Food For Thought - Olive Trees and Mills and Oil

This week on Food For Thought, a visit to an olive grove with trees that are at least 500 years old, and a subterranean olive mill at least that old as well.  Here's the audio file and a link to more photos and text from Puglia, including shots of the underground olive oil mill.

I am in the midst of creating a podcast that will feature this documentary as well as one I did a few years ago about an olive grove planted and thriving on BC's Pender Island.  The podcast will also include some video clips of my trip to Puglia.  In the meantime, I also promised to repeat the tips about the purchase and storage of olive oil:

So how do you choose a good quality oil?  If it says extra-virgin on the label, that means it is the first, cold pressing of the olives. UPDATE: In studying for my olive oil technology exam today, I realize the idea of first cold pressing is out of date.  Because modern mills use a continuous centrifugal press, there is no second pressing of the olives. To read more about the grading and production of olive oil visit the Olive Oil Source. If you choose to purchase extra-virgin, then you  need to smell and taste.  Unfortunately, it’s not like going to a wine bar where you could try 3 or 4 different wines in an evening.  Some gourmet grocery stores may have tasting stations and that’s a good start.  An oil should smell fresh, perhaps grassy or fruity, not rancid.  The taste is a personal discovery.  Some people like oils with a real peppery finish that leaves a bite in the back of your throat.  Others want something smoother.  It depends on what you are using it for, dressing a salad, drizzling over some warm vegetables or garnishing a soup.  Buy small bottles to start with until you find something you like. Keep your oil away from heat and light, and use it up within a few months. And remember, like wine, every year brings a different harvest and different flavours.

Comments

[Anthony Drago of Jackson Heights, NY]

Can you tell me anything positive or negative about Capatriti "100% Pure Olive Oil, Imported from Italy" and "manufactured by Gourmet Factory, Glendale, NY" (info taken from 3 liter can). I recently bought this brand for the first time at a local supermarket in Jackson Heights (Queens), and am extremely disappointed, mainly because the oil has almost no smell or taste. It is utterly bland; also, it is cloudy, even after standing for several days. I have been using olive copiously for decades and have sampled a range of oils over the years, so I know olive oils can vary and appreciate this variety. But Capatriti, a brand my local supermarket only began stocking fairly recently I believe, has no appeal I can discern after several taste testings. Frankly, I am skeptical that it is pure olive oil at all, and suspect it is a blend of cheaper vegetable oils instead. In other words, I suspect mis-labeling. The company has a respectable-looking Web site that advertises the oil as having a superior taste, but this doesn't match my experience at all. Can you advise what my next step should be? Can I send a specimen to a lab to have it analyzed for a modest fee? Should I initiate a complaint to a city agency without any evidence? Have you tried this unattractive oil brand yourself or know someone else who has and has complained about it? Meanwhile, I will just put it aside, unused.

[Yago Cruz]

Dear,
Im from Spain and I work with olive oils since 1998. I ve tried Capatriti Olive Oil last time I was in America and I beleive your confussion is because its bacause evoo taste different depending where the olive comes from...
Capatriti is from thr northrm part of italy which it means that its softer and sweeter than the spanish one...

it does not mean is better or worse, is just different... well we ALL know that brands like Bertolli among others, blend the evoo with seed oils to increase their proffit but I think we ara not talking about this with this brand... well, in america is very common to find olive oils blended but normally in huge companies like Uniliver...

[George Bonomo]

I also recently purchased Capatriti 100% Pure Olive Oil from my local supermarket which had it on sale. I was very happy with the product and would buy it again. I did not see a difference in quality from other brnds i have purchased in the past. (Berrio, Boticcelli, and Lio. On another note you (the first poster) sound more like a competitor trying to bash a product rather than someone who was dispaointed with a purchase. If you are not happy with why dont you trying calling the company and request a refund?

[Leonard Katz]

My impression and suspicion from the taste of Capatriti Extra Virgin Olive Oil were as Mr. Drago's.

Yago Cruz, who responds in the oil's defense, saying he tried oil when visiting America, has the same name as the contact person for Capatriti's manufacturer, The Gourmet Factory, as listed on many trade web sites. They deal in other oils as well as in olive oil. (He does say here that he works with olive oils in Spain, where The Gourmet Factory, said online to be a Spaninsh and American company, is said to have a factory.)

It would be interesting to know where in northern Italy this oil's origin, and presumably the Capatriti Estates of the story on the tins, is supposed to be.
There is also the possibility of inadvertent misbottling in a factory that handles other oils. They now, from their website, also produce a blend that is marketed as mostly canola.

[Jack Staples]

I just purchased 3 liters of Capatriti Extra Virgin Cold Pressed. It is definitely a different experience from the 3 liter Berrio XVOO I have been "nursing" for the past months. Berrio is a blend from Italy, Spain, Greece, and Tunisia ("rich fruity, green-gold"). While the Capatriti was three or four dollars less, it is apples and oranges as far as comparing, not the Berrio experience for less money as was my expectation. I guess my concern was that it was not olive oil at all, given that it has no taste to speak of and is decanted looking pale, more like any vegetable oil. If anything the taste was very slightly bitter and a suggestion of green. My gut feeling is that IIWII (it is what it is), Northern Italian, woven-net harvested, unblended, cooler climate, and because of its deficiencies less expensive. I don't feel it is adulterated or falsely labled. Why risk it? As long as it is from Olive trees and first-cold-pressed, it beats other cooking oils from shallow rooted annual plants, hexane refined etc... Live and learn.

[Harry]

Hi,

We purchased a gallon of the Capatriti and found that it was green and pungent, almost making our food taste sour.

Maybe I'm not into the heavy olive taste that it had compared to the Berrio that we buy and like.

Yes, it's cheaper but I just don't like the flavor.

[Yago Cruz]

Dear Mr. Leonard Katz,
I really would like to know whats your problem with Capatriti, is it the oil? or is it something else?.

Im glad to read you spent time on me.
Capatriti Extra Virgin Olive Oil comes from North part of Italy and The oil is excellent,,,

Do you know why some EVOOs are more expensive than others,,,? Im sure you do,
but is about Brand Proffit and not always about Quality as you are trying to make us think.

Do you think Borges is better than Carbonell, or Minerva, or Napoleon, or Carapelli? No they are not, they just taste different but EVOO price in origin is almost the same....lets say, Italy is about 5 Euro cents normally more expensive when talking in Bulk.

Well,,, sorry about my english, I wish we could have this writting in Spanish,,, it would be easier for me....

Kind Regards

. Im in Spain dealing with other Oils...by the way and not EVOO.

[Fitz Patton]

Hi,

We just bought a gallon of capatriri and found that it was very green and strong tasting. I think we're going to like it. I was looking for something that had character, and feel that this is looking like a good oil. There's nothing mixed, or thin, or clear about the can we bought.

Good luck to all.

Fitz

[Bruce]

I've been cooking with olive oil for many years. I recently purchased Capatrini Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It came in one of the big metal canisters which were on sale at about 2/3 the cost of the other brands. This seemed like a good deal at the time.

Upon opening, I found that:

1. It was cloudy, which I understand to be a good quality.
2. It was more viscous than other brands I've purchased.
3. It had no flavor.

[NinaDiva]

In the last 6 months my family has switched to using olive oil for everything not just salad dressings. We now use olive oil (we add various herbs for added flavor) with bread instead of butter and when we want fried foods such as french fries, fried mozzarella, etc we use olive oil. Our local market has just recently started carrying the
Capatriti brand. I recently bought a can of the Capatriti 100% Pure Olive Oil and I have been using it with no complaints from my family.
I initially tried it because it was a good price and I am satisfied with it. I will buy it again and I would recommend it as well.
As a matter of fact, I'm sitting here right now eating french fries I made with Capatriti. Yum.