Your taste buds aren't the only tool that can be used to recognize and enjoy European olive oil. Your nose also plays a key role in this sensory experience.
Mediterranean extra virgin olive oil tasting is not just a pleasant experience but also a way to evaluate its quality.
Besides chemical analyses, an extra virgin olive oil needs to pass the so-called ‘organoleptic test’ to qualify as such. A group of professional experts are tasked to certify the absence of olfactory and gustatory defects.
But even a consumer can at least recognize and appreciate, through their sense of smell, the difference between good and bad European extra virgin olive oils. Here is how. The ‘nose’ plays a central role, since everything we eat is perceived by our brain via the ‘retronasal way’.
While there are only five flavors (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami) our sense of smell can expand our perception of flavors when we eat or drink something. Our nose can also eliminate flavors, for instance when we swallow something unpleasant and we plug our nose.
Before getting to know how to practice your sense of smell, let’s quickly list the smells that characterize a good olive oil and those that could indicate some defects. Some of the aromas of a good olive oil there are: cut grass, typical of many oils and caused by the presence of antioxidants; scents of citrus and fruit, typical of some cultivars in the area of Lazio, where the excellent ‘Olio di Roma PGI’ is produced; and aromas of tomato and basil may also be perceived in good quality olive oils.
The defects of an oil can also be numerous: among the most common ones are mold, rancid, sludge, frozen olives, cucumber. When processed, badly preserved olives that are kept in warm places or exposed to the sunlight cause the oil to have an atypical taste and affect its beneficial properties.
So, as suggested by the specialized tasting website Tasterplace.com, there are some simple rules to train the sense of smell.
A good exercise is to compare similar types of foods or drinks (e.g. coffee, apples and tomatoes) and try to list the differences. Another useful tip is to ‘write down in a notebook the feelings that each smell evokes in you. Use of your own words and personal observations. For example, bergamot reminds me of lemon with floral notes.’
And finally, create a ‘dictionary of smells’.
Tasterplace.com further points out that ‘there are no specific adjectives to describe a smell, but usually we borrow words associated with other senses sight/touch/hearing…that is why it is particularly important to have one’s own vocabulary as it will help describe the smell with words that will ring a bell whenever you read them’.
Experts also suggest that it is important to ‘clean your nose from strong smells and tastes as they can impede your ability to perceive certain smells. To cleanse it is sufficient to take a deep breath of fresh air or a familiar smell (like coffee).
A fun game to play with friends is to taste and smell different types of oil, trying to recognize their characteristics, while blindfolded. ‘Without the help of sight - experts explain - the sense of smell is much more stimulated’. This game could be played using spices, fruit, flowers, herbs, and others.
One thing is certain: your sense of smell will react instantly allowing you to pay closer attention to smells and tastes and memorize them.
Once trained, tasting and recognizing good European olive oil will be like a walk in the park and a stimulating sensory experience.
Source:
https://tasterplace.com/blogs/news/lolio-si-compra-con-il-naso
15 March 2022
