Olive oil the Italian way

[THAIPHUKET]

I used virgin oil and light Olive oil. But none has the taste I wanted= the fine, unimposing Olive oil the Italians soak the bread in. Which one is it?

[Bill97]

Depends on the brand. Which ones have you tried?

[jpinx]

It's "EXTRA" virgin oil, pressed and bottled in Italy, Greece, etc.  There's lots of bottles labelled Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Italy (or where-ever) that are processed/bottled and probably mixed with palmoil to make it go further in Thailand and taste like crap.  Only the imported, sealed bottles of original Extra Virgin Olive Oil will do,,,, 

[THAIPHUKET]

Here the two oils

[THAIPHUKET]

Extra virgin changes the taste too much, very strong.
Don't think you would ear it with white bread. The other is also strong but modifies the taste of the bread or salad. I prefer a touch of olive. And I've had that.

[jpinx]

24 minutes ago, THAIPHUKET said:

Here the two oils

It's probably not the one on the left, but you need to read the small print on the bottles and labels.  Any clues where the bottles are made?  There's no serious enforcement of labelling standards, so it's kinda every man for himself.  Just but a small bottle of the ones you think might be right and try them.  If they're not it, you can use them for light shallow frying. 

 

As someone else pointed out, Extra Virgin is a very strong taste -- maybe not what you're looking for if you've not experienced it before.

[jobin]

Frankly, i like melted butter.  And palm oil is the ugliest in town.

[212Roger]

Star olive oil is the best, for the price.  I wouldn't use a high end product for bread however.  My father was Vice President for Star and Italian Kitchen specialty foods.  The truth is the oil is a mixture of Italian and Spanish olives.  I've been on trips with my father throughout Italy, Spain, Morocco, and Greece while he walks the fields and facilities and buys various products from the growers/owners.

[THAIPHUKET]

Nice story Roger. And what oil for bread?

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[Wandr]

I have always held that cold-pressed extra virgin is best for salads and bread. For bread dipping, try throwing in a few sprigs of rosemary.

But there's olive oil and there's olive oil. So you will have to try different brands to see which you like best.

It will be nice if you report back - on the brands suggested above, and what you eventually settled on.

[THAIPHUKET]

Ok, no more wine tasting only olive oil

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[212Roger]

On 6/7/2017 at 11:32 AM, THAIPHUKET said:

Nice story Roger. And what oil for bread?

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I'm sorry I can not answer that.  My father died December 2016...

[steven100]

1 minute ago, 212Roger said:

I'm sorry I can not answer that.  My father died December 2016...

sorry to hear Roger.

[FolkGuitar]

Do a bit of web research on Olive Oil. The results will surprise you.

It appears that the majority of  brands are NOT pure olive oil! They are mixed with other vegetable oils to reduce costs. This is even true of many of the major brands!

Frankly, my palate isn't sophisticated enough to notice, so I find sticking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil bottled by 'Sabroso' to be fine for my needs.

That said, I have been keeping an eye out for slutty Olive Oil. I figure I owe it to myself to try.

[THAIPHUKET]

I was sure I knew the expression but not in this context. So I had to look it up , still love to learn:

A woman prostitute.
b. An untidy, dirty woman; a slattern. [Middle English slutte


Which begs the Question= some chauvinistic streaks?

No reply expected -:)

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[impulse]

I switched about a year ago to Filippo Berio Extra Virgin.  Had been using one of the less expensive ones, but it had very little flavor.  The Berio stuff is a lot stronger- which I like.

 

Not as much as I like butter, but after a triple bypass...

 

I buy it at BigC, BTW.

 

[JHolmesJr]

33 minutes ago, impulse said:

I switched about a year ago to Filippo Berio Extra Virgin.  Had been using one of the less expensive ones, but it had very little flavor.  The Berio stuff is a lot stronger- which I like.

 

If FB is extra virgin so am I.

 

Filippo Berio is one of the biggest culprits in mislabelling its oil…the stuff is junk….many different grades of oil mixed together and sold as extra virgin.

 

Theres a great book on this scam called Extra Virginity.

 

I only trust select olive oils from greece…direct from farms.

 

Tricky if you live in thailand.

 

Id find a greek restaurant and make friends with the owner….maybe he or she can help you source the real stuff.

Edited June 12, 2017 by JHolmesJr

[impulse]

4 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

If FB is extra virgin so am I.

 

Filippo Berio is one of the biggest culprits in mislabelling its oil…the stuff is junk….many different grades of oil mixed together and sold as extra virgin.

 

Good info.  I'll look into it...

 

[Bill97]

 
If FB is extra virgin so am I.
 
Filippo Berio is one of the biggest culprits in mislabelling its oil…the stuff is junk….many different grades of oil mixed together and sold as extra virgin.
 
Theres a great book on this scam called Extra Virginity.
 
I only trust select olive oils from greece…direct from farms.
 
Tricky if you live in thailand.
 
Id find a greek restaurant and make friends with the owner….maybe he or she can help you source the real stuff.

Are there Greek restaurants in CM?

[JHolmesJr]

2 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

Are there Greek restaurants in CM?

i don't know…..and even if there are it may be hard to find a good source for real extra virgin olive oil….that stuff isn't cheap

[THAIPHUKET]

Greek Restaurant is a good idea.  

 

At least to my taste the virgin oils tasted so strong that the flavor was overriding everything else.

That is no my idea, it should be complimentary.

[Duvidl]

4 hours ago, THAIPHUKET said:

Greek Restaurant is a good idea.  

 

At least to my taste the virgin oils tasted so strong that the flavor was overriding everything else.

That is no my idea, it should be complimentary.

Sorry. No Greek restaurant in Chiang Mai.

[Dante99]

After you go thru the Spanish restaurant routine, if you must to get the same answer you got on Greek,  you may try the Italian ones of which there are several very good places.  That may be too easy so you could skip it and buy a ticket to Athens.

[Nowisee]

21 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

Filippo Berio is one of the biggest culprits in mislabelling its oil…the stuff is junk….many different grades of oil mixed together and sold as extra virgin.

 

That sucks, I just bought a bottle of that at Big C.  
 

I'll have to try the Sabroso next.

[Sparkles]

We quite some time ago switched a lot of our cooking oil requirements to coconut oil. So usage of olive oil for us has declined and a lot easier on the pocket

 

On the basis of no shortage of coconuts in Thailand must less chance of it being adulterated with other oils and having done some research it seems a healthy option.

 

Having had a gall bladder removal, and problems with constipation, a desert spoon of virgin coconut oil has solved that particular problem.

 

 

[THAIPHUKET]

Does coconut not give a sweetish flavor to everything?

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[FolkGuitar]

A California federal judge has approved two class actions lawsuits against the makers of Filippo Berio brand olive oil, and against the importers of Bertolli and Carapelli olive oils. The suit also alleged Salov's extra virgin olive oil failed to meet state or federal standards for the term "extra virgin," claiming the company mixed the products with refined oil.

 

To be fair, many of the law suits against various olive oil producers stem from mislabeling about the origin of the olives or the origin of the oil shipment, rather than the quality of the oils. Some "Made in Italy" oil may contain olives from Greece, Spain, and Tunisia as well as Italy, and is being called mislabeled.. To 'me,' as long as it is a first-pressing with no refinement, it's good enough to be called 'Extra Virgin.'

 

How many among us can actually taste the difference between Italian or Greek extra virgin olive oil?

 

Edited June 13, 2017 by FolkGuitar

[Dante99]

I thought I read that there was a significant problem about mixing non-olive oils into the stuff marketed as olive oil.  Not so?

 

I do not think many could taste the difference between Greek and Italian oils.  There are an incredible variety of each and that variety contains many different tastes.  Then there are the slutty ones that need to be tried for sure. 

[FolkGuitar]

2 hours ago, Dante99 said:

I thought I read that there was a significant problem about mixing non-olive oils into the stuff marketed as olive oil.  Not so?

 

What I'm seeing written is mostly the adulteration by addition of lower quality oils. This seems to be the major player in the 'fake' extra virgin scam.

 

But there are plenty of complete 'fake' olive oils being sold.  The most common type of fake may not be olive oil at all, just a seed oil like sunflower made to look and smell like olive oil with a few drops of chlorophyll and beta-carotene. But I doubt we'd run into this when sticking to the major brands. There, all we have to contend with is the actual ratio of 'real' extra virgin oil to second or third pressings.

 

The advice I've been reading says check the label carefully. Look for small print saying that the olives are from other countries, the company is located in Toledo, Ohio rather than Toledo, Spain, and that the cost isn't so low as to be too good to be true.

[jpinx]

When living in Spain 25 years ago I went to the mill with my own olives and watched them being pressed.  There is nothing that tastes like that, not even the best brands on the shelves.  I'd recommend that someone who wants a "good" oil should stick to a product that is labelled correctly under EU rules and is bottled, packaged and sealed in it's country of origin.   There's not much to choose between Spanish, Italian and Greek varieties of "Extra Virgin Olive Oil", but remember -- they keep the "best" stuff for themselves --  same as the scotch whiskey makers.     Such an export will be more expensive, but that's the way it goes.       Most importantly - -- try to buy some small bottles as tasters and do a bit of personal research till you find a properly imported one that you actually like the taste of.   You can always cook in the stuff that fails the taste-test.