Can you actually taste difference in olive oils?

Question

I love Extra Virgin olive oil, but can the average person actually taste the differences in oils made from different olives? I can;t tell the difference, even though the bottles say they are made from different olives.

Any ideas/info?

Answer 1

I can absolutely taste the difference, especially among olive oils from different countries. If you have a few different oils on hand, try a taste test by toasting some bread or thinly sliced baguette. Sprinkle a little oil on a slice and focus on the taste. Then sprinkle a little of another kind on another slice of toast and try it. Don't clean your palatte between tasting. I find that trying one oil after the other really punctuates the flavor differences between the oils. I think you'll really notice the difference, especially if you're comparing olive oils from different countries.

Answer 2

Anyone can learn to recognize an excellent extra virgin olive oil...but sometime it could be difficult to distinguish the difference because as proved in a 1996 study by the FDA they found that 96% of the olive oils they tested, while being
labeled 100% olive oil, had been diluted with other oils. A study in Italy found that only 40% of the olive oil brands labeled "extra virgin" actually met those standards. Italy
produces 400,000 tons of olive oil for domestic consumption, but 750,000 are sold. The difference is made up with highly refined nut and seed oils.
Unscrupulous producers can sell oil as "extra virgin" as long as they meets acidity standards and satisfies chemical analysis standards without informing consumers that some of the oil is chemically rectified or that it has been blended. Frauds include blending olive oil with nut or seed oils, as well as blending rectified oil with extra virgin olive oil.

That said, if you want to buy a potential good extra virgin olive oil, first of all you should focus on just a few very
important things:

What should I read on the label? The most significant information is the date of harvest together with the expiration date. Did you know that olive oil loses fruitiness and flavor as it ages and after maximum two years from the harvest it will be oxidized and rancid?

The importance of packaging. A dark bottle, a bottle wrapped in foil, a bottle packaged in cardboard or wooden box is a MUST to preserve the quality of the oil because it must be kept away from direct light.

Is the color of the olive oil important? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Official tasters always use dark glasses so that their sense is not influenced by the color. Many times oils are chemically manipulated to be greener because customers believe that greener oil is better. This is absolutely wrong!

To finish, you'll find a serious tasting procedure clicking on the link below.

Answer 3

extra vergin is bitter in taste, olive oil from Spain are different from each other,some has a light taste almost flowery, other you can taste the olive almost like when you bit an olive from the tree , and some they mix with other oil for a commercial sell and you can taste the mix, is like motor oil .My favorite is the carapelli prima spremitura.always check the bottle where the oil come from not the distributor and the good brand even say witch tipe of olive.

Answer 4

O man, yes I can. An extra virgin olive oil bottled fro North America, does not taste or smell the same as an o.o. from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece. Only when you taste them , you will notice what o.o. actually is.

Answer 5

Yes, but more so, when they are raw i.e. in Salads

When cooked, with pasta and herbs for example, in smaller quantities, they usually taste about the same.