Funny thing – so many people are curious about what we are doing in the olive oil business. And we have such a great time talking them through what we have learned. About our time in Italy exploring small farms and meeting dedicated farmers, about our wonderful experience taking the olive oil sommelier course, about what we have learned about the health benefits of extra virgin olive oils and about the mind-blowing taste of the freshest olive oils available.
The other day, as happens often, a friend asked about our oils. As I discussed what we offer, she said, “Oh, yes, I love those flavored olive oils. I bought a nice lemon olive oil from the shop in town.” We hear that often. Olive oils distinctly have their own flavors. More about that in a later post. Back to the conversation - our answer on flavored oil is consistently, that adding flavor to an oil could very well be a way to mask the rancid flavor of a tired or old oil, or an oil that is a mix of filler oils along with a subpar olive oil. Both of which are not the healthy oil that you think you might be getting with a true, fresh extra virgin olive oil. So, be wary of these types of oils.
Directions on adding your own creative flavoring to a fine EVOO…
What you’ll need:
- A fresh extra virgin olive oil – some beautiful ones are here.
- A bottle with a stopper - There are plenty that you can find to do this, but you’ll want one that has dark glass and a strong stopper. Here is on that might be expensive, however, is the right idea to keep your oil fresh. And, here are other bottles – the darker the better.
- Fresh Rosemary – 1-3 sprigs per bottle
- Fennel
Directions:
- You will want to create your oil approximately 2 weeks prior to use so the flavors have time to infuse.
- Wash rosemary and pat dry; let sit in open air for at least 24 hours until thoroughly dry. (Not drying the herbs properly can hurt your oil, making it less healthy and even murky or contaminated with bacteria. Be cautious and dry completely.
- Slip rosemary sprigs into your bottle.
- Then, with a funnel, pour in your extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the cork, or top.
- After filling and corking bottles, wash and dry them well.
- Apply a label to front of bottle if you like.
- Store in a cool, dry and dark location.
- Use liberally because olive oil is so good for you and yummy!
We love to walk people through extra virgin olive oil tastings and look forward to doing so at the upcoming summer farmer’s markets in Telluride and Mountain Village.
If you would like to have an EVOO tasting/lesson, contact us.