Much to consider about olive oils

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 | 8:25 a.m.

America's love affair with olive oil may be relatively recent, but there is no denying the benefits derived from this ancient comestible. It is a mono-unsaturated oil that is both heart healthy and delicious.

But choosing an olive oil is complicated, and there is more to it than meets the eye.

Olive oils come in many varieties, flavors and price levels. For an olive oil to be virgin, which most edible oils sold commercially are, all that is required is that the oil be obtained from the olive by mechanical, and not chemical means such as solvents.

For an oil to be extra virgin (and these are considered the best-tasting oils), the requirement is that the oil have an oleic acid content of less than 1 percent. For this reason, extra-virgin oils taste more of the actual fruit, and are less pungent and unpleasant. Generally speaking, these are the most prized olive oils. They are certainly the priciest ones.

Similar to apples, olives come in dozens of varieties, and the taste from the oil produced varies greatly, often reflecting terroir, a French word that wine connoisseurs use to describe the taste of the earth on which a particular set of crops grow. As a result, Greek olive oil won't taste similar to Spanish, just as Italian isn't quite similar to French. The range can be staggering.

Also worth mentioning is the process called cold pressing. This refers to machinery used to press oil from olives, which operates at below 122 F. Cold pressing is desirable because heating an oil such as olive oil destroys vitamins, healthy fatty acids and often, to some extent, taste. That's why cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oils tend to be the most sought after. They are certainly the most expensive.

Every supermarket stocks commercial olive oils made by large producers, such as Sasso and Bertolli, but the best selection of premium olive oils are found in three places locally: Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table and Siena Italian Deli.

At the first two, it is possible to taste olive oils before purchase. These are, it should be emphasized, delicious, expensive oils best used to enhance the flavor of salads, crusty breads or pasta, and not for cooking, which will obscure their delicate tastes.

These oils, incidentally, almost always come in dark or smoked-glass bottles, the better to protect them from heat, sun or light. Heating an oil will speed up the process that turns it rancid, so it's always best to store the oils in a cool, dark place. Here are the results of a little tasting conducted at the two gourmet stores, and a description of what is available at Siena Italian Deli:

Williams-Sonoma

Fashion Show mall

What's cool about this store is that there is an olive oil-tasting bar set up for anyone who visits, stocked with a wide number of boutique oils from all over the world. Information about each oil is provided in a card file by the bar.

On this bar, there are also a variety of flavored olive oils, oils infused with garlic, herbs or the essence of truffle. That could be a separate story unto itself.

1. Colonna Extra Virgin, 25 ounces, $24.

This is a cold-pressed oil bottled in Boscio Fontana, Italy, from hand-picked olives. The taste is light and fruity, the color, pale straw.

2. Pons Arbequina Extra Virgin, 26 ounces, $21.

Catalonia, Spain, is the home to this oil, which comes in an attractive, clear-glass bottle. This oil is a softer yellow color, with a slightly pungent finish.

3. L'Estornel, 25.3 ounces, $23.

Perhaps the most assertive oil tasted, this is an organic-farm product from France. Not as smooth or as well balanced as the first two oils.

4. Lungarotti Extra Virgin, 26.4 ounces, $26.

Produced on a Umbrian hillside from hand-picked olives, this fruity, fragrant, slightly greenish oil was the best one tasted.

5. Chianti Classico Extra Virgin Cold Pressed, 25 ounces, $26.

A smoothly unctuous product that tastes almost as though it has been pressed from spiced olives. Delicious on bread.

Sur La Table

Desert Passage mall

Store manager Pamela Kure was kind enough to open several bottles (and cans) to conduct this tasting. This store has a large selection -- about 22 oils from exotic countries including Greece and Morocco as well as France, Spain, Italy and the United States.

1. Mustapha's Moroccan Olive Oil, 12.75 ounces, $15.95.

We couldn't get enough of this oil, which comes in a stingy, narrow bottle. It's a faintly tinged green, and tastes almost exactly like eating a ripe olive. The only downside is a tiny bitterness in the finish.

2. Domaine Mercouri, 17 ounces, $16.95.

A Greek oil that tastes nothing like any of its competitors, an earthy, acidic oil with a ripe, fruity, heavy cast. It would be perfect with Greek dishes.

3. Camporsino Olio Extra Vergine, 500 ml (approximately 17 ounces), $14.95.

This oil comes in a gimmicky little can, and Kure says she could "drink it." It's spicy, woodsy and not forward in terms of fruit, with a jumpy nose.

4. Olio Santo, 15.8 ounces, $16.95.

California's representative, produced in the Napa Valley, has a mildly cooked taste, a pale-yellow color and a nutty aftertaste. It doesn't measure up with the heavyweights.

Siena Italian Deli

2250 E. Tropicana Ave.

This wonderful store sells not only Italian olive oils, but also a selection from France and California.

A giant 101-ounce can from Sasso is $15.99, and a 5-liter (5 1/2 quart) can of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Italy's Pietro Corricelli is $19.99.

The store also sells high-priced oils such as Sant'Agostino Extra Virgin from Italy, $24.99 for 750 ml (26 ounces); the French oil Fabre Pere et Fils, $29.95 for 32 ounces; and organic unfiltered oil from California from the producer Crotelli, 500 ml for $15.99.

Trader Joe's also carries a selection of good oils at low prices. So do membership stores such as Costco and Sam's Club, and local supermarkets.