Tuscan extra virgin olive oil: how to tell if it's good or bad?

• Share:

A brief practical guide to help you determine if Tuscan olive oil is good, and avoid buying a subpar product.

Let's try to understand, among so many counterfeits, when Tuscan EVO oil is good

It's an established fact that Tuscan EVO oil is one of the best in Italy. But the problem lies elsewhere: how do you know if Tuscan oil is good, or even counterfeit?

Oh yes, because in fact theextra virgin olive oil it is unfortunately themost counterfeited food in the world, and there are many known adulterations, among which here are the most common:

•  Blends of oils used for cover defects, or simply to change the organoleptic profiles, or for reduce free acidity and bring the product within legal parameters.
• The use of a colored seed oil with chlorophyll and flavored with beta-carotene.
• THE'manipulated pomace oil to hinder its analytical identification, to be used in subsequent mixings.
• There deodorization of defective oils and then mix them with extra virgin olive oils which give colour and aromatic structure.
• THE'paper oil, which comes from the registration of non-existent olive oil production and from the illegal purchase of batches of oil that will be passed off as what they are not.

As you can see, the scams, because that's what it is, they are always around the corner, but then how can you understand if Tuscan oil is good or not?

Sensory parameters to understand whether a Tuscan extra virgin olive oil is good or not

The main sensory parameters to understand if a Tuscan extra virgin olive oil is good whether or not depends mainly on smell and taste.

First of all the real extra virgin olive oil should present a vegetal scent of fresh oliveIt may seem trivial, but olive oil it must taste primarily of olive to be good: the real quality extra virgin will certainly have all the perfumes contained in freshly ground olives.
A good EVO oil will also release fruity notes, from artichoke to apple, from almond to tomato. Obviously, avoid that oil that gives off a smells a little rancid or that doesn't even have any smell.

Passing by from smell to taste, when tasting quality EVO oils you should recognize hints of grass, fruit and almonds: it is a good sign if the oil has a slightly bitter taste (but not too much) as well as peppery, spicyBitterness is the perception linked to presence of phenolic compounds, important for the organoleptic and nutritional quality of the oil, and the preservation of the product over time. Spicy is a very precious feature because it indicates an oil with a high content of polyphenols, which are essential both for a long shelf life of the product that for the health properties.

The color of EVO oil is not a parameter to take too much into account

It is usually said that a good olive oil should have a intense green color, while the light yellow EVO oil would be weak and tasteless. But that's not true at all., this is just a false myth. The color of a good oil can vary from a greenish to straw-yellow hue, and this is why olive oil tasting glasses are always colored: the color perception it must not affect the palate.

Oil depends on olives as wine depends on grapes.

There real local olive has a complex and strong taste, but not necessarily peppery and spicy. The peppery and the spicy they can be some important sensory parameters to understand if an oil is good, but they are neither necessary nor sufficient. Similar to wine, the taste of olive It depends on many factors: it will change according to the type of olive, Of how it was grown, of the land, of how and when it was collected, of how it was transported to the mill, of how they are arranged olives to be pressed, and so on.

Oil Glossary: Which Terms Indicate Its Quality?

To understand if a Tuscan EVO oil is good or not, it may be useful for us to learn the meaning of some more technical terminology.

Polyphenols

Often when talking about EVO oil we come across the word “polyphenols", but what are they? Polyphenols are antioxidant substances able to guarantee a real therapeutic action for the human body. And in the same way they protect the oil itself from rancidity. minimum polyphenol content for a quality extra virgin it must not be less than 200 mg/kg.

Peroxides

Even the peroxides – which are generated when the oil comes into contact with oxygen and which represent the degree of oxidation of the oil – are very important for the classification of a good quality oil. Theextra virgin olive oil, by law, must have a number of peroxides less than 20 mcq: the value is considered good if below 12, excellent if below 7.

Acidity

The same acidity – expressed as a percentage of oleic acid -, which represents the content of free fatty acids in olive oil, it is important. For extra virgin olive oil the lThe acidity level limit is set at 0.8%, but if we want to buy a excellent oil let's make sure it doesn't go over the 0,3%.

Caution: acidity it is not perceptible to the palate or smell but it can only be measured through chemical analysis.

Cold extraction

Finally, a basic procedure to take into account for the oil is thecold extraction, that is, at temperatures below 27°C, since the phenolic content and the aromatic components which represent the product quality would be lost if extracted at higher temperatures. The advice is therefore to choose products that display "cold pressed”.

For further information: 2024 EVO oil tastings in Tuscany: an entire region celebrating

How to recognize if Tuscan olive oil is good and avoid unpleasant surprises

For understand if a Tuscan EVO oil is good or notLet's look carefully at the batch date. Be careful: it's not the same as the expiration date. So let's look at thebottle label the date of the “production batch”, or the “bottling date”: if we only find a simple expiration date and nothing else, it is better to skip the purchase of that oil.

Another tip: pay attention to how Tuscan oil was bottledOlive oil must be stored in a dark, cool place, therefore if the bottle is clear or made of plastic – plastic is too porous to protect from heat, light or humidity – we avoid purchasing it. darker bottle instead or, better, a metal can, helps to store olive oil correctly.

Another operation that we should always do is read the labels carefully: The place of packaging or bottling can be different from that of collection and productionThe important thing is where the oil was produced.

Furthermore the label should read: “extra virgin olive oil”, and avoid terms like “pure” or “light”, which only indicate the chemical refining of the oil.

Please note that the ranking of the best oils in the world puts the first placeItalian extra virgin olive oil 100%. The wording “Made in Italy”, otherwise the oil could come from a blend of EU and non-EU oilsWe also consider that the origin of the product is mandatory for an extra virgin olive oil.

Also pay attention to the price: thefreshly harvested Tuscan oil (which has the highest level of healthy polyphenols) is theoil pressed from the olive before it is ripe. Aunripe olive produces much less than the others, but its product is also much higher quality, and consequently it is more expensive.

Finally, unlike wine, olive oil does not improve with ageUnfortunately, olives are a perishable product. From the moment it is bottled, olive oil has a shelf life of 18-24 months. It is therefore a good idea to check the expiration date, although this is more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast expiration date, and is intended to determine the freshness of an unopened bottle. Once opened the container, the oil should be used within 30-60 days.

Courses to become an oil expert or taster

For those who are not satisfied of the basic notions reported in this article, there are various courses and schools to subscribe to to learn more knowledge of this splendid product of our land.

We list some of them for you:

Oil courses are organized by Tuscany Region; from Chamber of Commerce of North-West Tuscany; from AIRO. (International Association of Olive Oil Restaurants); from AIS; from Associated Tuscan Olive Growers, from ONAOO (National Organization of Olive Oil Tasters).

For further information: Tuscan olive oil, so much quality everywhere, but how do you choose?

Dear reader, if you liked this article you could also leave us a comment below, on FB, on IG, or share it via the button WhatsApp.

Also, if you have the Android system on your Smartphone, it's easy to stay in touch with TuscanyPeople: just slide your finger on the Home touchscreen from right to left to open Discover by Google who often chooses our articles among the most interesting to read.

Cover photo Kris Sevinc on Unsplash

Reproduction Reserved ©Copyright TuscanyPeople

• Share:

About The Author

Vieri Tommasi Candidi

Writer, Ambassador of Tuscany