The techniques for tasting extra virgin olive oil are easy. First of all you need a glass cup, possibly blue and “bell-shaped”.
Why blue?
Since the visual aspect is not important in the evaluation of an extra virgin olive oil, the sensorial analysis tends to be carried out using blue glasses that cover the color.
Let's start with the preparation of the tasting:
Pour a small amount of extra virgin olive oil into the glass, cover it with a hand (possibly washed) and heat it with the palm of the other hand.
Then, remove the hand covering the glass and bring it to the base of your nose, inhaling three times in a discontinuous manner, so as not to get used to the smell.
In this phase, try to memorize the olfactory sensations resulting from inhalations (we are talking about olfactory analysis).
Next , put about 8 – 10 drops of extra virgin olive oil in your mouth and heat it for a few minutes - so as to encourage the evaporation of the volatile components - and inhale air through your mouth in a decisive and forceful way, making sure that the extra virgin olive oil does not go down your throat.
This technique, called stripping , allows the extra virgin olive oil to be oxygenated and its aromas to be captured more intensely.
Finally, swirl the extra virgin olive oil around in your mouth for the time necessary to bring it into contact with all your taste buds (this is the taste analysis).
Thanks to heating, oxygenation and rotation you will be able to perceive more accurately the merits and defects of extra virgin olive oil.
At the end of these operations, the extra virgin olive oil will be distributed throughout the oral cavity and in particular on the tongue, from the tip to the terminal part, and from the edges to the dorsal part.
At this stage, you will have to pay more attention to the type of sensory stimuli and the order in which they are presented: from tactile ones that include fluidity, consistency and oiliness, to purely gustatory ones, which concern the perception of different flavors such as sweet, bitter and spicy.
Once this is done, you can expel the extra virgin olive oil from your mouth and finally evaluate its taste: whether it is bitter, spicy, fruity, sweet, etc.
See you next time for a post on the positive attributes and peculiar sensations, and the negative attributes and unpleasant scents of extra virgin olive oil!
