Olive Oil, Seattle, WA, February 28, 2004 — Olive Oil is a funny thing to me. We grew up with it in the house but I don't know that it occupied a particularly special place in our pantry. I seem to remember us having one of those super big gold colored square metal containers filled with it. My dad would use it when he was cooking Italian food. I remember the garlic shimmering in the greenish olive oil, sautéing slowly. We would also dribble it over tomato slices followed by balsamic vinegar. Later we would also pour a bit onto plates of chummus and baba ghanoush. Yummy.

I only really started understanding what was interesting to me about olive oil after I spent a year living on a farm in Israel. The eating pattern is very different. The big meal of the day is lunch. Breakfast and dinner are very similar if not identical. Dairy products, eggs, chummus, baba ghannoush, pitas, and of course an Israeli salad. The basic version is: diced cucumbers and tomatoes with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil. Truly perfect. The fresh vegetables from the farm didn't hurt either.

Up until my time in Israel Olive Oil seemed lighter than a traditional vegetable oil, but it didn't really have any strong flavor I could discern. Not so with the olive oil in Israel (and in the middle east in general). Almost all the olive oil I've ever tasted from Israel, Lebanon, Syria, etc. have had a really strong but pleasant olive flavor. And for those who have an aversion to olives, while the flavor is strong, it's still somehow mild. It really adds something to cooking that is altogether different than the comparatively "pale" olive oils I've tasted from Italy, Spain, and California. More recently I've come to appreciate the extra light olive oils of Italy for use in dressing dishes right before they're served. I guess I really think of them as two separate experiences - one a deep flavor foundation for dishes, the other a glossy accent. Both good.

With that short history for context, DebDu and Peyman decided to host an Olive Oil Tasting. Very cool. They gathered a whole bunch of Olive Oils and set them up so we could taste each one. First up was Mishelanu made in the Galillee of Israel. This extra Virgin Olive Oil had a beautiful yellow color. It was nice and olivey. Really light and delicious. Lauren felt it had an odd flavor, almost meaty. Trampetti Olio, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Super light. Something I'd like to try on super delicate noodles. But a bit of a burn on the finish. A touch sweet. Castelas, Huile d'Olive, Verge Extra, De La Vallee Des Baux De Provence, Provence France. Grassy flavor, slightly bitter. (I didn't like this one much but everyone else did). Medi Terranea, Getsemani, Extra Virgin Olive Oil - really not that flavorful at all. No substance. Olio Extravergine Di Oliva "Pianogrillo". This stuff was sweet at first and then a horrible burn on the finish. Terrible. Casa Brina Extra Virgin Olive Oil, was a flavor vaccuum. Just nothing. Like a black hole. Badia a Coltibuono, Extra Virgin Olive Oil - plain flavor, burns like hell on the finish.

Not a bad start on our olive oil journey. More work to do. There are thousands to try.