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| Bill Schweitzer, VP of Operations Ramona Olive Oil Corporation |
Bill Schweitzer, VP of
Operations for Ramona Olive Oil Corporation, joins us today to answer questions about the characteristics of outstanding olive oil. Schweitzer stresses the
importance of locally-produced olive oil and tells us how olive oil should
taste, defines “extra virgin olive oil,” and offers tips on how to select the
best olive oil.
Schweitzer is one of
the founders of the Ramona Olive Oil Corporation that uses locally grown olives to
produce their olive oil in Ramona, California, available throughout the Ramona
area and for shipping. For more information on Schweitzer, his company, and
Ramona Gold Olive Oil, check out the article, “A
New Oil Boom? Ramona Gold Leads the Way in Local Olive Oil Production” in Edible San Diego; or the company’s web page at: http://www.ramonagold.com
Q: What should I
taste in olive oil?
Bill Schweitzer:
Olive oil should taste like olives. It should be fresh, herbaceous, lively and
a bit peppery. The flavors might
mimic an artichoke or green, fresh cut grass. It should be pleasant and
distinctive. Olive oil should never be bland. It should never have “off odors.”
It should never have flavors of mustiness, rancidness or “old” anything.
Q: What does it mean
for olive oil to be “extra virgin?”
Bill Schweitzer:
The definition of “extra virgin olive oil” is simply, oil which has NO flavor
or odor flaws and has the correct, very low, percentage of broken molecules
called “free fatty acids.”
Q: How do you create
extra virgin olive oil?
Bill Schweitzer:
Olive oil is a strong anti-oxidant. It preserves itself in the bottle. Olives,
on the other hand, are like any other fruit. Once they are picked they are
subject to bruising, heat, light and air. The oil should be pressed from the
fruit within 24 hours of picking. If not, the oil may pick up the flavors of
the slowly fermenting fruit. Olive oil is at its absolute best the moment it
comes out of the press.
Q: So, if a bottle of
olive oil says it’s “extra virgin” that’s the best kind to buy?
Bill Schweitzer: No. Fifty years ago it was hard to find olive oil at any place
other than the local Italian market. Today, the shelves are full of "olive oil" choices. They come from all over the world, and many of them say "extra virgin”
in large and cleverly formatted ways. The truth of the matter, according to
Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller, most of the supermarket oil you can buy may
have passed by an olive tree in Southern Italy while traveling from the chemical
factory to a tanker ship. It's likely that the base oil was some cheaply
available nut oil, chemically modified with a little olive flavor added with
actual olive oil or another method. Consumer Reports did a study of
numerous readily available brands and found few that could rightfully be called
“Extra Virgin Olive Oil." The product in local restaurants is probably even
less likely to be anything but bulk oil bought from a large importer.
Q: How do I know
which olive oil to buy?
Bill Schweitzer:
Here are a few tips:
(1) Look for a “pressed by” or “produced on” date. That date
should be reasonable: November or December within 12 to 18 months for northern
hemisphere sources and May or June for Australian oil.
(2) Look for a clear and unambiguous indication that the
olives were grown by the same people who pressed the oil and put it in the
bottle. “Estate grown” is usually a good clue. “Organic” is less important as a
growing method, but may indicate that the trees are controlled by the bottler.
(3) If there is a choice between clear glass, dark glass or
a tin container, always go for the oil that has seen the least light.
Ultraviolet light is not good for those healthy molecules in the oil. The tin
or dark glass make it harder to see the golden product, but they show that the
producer has respect for the oil.
(4) Avoid any that says “produced in Italy” or “bottled in
Italy” without the date and estate reference mentioned above. If it is actually
olive oil, it still has taken too long to get from grove, to the mill, to the
tanker ship, to the Italian bottler, back to a cargo ship, across the ocean
through the distribution process and to that grocery shelf in front of you.
Q: What do you
consider to be the most important characteristic of good olive oil?
Bill Schweitzer: Olive oil is best from someplace local.
It has traveled less, it has been processed less and it has been lovingly
produced by someone who knows where the trees are growing. California is
emerging as a fine producer of quality oil. From north to south, from coast to
desert, there are small producers who are selling quality oil in the exact
flavor profile you’re looking for.
Early harvest sharp, late harvest smooth, Tuscan style, French style, whatever…someone
in California is doing it and they are putting the details on their label. And
here in California we are fortunate to have a significant and organized olive
oil industry that is willing to put its stamp of approval on our product. The “California Olive Oil Council
(COOC)” is dedicated to improving the quality of locally grown oil, educating
consumers about the importance of that quality and stamping a certificate on
oil that meets those high standards.
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