Review: 'Extra Virginity' Exposes the World of Olive Oil

[MULTIZ321]

Review: 'Extra Virginity' Exposes the World of Olive Oil by Russ Parsons/ Tribune Newspapers/ Los Angeles Times.com

In covering an industry that has its heroes and villains, author Tom Mueller does a splendid job of sorting out the players and demystifying the product.


Richard

 

[carl2591]

looks interesting for sure.. guess nothing is safe from fraud, especially when their is money involved.

 

[Passepartout]

I was hoping that instead of a book report, the least Richard could do would be to make a few generally available recommendations. Although fraught with fraud, I buy the Tuscan dated stuff from Costco. Nice balance of 'pepperyness' and good flavor blendability. I like that it comes in amber bottles 'cause light wreaks havoc on evoo. Canned is better, but it is what it is.

Some years ago I was tasked to bring Pompeiian olive oil from it's point of debarkation in Baltimore to the Western Dist. Ctr. in California. In case you were interested, Pompeiian (good Italian name, right?) is all Spanish olive oil. Comes in in 6000 gallon ocean container tanks and is bottled into those familiar bottles in Baltimore.

Jim

 

[spirits]

I emailed Costco yesterday

After reading this post I mentioned it to my husband. He looked at the label from the bottle we purchased from Costco and it stated that it had 8% trans or saturated fat. I was under the impression that olive oil was poly unsaturated. Any insights anyone?

 

[ScoopKona]

Some years ago I was tasked to bring Pompeiian olive oil from it's point of debarkation in Baltimore to the Western Dist. Ctr. in California. In case you were interested, Pompeiian (good Italian name, right?) is all Spanish olive oil. Comes in in 6000 gallon ocean container tanks and is bottled into those familiar bottles in Baltimore.

Nothing wrong with Spanish olive oil. It's great stuff. Of course, oil coming in 6,000 gallon tanks isn't going to be the good stuff. It's going to be the stuff the Spanish don't want to keep for themselves.

The problem, as I see it, is that most people don't know what good olive oil tastes like. Companies have learned they can put damned near any oil in a tin or a bottle, slap an "extra virgin" and "made in Tuscany" label on it and get dumb Americans to buy it. The dumb Americans are buying the label, not the contents. If they knew anything about how first cold press Tuscan olive oil is supposed to taste, they'd return to the store and demand a refund after tasting these vile concoctions.

And if you GAVE them the real deal, they wouldn't like it -- too peppery. They're so used to canola oil blends that they don't know any better. Same thing with balsamic vinegar. Good luck trying to find a real bottle without ordering it online from a specialty food website.

 

[zinger1457]

Companies have learned they can put damned near any oil in a tin or a bottle, slap an "extra virgin" and "made in Tuscany" label on it and get dumb Americans to buy it. The dumb Americans are buying the label, not the contents. If they knew anything about how first cold press Tuscan olive oil is supposed to taste, they'd return to the store and demand a refund after tasting these vile concoctions.

It sure is unfortunate that all of us 'dumb Americans' aren't as enlightened as you are on the processing of olive oil. And I was spending all these years worrying about education, finances, and health. Boy do I feel stupid!

 

[ScoopKona]

It's sure is unfortunate that all of us 'dumb Americans' aren't as enlightened as you are on the processing of olive oil. And I was spending all these years worrying about education, finances, and health. Boy to I feel stupid!

Well, that's what happens when we create a society that values style over substance.

If distillers were adding food coloring and flavoring to rum and selling it as Scotch, would that fly in the US? I doubt it. If it was legal to take alcohol made anywhere, ship it to Kentucky, bottle it, and label it as Bourbon, would that be allowed? No.

First of all, people who know what real Scotch and real Bourbon are supposed to taste like would cry foul, call their Senator, and demand an end to the practice.

But due to lax laws in Italy, and the lack of a refined palate, US consumers buy tens of thousands of gallons of counterfeit oil. If they knew what the real deal tasted like, they wouldn't get duped. It's that simple. There's no outcry because the average consumer is too ignorant to know the difference.