Olive oil tasting: the results

Just a quick note to let the world know how our olive oil tasting went yesterday. We were a small--but select--group: myself, Cynthia, Cathy2, abf005 (Burt) and wife, thaiobsessed (Becca) and friend. In fact, we had more olive oils than we had people. But we had fun.


the olives


the soppressata and the cheese

To start, we tasted some olives: Nicoise, Manzanilla, Picholine, and Castelvetrano. If number left is any indication, the Castelvetrano (a meaty green Sicilian olive with a very olive-y taste) was by far the favorite. We also tried some Fra Mani' soppressatta. They're a Berkeley, CA, producer and the product was excellent...thumbs up all around. Burt brought a huge chunk of Stravecchio Parmesan from Wisconsin and by the end of the afternoon is was virtually gone. I contributed a piece of Ubriaco del Piave (cow's milk, from Italy).

On to the oils. We tasted, in no particular order: Sonoma, Captain Porky's private reserve, Capezzana, Academia Barilla, Star, Coluccio, Kirkland (Costco), L'Estornell, and Red Island. We had all price points covered and a variety of locales from Sicily to Spain, Greece to California.

And the winner is...no one really. People were invited to choose their favorites. Some nominated several oils, some chose none. Everyone had at least one clunker though. Before getting to that, though, one word on methodology. We tasted blind. Each bottle was concealed in a plain brown paper sack and a tablespoon or so poured into a numbered small blue plastic cup. Color of the oil was as unknown as the identity of the producer. We tasted straight, though bread and sliced apples were available. The acid of the apples was a great palate cleanser; tasting the oils straight made us also appreciate how much flavor bread adds. A variety of beverages were available, but almost everyone chose plain water.

Out of nine nominations for least favorite, the one mentioned most often (by four of seven tasters) was L'Estornell--a Spanish brand. The word most commonly associated with the negative reviews was "bitter"; ironically, bitter is considered a positive attribute in olive oils. Even more intriguing, two people (including your humble servant) picked L'Estornell as one of their favorites. Go figure.

The second least favorite was Captain Porky's, named by three of seven tasters. It was not chosen by anyone as a favorite. Me, I found it a lighter oil and I wrote "fresh" on my comment sheet. Apparently my palate marches to its own drummer.

Among those our tasters found most appealing, the most frequently named was Red Island, an Australian brand chosen by four people. The second most popular was the Capezzana, an Italian oil, with three votes. There were also two votes for Academia Barilla and two for Star. Since I have only one comment sheet besides my own, I'll leave it to the other tasters to post their particular thoughts on any oils they wish.

Most of those not singled out favorably or un- were found to be middle-of-the-road, tending toward bland, or perhaps non-distinctive is a better word. The Kirkland (Costco), which I have seen mentioned quite favorably in many contexts received no strong positive or strong negative votes.

Dinner at Great Lake followed--I'll leave the comments to others since I am on record multiple times as singing this establishment's praises. I'll note only that they are down to three kinds of pizza on offer and the place was busy, busy, busy. Dessert followed at Pasticceria Natalina's. Need I say more?

Thanks to all for coming and making the tasting fun AND educational.

Splendid party. Thanks again, Gypsy Boy. It was well thought out and well executed.

You were not alone in liking the Captain Porky's. I thought it had a nice nutty taste. It's just that I liked the Capezzana and Red Island better. I think each could find a great application -- some better with hummus, some with cheese, some in salad.

There were a couple that seemed, oddly, to be too oily. But of the 9 oils, there were 5 that I found to be at least pleasant, if not "wows."

The goodies you and Burt supplied were splendid. I didn't even know Wisconsin was producing stravecchio, but the one Burt supplies was splendid. The Ubriaco you provided was dreamy -- actually reminded me of a fine wine almost as much as a good cheese. And having such a varied selection of olives was a treat.

Just a wonderful event.

As for the pizza at Great Lake --it was so sensationally good I can hardly imagine ever accepting anything else again. I was smiling for the whole drive home. Such big flavors, such perfect cracker crusts. Mmmm. Thanks for that introduction as much as for the party.

Great evening. Thanks again.

My favorites of the tasting :
Academia Barilla (Italy)
Capezzana (Italy)
The Academia Barilla was complex and peppery. I liked the nutty taste of the Capezzana. I thought it had a little zing but with a smooth and clean finish
I also enjoyed the Red Island.
My least favorite was the L'Estornell--harsh and bitter.
My friend thought the Capezzana was "too grassy". She tended to gravitate towards the oils I thought were subtler. Her favorites were the Red Island, Star and Sonoma.

Fabulous job with the educational materials, Gypsy Boy. We had fun reading over them in more detail today.
I forgot to mention Burt's great cheese and the Castelvetrano olives. I picked up half a pound of these at Family Friendly Produce today after spotting them in the deli case. I have to stay away from Sam's--the source of the sopressata--I don't trust myself around that stuff.

Castelvetrano are amazingly meaty and rich. It's like biting into great olive oil. I'm surprised they're not more popular but I guess that leaves more for me. I always get a bowlful (or two) when I go to Spacca Napoli.

spinynorman99 wrote:Castelvetrano are amazingly meaty and rich. It's like biting into great olive oil. I'm surprised they're not more popular but I guess that leaves more for me. I always get a bowlful (or two) when I go to Spacca Napoli.

Yes, I have scarfed down more than my fair share at SN, as well.

Btw, Fra'Mani (mentioned above by Gypsy Boy) was founded and is helmed by chef Paul Bertolli (Oliveto Restaurant), who also penned Cooking By Hand, which is a fantastic book and contains an absolutely indispensible section on charcuterie-making.

=R=

Great report.
I've had the Capezzana in the past and loved it. (Also love their wine.)
Re the Barilla: I believe that when I've seen it on shelves there are a whole series of regional oils (Ligurian, Apulian, etc.) marketed under the main Academia Barilla name, and even a little map on the label highlighting the region. As I recall, the labels all look largely the same, and you might have to hunt a bit for the specifics.
Am I mixing up my brands, or did you notice if your bottle had a regional identity? Just curious.

Re the Barilla: I believe that when I've seen it on shelves there are a whole series of regional oils (Ligurian, Apulian, etc.) marketed under the main Academia Barilla name, and even a little map on the label highlighting the region. As I recall, the labels all look largely the same, and you might have to hunt a bit for the specifics

The Ligurian bottle is wrapped in foil, but you're right that all the others look the same.

Thank you Gypsy Boy for being such a gracious and informative host! My wife Marilyn & I had a great time at our first LTH event and we both felt very warmly received.

The appetizers were excellent! The Ubriaco Del Piave cheese was delicious, and played exceedingly well with the selection of olives you picked to compliment. My wife loved the Castelvetrano and Manzanilla olives, I went for the Castelvetrano & Picholine's. Nomally I'm a nut about Kalamata olives, but I can now say that I have a new second favorite in the Castelvetrano's!

Gypsy Boys set up for the tasting was very scientific and well executed, with the oils being presented completely blind to us via little numbered blue cups and oils that were poured from well concealed and numbered bottles. The comment forms on the tasting table were accompanied by a very informative seven page handout on Olive Oils, which was a great touch. Also present was a comprehensive list of tasting terms, a two sided sheet that was passed around at the beginning.

After the first couple of tastes, I quickly realized that I didn't posses the command of tasting words needed for it to be effective for me to use, nor could I make all the flavor associations contained on the tasting terms sheet. But I certainly can recognize what I like and dislike and can communicate that more effectively by ranking each oil by most appealing vs least. Therefore I ranked each oil based on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being the least appealing and 10 being the most. My wife also followed suit and here are our results:

Sonoma: Burt 6 Marilyn 1
Captn Porkies: Burt 2 Marilyn 1
Capezzana: Burt 4 Marilyn 9
Academia Barilla: Burt 7 Marilyn 9
Star: Burt 6 Marilyn 4
Coluccio: Burt 4 Marilyn 10
Kirkland (Costco): Burt 4 Marilyn 2
L'Estornel: Burt 8 Marilyn 1
Red Island: Burt 7 Marilyn 5

Interestingly as Gypsy Boy pointed out, our own wild results were indicative of the entire groups results, but there was one consensus winner between Marilyn & I, which oddly turned out to be our own Academia Barilla, which among the group came in somewhere in the high middle. The funny thing is that I couldn't have picked that oil out of the line up even if I had tried!

The consensus losers between Marilyn & I were the Costco & Capt'n Porkies. Although to be fair, I would tend to think of Costco's oil as being one to be used more for cooking than dipping and eating directly.

Both the domestic Wisconsin Stravecchio I brought & the Academia Barilla - 100% Italiano (as well as the full Academia Barilla line of oils) were from the Kenosha, WI Italian grocery Tenuta's. A worthwhile trip for anyone to buy fantastic deli meats, cheeses, wines & spices at great prices.

Last note: In reading a few of the comment below, yes, there are several labels of Academia Barilla, the one I chose is called 100% Italiano, it is the least expensive of the Academia Barilla line at about $12 per 17oz bottle. The label on the bottle highlights a map of Sicily as the primary growing region, but it is made from select varietals, and therfore not a true DOP oil. The Academia Barilla gold foil refered to by mrbarolo is Riviera Ligure DOP and runs about $35 per 25 oz bottle. As always, there is a link somewhere with the full line: http://www.shop.academiabarilla.com/index.php/eshop/category/Academia-Barilla-Extra-Virgin-Olive-Oil.html?a=/1/frmCatID/1337/

I think if we were to dabble into the top tier of DOP oils it would be an interesting and expensive tasting indeed!

Gypsy Boy: I know that you started a soft matrix to compare cost vs qty for each bottle of oil we tasted, if it's not too much to ask, could you please post that information to to this tasting thread as well?

The consensus losers between Marilyn & I were the Costco & Capt'n Porkies. Although to be fair, I would tend to think of Costco's oil as being one to be used more for cooking than dipping and eating directly.

Was that the Costco in the large plastic bottle or the one in glass?

spinynorman99 wrote:

The consensus losers between Marilyn & I were the Costco & Capt'n Porkies. Although to be fair, I would tend to think of Costco's oil as being one to be used more for cooking than dipping and eating directly.

Was that the Costco in the large plastic bottle or the one in glass?

The Costco was the Kirkland, in the large glass bottle.

Great post recapping what looks to have been a great event. I'm so sorry to have missed it.

Being a bourbon fan, I've often said that it's fairly easy to buy a great bottle if you're willing to spend big bucks on one. The harder thing to do is find a good one for under $20. Carrying that over to olive oil, how did your findings relate to price? I'm curious if there was any correlation between the perceived quality and the cost of these oils.

Thanks,

=R=

edit: Just caught Burt's related comment on this issue but I'd love to get others' takes on it, as well especially as it pertains to what you tasted at this event.

The prices were all pretty reasonable, with the Capezzana being the costliest at $30 for 16.9 oz. Costco was the least expensive, at $13 for a liter, though Captain Porky's would divide down to be close to the same price, maybe even a bit cheaper, at $50 per gallon.

Depending on where you get it, the Red Island ranges from about $20 to$25 for a liter. That actually places it pretty much in line with all the other oils, which ranged between $10 and $14 for 17 oz.

So while the very least expensive oils delighted somewhat less than the costlier ones, none of them were terribly expensive.

I did love the Capezzana, but it was pretty close to being tied with the Red Island for me, and at half the price, I do think I'd be leaning toward the Red Island for future applications. Though the Academia Berilla ($13 for 17 oz.) was also very nice.

Well, curiously enough, I brought two oils: one turned out to be one of my favorites and the other, it turned out I hated. So, there you go.

Now then: something in my gut rebels against this kind of analysis, though I certainly understand the curiosity that drives it. So, with the exception of the Captain Porky's (for which precise figures were unavailable):

Our "favorites" were Red Island ($.50/oz*) and Capezzana ($2.01/oz).
Our "least favorites" were L'Estornell ($1.34/oz) and Captain Porky's. Keep in mind, though, that two people also named L'Estornell a favorite. Though some spoke favorably of Captain Porky's, no one named it a favorite.

Others:
Academia Barilla ($.76/oz)--on two "favorites" lists and no "least favorites" lists
Sonoma ($.59/oz)--no one's favorite and on the "least favorites" lists twice
Kirkland/Costo ($.38/oz)--one appearance on a "least favorites" lists
Star ($.35/oz)--on two "favorites" lists and no "least favorites" lists

FWIW


* Edited to reflect a more accurate price per several posts further down in this thread.

Thanks for the far more precise comparison, Gypsy Boy.

However, I'm wondering if you were figuring the Red Island as being 17 oz., like all the other bottles (except Captain Porky's and Costco). The container is a full liter (perhaps misleading as it's a bag-in-a-box, rather than a bottle), so it's about half the price you show. I double checked, and I can't find it anywhere at $1.42 an ounce. At the highest price I've seen it, it's $0.74 an ounce.

Cynthia wrote:Thanks for the far more precise comparison, Gypsy Boy.

However, I'm wondering if you were figuring the Red Island as being 17 oz., like all the other bottles (except Captain Porky's and Costco). The container is a full liter (perhaps misleading as it's a bag-in-a-box, rather than a bottle), so it's about half the price you show. I double checked, and I can't find it anywhere at $1.42 an ounce. At the highest price I've seen it, it's $0.74 an ounce.

Not knowing what you had found, I did a little searching on my own. I found someplace that sells 500 ml (16.9 oz) for $23.99. That was the basis for my calculation. I looked further and found a place that sells the 500 ml for $9.99. If you'd like, I can compare prices at several places and figure an average for it.

Gypsy Boy wrote:
Not knowing what you had found, I did a little searching on my own. I found someplace that sells 500 ml (16.9 oz) for $23.99. That was the basis for my calculation. I looked further and found a place that sells the 500 ml for $9.99. If you'd like, I can compare prices at several places and figure an average for it.

Wow -- that's quite a range. In my search $25 was actually the highest price I found for the 1 liter bag-in-box. I did find one review where a very enthusiastic food writer had bought it for $9.99, but never saw the very high price you located. Nice to know -- if I go hunting for the oil, I don't want to accept the higher price, knowing that it can be so much cheaper.

As for averaging, I don't know that it's necessary. I think folks who care are now alerted to the potential disparity in price, so they'll know to walk on by if they see it at the higher price. But even Amazon shows the "real" price as $25 for the 1 liter (and they discount that, of course), so I'm inclined to think that $24 for 500 ml is an aberration.