How to Taste and Store Extra Virgin Olive Oil

There are thousands of different olive oils and we are often asked which is the best. The honest answer is quite simple: the one you enjoy the most.

That might sound like a bit of a cop out, but it is true. Extra Virgin Olive Oil can be grassy, fruity, peppery, bitter, soft, sweet or assertive. Personal taste matters.

Before deciding whether you like an oil, however, it helps to establish whether it is actually any good. This means looking for freshness, balance and the absence of faults.

Here is a straightforward guide to tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil and keeping it at its best once you have found one you like.

In this article

• What good Extra Virgin Olive Oil should taste like
• How to taste olive oil
• The three steps: sniff, swirl and swallow
• Why bitterness and pepperiness are good signs
• How to recognise stale or rancid olive oil
• How to store Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Whether olive oil should be refrigerated
• How long olive oil stays fresh

What should good Extra Virgin Olive Oil taste like?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil has three principal positive characteristics: fruitiness, bitterness and pepperiness, sometimes called pungency.

These characteristics vary enormously from one oil to another. A delicate oil may be gently fruity with very little bitterness. A more robust oil might taste strongly of green leaves and finish with a peppery catch in the throat.

Neither is automatically better.

What matters is harmony. The fruitiness, bitterness and pepperiness should feel balanced and pleasurable, with no stale, musty or rancid flavours getting in the way.

Much like wine, different olive varieties, harvest times, growing conditions and production methods create very different results. The pleasure lies in tasting widely enough to discover what suits you.

How to taste Extra Virgin Olive Oil

You do not need any specialist equipment. A small wine glass or similar glass will do perfectly well.

Professional tasters often use coloured glasses so that the appearance of the oil does not influence their judgement. Colour is not a reliable measure of quality. A vivid green oil is not necessarily better than a golden one.

Pour a small amount into the glass. You only need enough to coat the inside and take a proper sip.

Unlike wine tasting, you really do need to swallow the oil to experience its full character, particularly the pepperiness that can arrive at the back of the throat. Do not take more into your mouth than you are prepared to swallow.

There are three simple steps.

Step one: sniff

Cover the top of the glass with one hand and hold the bowl of the glass in the other. Warm the oil gently while rolling it around the inside.

This warmth helps release its aromas.

Remove your hand, put your nose close to the glass and take a good sniff.

Does it smell fresh and alive? You might find aromas of newly cut grass, tomato leaf, herbs, apples, almonds, artichokes, citrus or ripe fruit. You may simply think it smells green, fresh and inviting. That is perfectly sufficient.

If it smells stale, waxy, musty, damp or rather like old nuts, it may be past its best or affected by a fault.

If you do not like the smell, there is little point putting it in your mouth.

Step two: swirl

Assuming the oil smells good, take a small sip.

Swirl it around your mouth, coating your tongue and palate. Draw in a little air through your teeth as you do so. This helps release more of the oil’s aromatic character.

What is your first impression?

Is it fresh or tired? Mild or assertive? Do you taste green leaves, fruit, herbs, nuts or vegetables? Is there a pleasant bitterness on the tongue?

Bitterness is not a fault. Olives are naturally bitter fruit, and a measured bitterness can be a sign of freshness and character.

Step three: swallow

Now swallow the oil and wait for a moment.

This is often when the pepperiness appears. It might be a gentle warmth or a distinct tickle at the back of the throat. A particularly lively oil may even make you cough.

Again, this is not a defect. Pepperiness is one of the recognised positive characteristics of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Notice how long the flavour lasts. Does it disappear immediately, or does it linger pleasantly? Do the fruity, bitter and peppery qualities work together, or does one overwhelm everything else?

By the time you have sniffed, swirled and swallowed, you should have a reasonable sense of the oil’s style and quality. More importantly, you will know whether you would like to eat it again.

What do fruitiness, bitterness and pepperiness mean?

Fruitiness describes the aromas and flavours that come from fresh, healthy olives. Depending on the oil, these might suggest green grass, tomato leaf, apple, banana, herbs, almonds or ripe fruit.

Bitterness is detected mainly on the tongue. It is especially noticeable in oils made from greener olives harvested earlier in the season.

Pepperiness is the warm, sometimes prickling sensation felt towards the back of the throat after swallowing.

An oil does not need to be powerfully bitter or peppery to be good. Delicate oils can be excellent too. The aim is not maximum intensity but balance, freshness and an absence of defects.

How can you tell if olive oil has gone rancid?

Rancid olive oil tends to smell and taste flat, stale or waxy. Some people compare it to old nuts, crayons, putty or cooking oil that has been left open for too long.

Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil should have a recognisable aroma, even if the oil itself is mild. If there is almost no aroma, or if the smell is tired and unpleasant, it is unlikely to add much pleasure to your food.

Rancidity develops through oxidation. Exposure to air, heat and light speeds up that process, which is why good storage matters.

Does Extra Virgin Olive Oil improve with age?

No. Unlike wine, olive oil does not improve by being kept for years.

A newly produced oil may settle and soften slightly during its first few months, but its fresh aromas and flavours will gradually diminish from the moment it is made.

This does not mean that an oil suddenly becomes unusable on a particular date. It means that Extra Virgin Olive Oil is best treated as a fresh ingredient and enjoyed while its flavour is at its brightest.

Buy a quantity that suits the amount you actually use. If you cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil every day, a larger pouch or container can make perfect sense. If you use it occasionally, a smaller bottle may remain fresher.

How should Extra Virgin Olive Oil be stored?

The main enemies of olive oil are light, heat and air.

Keep it in a cool, dark cupboard away from the oven, hob and direct sunlight. A dark glass bottle, tin or airtight pouch will offer much better protection than a clear bottle left in a bright kitchen.

Close bottles firmly after use and avoid leaving pouring spouts open to the air for long periods.

Our 3 litre Extra Virgin Olive Oil pouch collapses as it empties, which reduces the oil’s exposure to air. We keep the pouch in a cool cupboard and use it to refill a smaller bottle for the kitchen.

If you refill a bottle or cruet, wash it thoroughly from time to time and make sure it is completely dry before adding fresh oil. Continually topping up a container without cleaning it can mix new oil with older oil beginning to deteriorate.

Should Extra Virgin Olive Oil be kept in the fridge?

There is usually no need to refrigerate Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Cold temperatures can make the oil cloudy, thick or partially solid. It may also develop pale lumps or small solid pieces as some of its naturally occurring fats and waxes crystallise. This is entirely normal and does not mean the oil has spoiled. Leave it at room temperature and it will gradually become clear and fluid again.

The same thing can happen to our Extra Virgin Olive Oil dressings and our olives marinading in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Because they are made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the contents may thicken or appear lumpy if refrigerated.

They are best kept somewhere cool and dark rather than in the fridge. If they do become cold, simply bring them back to room temperature and give dressings a good shake before using. The oil will loosen naturally, and everything will taste as it should.

Choosing an oil you enjoy

No one is going to like every Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Some people enjoy oils with a strong green bitterness and a fierce peppery finish. Others prefer something rounder, fruitier and more restrained.

Neither preference is wrong.

Tasting helps you separate quality from personal preference. First establish whether the oil is fresh, balanced and free from obvious faults. Then decide whether you actually enjoy it and how you might use it.

A robust oil might be wonderful with grilled meat, beans or bitter leaves. A softer, fruitier oil may suit fish, tomatoes, vegetables or simply a piece of good bread.

Our House Extra Virgin Olive Oil is deliberately balanced and versatile, with ripe tomato, banana and citrus notes followed by a gentle peppery finish.

The best way to learn is simply to keep tasting.

Giles Henschel
Founder, Olives Et Al