best quality for his family, it´s a hobby for him). I agree with you that you won´t find anithing similar in a store: It´s more acid, spicier, deep green, clowdy (it´s unfiltered) and very very tasty (it has some taste to the olives still in it). It defenitely gives flavor to your salads or bread. You can not use it for frying as it will give a distinct flavor, not that it´ll ruin the food but it´ll taste to green olive oil.

Just to give you a sense of the difference, we are used to cook almost exclusively with olive oil. We buy "virgin" olive oil from reputable brands for the saladas and special dishes. The home made one is soo much better compared to those.

I love it!

Re: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil (2012)

#30

Post by te_chris » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 9:47 PM UTC

jff wrote: post #8

colanderman wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but there's 100s of kinds out there, and I could go broke buying crappy ones. To me, the article implies that the system is gamed – I am wondering if anyone knows sources / etc. for identifying those suppliers which don't game the system. My method isn't to "fetishize the origin/process" (what, do you think I'm like 12?), but to look for oils that carry lesser-desirable (and hence less likely to be gamed) prop…

Yeah, I don't understand why they make such a big deal out of being sourced from Italy. Olives grown elsewhere should make fine oil, and you could probably use the honest advertisement of non-Italian origin as a gauge for the honesty of the company.

The locally produced, New Zealand Olive Oil is far nicer to me than the expensive stuff I've had imported from Italy. Country of Origin is definitely not an indicator of quality in my experience.