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Olive oil has changed the culinary landscape unlike any other single ingredient I can think of - at least it has in my kitchen, both as a home cook and as a culinary professional. My mother did not use olive oil as a cooking oil - and most likely did not even know of it as our ethnicity is central European, It wasn't until my early adult years that I began to eat Italian foods that were made with olive oils and then I began to cook with and enjoy olive oils in my own kitchen. Who knew (surely I did not) that this ingredient would explode into such a competitive and ever expanding market that we see today. There was a time when olive oil in the U.S. was known to a small segment of the population - as cooks mostly used butter and lard. Fast forward many decades -- we now have so many olive oils to choose from on the shelves of any supermarket, specialty food stores and big warehouse stores such as Costco, I can't help but wonder how they all make money! In the marketing game, this is where advertising steps in and the olive oil that bombards the consumer with its brand name can be assured of a good share of the market, or at least a good location on the supermarket shelf. But is that the olive oil that tastes the best? Is it really an extra virgin olive oil from Italy, Spain, Turkey or Greece? Reading the label carefully is the only way to insure where the olives used to make the oil are coming from. Is the olive oil from the "first cold pressing"? Does the label say "extra virgin olive oil" or just "olive oil"? To check on the answers to the above questions, go to http://www.oliveoilsource.com/definitions.htm ALL ABOUT OLAVE OLIVE OIL I was shopping at Whole Foods at Union Square in NYC recently, and came upon a tasting of Olave Extra Virgin Olive Oil which also is classified as Organic. At first I thought to myself "oh well, just another olive oil", but from the first taste I could tell that this wasn't just another olive oil - I was sold! José Miguel Cuevas is in charge of Marketing for Olave USA and was conducting the tasting and proceeded to educate me about Olave organic extra virgin olive oils. More later on where you can find Olave. This brand has three organic certifications:
The variety of olives that make up the organic
extra virgin olive oil are: The oils from these olives produce a delicate flavor profile that supports and enhances any foods. Being 100% organic, Olave uses the latest technology in natural predators used to control pests and expensive methods are used to produce a pure organic product. Neither the tree, nor the soil ever receives pesticides or hormones. This is the first pure organic super premium virgin product of significant volume. The acidity level of Olave Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is 0.15% - and as most other EV olive oils in the U.S. market are at a 1% acidity level, Olave's has to be the lowest acidity level that I've come across - and I've bought and tasted many many olive oils!
Olave Organic Monovarietal There are two organic monovarietal Extra Virgin Olive Oils made by Olave which are shown in the photos above in bowls with bread for tasting - my preference was for the Arbusana varietal olive oil - although the Nocellara del Belice was also good. Both of these varietal olive oils have the IMO organic certification as well as HACCP, the quality certification.
There are three infused Olave Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oils - Garlic, Basil and Lemon - all three infusions are perfectly blended and create an aromatic and delicious tasting infused olive oils that can be used in a variety of ways - see photo above. In addition to Olave Organic, you may find bottles of Olave labeled Premium Selection extra virgin olive oils. This line of olive oils come from a field that is not as yet certified organic and therefore cannot be labeled as such. The Premium Selection has a tad more acidity (0.20%) than the Organic labeled oil and there is a slight flavor difference in the flavor of Premium Selection due to the terroir on which the olives grow. Not all stores where Olave can be purchased carry all of the oils mentioned above. You can find Olave olive oils at various online retailers. Also, if you go to the website of some of these food retailers, you can purchase Olave products online. One online retailer selling Olave is www.chefswarehouse.com
Here is a list of stores in NYC/NJ and the
selection of Olave that they are currently selling: Below are photos of foods I prepared with Olave Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Organic Infused Oils.
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Adding to their organic certifications, Olave also adheres to HACCP - a quality certification for their
processing and operations.
