Olive Buzz

What's new in the olive world

By Roving Olive, Staff Writer

Having just spent a fantastic weekend in Paso Robles, California, attending the UC Davis Advanced Sensory Evaluation class on Friday (August 19), followed by the ever-growing Paso Robles Olive Festival on Saturday (August 20), our team at Roving Olive returned to our offices full of new information and ideas that we want to share with you!

As a highlight of the Advanced Sensory Evaluation class, we observed three key items in the olive oil world:

First, the olive industry is moving away from the testing of oil for defects (or absence of defects) to concentrating on the positive attributes of the oil. This evolution is due to the fact that producers have continued to improve growing, harvesting and pressing methods to the stage where they only produce low-defect, or defect-free oils. Great milestone for the industry!

Secondly, the industry is recognizing how processing and bottling influences olive oil flavor. Like wine, removing all oxygen from the bottle will prolong the quality of the olive oil. New bottling techniques are coming online, and we can expect to see more consistent quality oil.

Finally, the most exciting advancement we see in the industry is pairing olive oil with food. Few people consume olive oil by itself and oils take on a completely different flavor when paired with food.

Our minds are buzzing with new thoughts and suggestions on how we can bring the best information to you. Our analytics show that most customers to the website are interested in our “Olive Buzz” section, followed by our recipes. We are tossing around our thoughts now on some new columns on our pages that bring the information you want to the forefront.

Check back soon for ideas from olive producers and chefs with olive oil pairings. We have a lot of irons in the fire - we are working with California chefs to provide their recipes and share which olive oils they use. We will continue to bring you the latest news and updates on the olive oil industry. We’ll bring industry issues to the forefront and ask for your thoughts and inputs on the discussion.

Stay tuned!

Your Roving Olive Team

Posted August 24, 2011 | 

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