introduction to the organoleptic tasting of olive oil

INTRODUCTION TO THE ORGANOLEPTIC

TASTING Of Olive Oil

The organoleptic taste: Organoleptic: perceptible characteristics such as colour, smell and

taste.

Olive oil tasting follows the same analytical procedures as any other liquid. The tasting includes the following stages:

Visual

Olfactory

Gustatory

Tactile

Balance and Harmony

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Sight: The visual analysis of an olive oil tasting is based on two aspects:

Appearance: an olive oil which looks clear from filtering, clear from decantation, dull or opalescent dull is considered to be good. A turbid, dirty or dark appearance would be regarded as defective.

Colour: it is not considered as a crucial element for the taste, so amber or blue-coloured glasses are commonly used. Colour can range from greenish yellow to intense green.

Oils presenting atypical colours such as reddish, whitish, brownish-gray or dark are considered as defective.


Smell: The ideal temperature for oil tasting is 28ºC. The taster must associate the

perceived aroma with an element that enables him or her to classify it as pleasant/positive, unpleasant/negative and varied.

The main pleasant/positive aspects are: fruity, mature fruity and green fruity.

The main unpleasant/negative aspects are: esparto, earthy, old, grubby, metallic, musty-humid, rancid, brine, orujo, soapy, vegetable water, winey-vinegary, cucumber, heated or burnt, muddy sediment, greasy and rough.


Taste - I: The gustatory analysis of olive oil focuses on taste and palate.

The mouthfeel of each oil will be assessed according to its intensity, flavour and quality.

Ideal practice suggests that an extra virgin olive oil must have a fruity aroma and no defects.

According to the gustatory sensations, flavour can be classified as good/positive versus defective/negative.


Taste – II: The following are considered to be good/positive flavours: fruity,

clean, fresh, fruits, bitter (fair), spicy (agreeable), healthy, sweet, almond, nutty and vegetable.

The following are considered to be defective/negative flavours: strong bitter, strong spicy, dry leaves, winey-vinegary, acid, basket, lubricant or greasy, brine, earthy, old, cucumber-tinplate, heated or burnt, frozen olives, esparto or stringy, musty-humid, vegetable water, metallic, orujo, soapy, wood/firewood, fusty/muddy sediment, grubby, rotten and rancid.


Touch: Finally, when the oil leaves the mouth, a density is perceived which is

either maintained, increased or decreased over the following minutes. The oil density degree determines the intensity of its body and the final texture left in the palate. This is called the oil body.

During the tactile analysis, we will focus on assessing the mouthfeel. To do so, the physical consistency of olive oil will be assessed in terms of whether it has a pasty, soft, fluid or watery consistency.

The so-considered defective olive oils are those presenting an atypical consistency or tactile sensation in relation to their characteristics and origin.


Balance and Harmony: When analysing balance and harmony in an olive oil, we usually focus

on the judgement or definition, which is analysed according to the existing balance between aromas and flavours, and can be classified as:

Fruity oils: Their characteristics are inherent to the type of olive they come from.

Balanced or harmonized oils: Those presenting a high balance between aromas and flavours.

Unbalanced or unharmonized oils: Those presenting a particular aroma, flavour or defect that significantly stands out from the rest.


Taste vocabulary – I: The following are pleasant sensations derived from virgin olive oil

quality basic standards:

Fruity: flavour (and smell) reminiscent of fresh and healthy olives, collected at their optimal harvest point.

Mature fruity: flavour characteristic of mature olives, which are usually dull-coloured and sweet-tasting.

Green fruity: Flavour characteristic of green olives.


The following are a variety of sensations, more or less pleasant to the palate according to their intensity. Although they cannot be considered as defects, they do have an impact on the harmony of the fruity flavour: Almond: associated to sweet oils and flat odour. Bitter: flavour characteristic obtained from green olives or olives in

envero (the stage of the ripening process where olives start to ripen and change their colour from green to a purplish-black).

Flat or Smooth: weak sensation due to the loss of aromatic components.

Sharp: flavour characteristic obtained from those oils that leave a rough or astringent mouthfeel sensation after tasted.

Sweet: pleasant sensation, although not necessarily sugary. Hay: sensation reminiscent of dry grass. Grass: sensation reminiscent of newly-cut grass.

Taste vocabulary - II


Taste vocabulary – III: Green leaves: flavour characteristic of oil obtained from a mixture

of olives, leaves and stems in the olive mill. Apple: flavour reminiscent of apple. Spicy: gustatory sensation of burning or spice, produced by oils

obtained from green olives, at the beginning of the harvest time. The following are unpleasant sensations that, even though they might

almost pass unnoticed, need to be taken into account: Vegetable water: flavour characteristic of oil obtained from a

defective decantation. Fusty: flavour characteristic of oil obtained from olives which have

been heaped up and have undergone a certain degree of fermentation.

Winey-vinegary: flavour reminiscent of wine and vinegar. Rough: thick and pasty mouthfeel sensation.


Taste vocabulary- IV: Muddy Sediment: sensation characteristic of oil that has been

recovered from the decantated sides of tanks and olive presses.

Esparto: flavour obtained from using new mats made of esparto grass when pressing olives.

Greasy: smell obtained from the oil which did not got rid of the grease or fuel remains in the olive mill.

Grubby: flavour characteristic of oil obtained from olives that have been attacked by the olive fly.

Metallic: flavour characteristic of oil that has been in prolonged contact with metallic surfaces or with food.


Taste vocabulary - V Musty-humid: flavour characteristic of oil obtained from olives

which have been heaped up in a humid place for a long time and have developed fungi.

Cucumber: flavour characteristic of oil that has been hermetically sealed (especially in tinplate) for a long time.

Rancid: flavour characteristic of oil that has undergone oxidation, due to prolonged contact with air.

Brine: flavour characteristic of oil obtained from olives that were preserved in a salt water brine.

Earthy: sensation characteristic of oil obtained from olives that have been directly collected from the ground.

Old: flavour characteristic of oil that has been stored for too long.


Conclusions: To qualify as virgin extra, olive oil must not exceed 0.8º of acidity and

it must meet maximum quality standards.

We must always look for the elaboration year of the oil in the label, if available. Olive oil must be less than two years old, as after a few months of being bottled it starts losing its properties.

The best way to preserve oil is by packing it in a hermetic, opaque container, as light and oxygen accelerate the oil oxidation process, thus making it lose its properties.


introduction to the organoleptic tasting of olive oil

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