- How do you recognize the quality of oil?
- What basic chemical substances make a good oil?
- Why is the Mediterranean diet so healthy?
- How should an oil be tasted to determine its quality?

Oil must be tasted in a dark glass, usually blue, with no stem and a wide base in order to concentrate the aromas, making them easier to identify.
First you need to detect the aromas, then comes the actual tasting. Visual analysis has little importance: the tasting glasses are coloured so as not to influence the taster. 

Aroma analysis

After pouring the oil into a glass (about 20 ml.), it needs to be raised to the tasting temperature, 28°C, which is ideal for observing organoleptic differences. To increase the temperature, professional tasters use special thermostats, but amateurs just need to warm the glass with their hands, keeping it covered and moving it gently. At this point bring your nose close to the glass and inhale deeply, then repeat the procedure. The aroma can be assessed immediately, in both its negative and positive aspects.

Tasting

Take a sip of oil (about a teaspoonful) without swallowing, let it warm up a few seconds and at the same time inhale so that the oil oxidises, then swill it around in your mouth so that it comes into contact with all the taste buds. Now you can assess “tactile” (fluidity, texture and oiliness) and “taste” perceptions (sweet, bitter and pungent). Then you can spit the oil out.

Tasting DOP Garda Bresciano Novello Cavazza extra-virgin olive oil (from L’Extravergine 2006, published by Cucina & Vini):

It is deep golden-yellow in colour and clear. The aroma is full and complex, with harmonious notes of fresh grass, lettuce, citrus fruit and floral scents of lavender. It is fine to the taste, with a hint of unripe tomato, ripe banana and a final taste of almond. Moderately bitter and pungent and noticeably sweet. It is ideal with salads, shellfish au gratin, emmer soups, pasta with shellfish, boiled fish, grilled white meat and fresh cheese.