The January  2003 Fancy Food Show in San Francisco

This year tea was evident in every permutation: hot, cold, soda, frozen, whizzed and dehydrated. Golden Whisk had a midnight Jasmine and Earl Grey tea infused vinegar in their expanding catalog. Tea oil was actually for sale at Republic of Tea but it wasn't a flavored oil but oil pressed from the tea berry seeds.

Vanilla and ginger also seemed to be "in" flavors; a special area was set aside for tasting ginger containing products. Ginger olive oil was not being offered but does already exist from one producer for private labeling.

There was a continuing of previously noted trends. When asked "what's new?" most olive oil companies pointed out a flavored vinegar or sauce, not an oil. There is pressure to expand the product line and plenty of companies sell many times more bottles of vinegar or flavored dipping oil than their unflavored oil.

Fewer oil companies bought booths this year, probably because the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) had bought a booth to be rented by COOC seal winning olive oil producers. Nancy Ash, Patty Darragh and Sue Ellery were instrumental in getting the COOC ready for the show. Seal Winners on display at the COOC booth: Apollo, Balzana Calolea, DaVero, Frantoio-Zedez Ranch, Harris Ranch, Lodestar, McEvoy Ranch, Oils Of Paicines, Pietra Santa, Remezzano, Round Pond, St. Pierre, Stella Cadente, Storm Ranch, Willowcreek

As in past years, many companies were displaying citrus flavored oils new to their line. Remezzano Olive Oil had grapefruit and lemon oils pressed at the Olive Press available for tasting. The award for outstanding new oil, vinegar or salad dressing in 2002 went to Gourmet Pacifica's avocado oil with blood orange.

Sharon Cohn of B.R. Cohn

Bella Cucina's oliva ceramic olive jar with wooden handle was awarded the 2002 outstanding non-food specialty item. Bella Cucina also had a lemon and a tangerine oil as well as tasty antipasto olives in oil.

O Olive Oil was giving samples of their Tunisian lemon and orange oils along with their line of California oils. Bonnie Storm displayed her Storm Olive Ranch oil available through distributor Alfred Katz. Katz is also the sole distributor of another oil available for tasting at the COOC booth, DaVero, as well as the current president of the COOC.

Cobram Estate, one of probably many more Australians to come, offered tastes of their Coreggiolo, Nevadilla blanco and Frantoio blend. A nice oil packaged in 1 liter bottles for a very reasonable price give a hint of future competition to the California industry. Land is cheap in Australia and the Australians seem very serious about quality and making money at the same time.

Cobram Estate of Australia invades

Olivas de Oro's unfiltered Ascolano, Sevillano, Mission and Manzanillo blend was smooth on the palate. Unfortunately, they were unable to pick their Baruni trees for lack of an oil buyer, as Barouni makes a very unusual and unique oil.

Owner Sharon Cohn was busy taking orders of her  B.R. Cohn line of oils in the Olive Hill Olive Company booth.

Kudos to the COOC staff and all the other California producers who put in enormous time and energy at the show educating retailers and the public about California olive oil.

Assessing Quality & Defects Seminar

by Lisa Deane

San Francisco - The January 2003 seminar at NASFT was part of an ongoing effort by the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) to educate retailers and the public about olive oil quality and origins.  Consumer organizations which monitor product quality such as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and the American Tasting Institute rate foods and give seals of approval but don't have enforcement powers to prevent fraud. 

In nearly every other part of the world, olive oil labeling is governed by the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC).  The US does not recognize this body and the agency which oversees food fraud, the FDA, has no labeling law for the definition of extra virgin. (see definitions) Consequently many importers have labeled oils which would be considered of lower quality in their own countries as a higher quality of oil when sold in the US.  This undermines confidence in olive oil in general and hurts the U.S. olive oil producers who are trying to sell a quality oil.

Until the U.S. government recognizes the IOOC, the COOC has created their own quality seal.  Oils receiving the seal must have been tested in a lab for low acidity and must pass a tasting test.  The tastings are done by a panel put together by Roberta Zecca of the COOC and Paul Vossen of U.C Davis.  They have been trained and certified in Europe by the IOOC and have trained the panel, which is now the only official tasting body for the IOOC in Northern America.  The COOC seal therefore certifies that the oil is up to IOOC standards.

The seminar was presented by Paul Vossen, Roberta Zecca, panel member Nancy Ash and COOC president Al Katz.  Because good qualities are more subjective, much of tasting is about detecting defective oil which may be old with a brief shelf life, rancid, or produced or stored in a defective manner.  Defects include such qualities as fusty, musty, winey, vinegary, muddy, metallic, rancid, etc.  For a more complete list of attributes go to our tasting page.

Paul Vossen spoke about the health attributes of olive oil and explained olive oil production techniques.  He pointed out that olive variety is the biggest determinant of flavor followed by time of harvest, processing, and storage.

Roberto Zecca led a tasting of five oils. Samples were available to each attendee along with  grading sheets.  Three oils were of good quality, one had fusty characteristics and one was rancid.  The seminar attendees, mostly  food brokers, retailers and distributors from the show, had a chance to taste and learn these characteristics .

Albert Katz explained the function of the COOC.  Nancy Ash was responsible for organizing the event and helped with the sensory evaluation and question and answer period.

Everyone agreed that the seminar accomplished its goals with attendees asking sophisticated questions demonstrating the general high level of professionalism in the audience.

The Olive Oil Tasting Wheel:

Adelaide - An olive oil tasting wheel has been developed by Richard Gawel, leader of the Australian Olive Association Tasting Panel. The sensory wheel lists 72 terms that can be used to describe the complex range of aromas and tastes found in virgin olive oils.

Gawel explains his motivation behind undertaking the project. "Finding the right terms to describe complex foods such as olive oil is a difficult task. Known as the 'tip of the nose' phenomenon, it is very  common for someone to recognize an aroma or flavor, although they are unable to find the correct term to describe it. Having access to a structured and comprehensive list of descriptors can greatly assist them in finding the right terms to accurately describe the olive oil" explains Gawel.

The use of the 'wheel' format whereby descriptive terms are listed around its perimeter, with similar aromas and tastes being adjacent to each other, was inspired by the success of the now famous Wine Aroma Wheel developed at the University of California, Davis.

The 72 terms fall into the main olive oil sensory classes of herbaceous, fruity, fragrant, spicy, nutty, dried, defects, tactile and taste. Their selection was based on how frequently experienced olive oil tasters are perceived to use them, as well as their occurrence in the olive oil tasting literature. Gawel explains that "some descriptors such as 'buttery', 'nutty' and 'grassy' are commonly used in that they define specific oil styles. Others are varietal. Examples include the 'perfumed' character of the Tuscan variety Frantoio, and the 'tomato leaf' character found in the Spanish varieties Picual and Nevadillo Blanco. Others would seem rather unusual with the 'malt' like character found in some oils made from the Italian variety, Leccino, and the 'cat wee' and 'crushed ant or formic' character found in some very ripe oils."

Full color, laminated, A3 (29.7 x 42.0 cms) sized copies of the Olive Oil Tasting Wheel can be obtained from Recognose for $AUD31 (approximately $US18 which includes freight). A4 and credit card sized versions will also be available shortly.

Free lower resolution black and white copies can also be downloaded from the Recognose website . These can be used for private non-commercial purposes.

Richard Gawel is the developer of the Olive Oil Tasting Wheel. He is the leader of the Australian Olive Association, Olive Oil Tasting Panel that under his supervision has obtained official recognition by the International Olive Oil Council. He is also the Principal of Recognose Pty Ltd, a company that manufactures and distributes aroma reference cards. email: richard@aromadictionary.com

Pebble Beach Olive Oil Specialist Addresses Chamber of Commerce in Balikesir, Turkey

Pebble Beach  --Following seven days in December touring the olive groves and mills of western Turkey, Betty Pustarfi, owner of Strictly Olive Oil, was invited to address the Chamber of Commerce in Balikesir, Turkey on the subject of obtaining olive oil recognition and distribution of Turkish olive oil in the United States.

Composed of olive oil producers from Izmir to Istanbul, particularly the fertile groves surrounding tourist Mecca, Endremit Bay, the audience was particularly interested in obtaining recognition for premium oils which up to now have been sold in bulk throughout the world, ending up as an anonymous product under other countries' labels. Brand recognition and Western marketing are new considerations for the mostly rural producers of olive oil.

Pustarfi also visited olive oil testing laboratories in Turkish capital Ankara, met government officials who monitor the exportation of Turkish specialty foods, and visited olive oil retail stores in Ankara, Izmir, Balikesir and Istanbul. She was asked to conduct a sensory tasting in a retail store in Istanbul, since much of the qualification of Turkish olive oils is based on laboratory analysis, not taste and use.

Pustarfi was the guest of Turkish citizen Dr.Yahya Laleli, who is a John Hopkins-educated physician, owner of a huge medical testing laboratory , owner of olive oil groves and a modern mill, and is dedicated to calling attention to the Turkish olive oil industry. His company is called Laleli Olive Oil Establishment, and the oil is distributed exclusively by JRMushrooms & Specialties. Inc. of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

In Istanbul, in addition to spectacular ruins, mosques and traffic, Pustarfi visited the famous Spice Market where, for example, exotic spices are juxtaposed with Iranian caviar and Turkish Viagra.

Strictly Olive Oil is a company formed by Betty Pustarfi in 1992 after nine years as a retail gourmet store owner in Capitola, CA. Located in Pebble Beach, CA, Pustarfi conducts specialty food seminars, tastings and is a consultant for all levels of the specialty food supply chain.

For a full list of consultants to the olive industry go to our consultant pages

Olive Oil Source Website Updates

New Food pyramids:
New International Pages:
Updated tasting page

Pieralisi Day

The Olive Oil Source will be hosting a factory sales and technical team from Italy this spring for a presentation on the newest equipment for olive oil extraction including the small batch Fattoria system pictured above.  Other speakers will present valuable information on olive growing and olive oil appreciation.  For invitations to this one day event, call the Olive Oil Source at 805-688-1014 or email us. Dates to be announced.