Bill, Austin and I spent the day at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley for a full day course titled, “Olive Oil Flavor and Quality.” What a spectacular day. I haven’t been in a classroom for years and wasn’t sure how I was going to hold up for a nine hour class. Let’s just say there was no time to nod off. I am a huge olive oil consumer and advocate. I have access to some of the best olive oils and I use it in everything – baking, sautéing , frying and topping off my favorite dishes. At any given time I will have 10-12 bottles of olive oil open at the house – but not to worry there is no chance they will get overexposed or go rancid – a five liter tin doesn’t last long in our house.

The panels and presenters covered a wide range of topics focusing on ensuring that olive oils are labeled properly. Olive oils from all around the world are still being mislabeled and inferior oils are being sold at exorbitant prices. In all things, keep in mind you get what you pay for. A bottle of olive oil is no bargain if it is a blend of other oils or has old oil mixed with new oil.

Olive oil does not age well. It is meant to be young and fresh – and you should be able to taste the freshness in every bite. But how best to taste olive oil? We sampled 20 different varieties today and it was definitely sipped, let sit on the tongue and then slurped back. It gives you the ability to feel the taste in your mouth and then open it up and feel it in the back of your throat. A good fresh oil will leave a peppery taste in the back of your throat. There was a lot of happy coughing in the room today.