Learning the Art of Olive Oil The Seven Surprising Secrets of an Olive Oil Masterclass

Monday 09 July 2018 12:57
Olive oil, the golden liquid that seems to furnish every celebrity chef's counter-top, and fill the heart – and plates - of many Mediterranean countries with pride. We see it lusciously drizzled on food, and we know its heart-healthy, diabetes-busting credentials. But as a chef, I wanted to know more about this ancient oil. How should it best be used, how should a you taste it properly, why are there 'blends,' and even more crucially, how are green and black olive orbs crushed just so, to make the perfect velvety oil?

In the spirit of learning from the best, I attended an Olive Oil masterclass with Anna Cane, Chief Quality and R&D Officer - Deoleo S.A., the world's biggest producer of olive oil. As the 'Godmother' of Olive oil, she has more than 50 award-winning blends under her belt, 31 years in the food industry, five accreditations for Olive oil, and has been a Professional Olive Oil Taster since 1991, under the Italian National Olive Oil Tasters' Organization and Qualified Panel Leader under International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) since 1999. Sitting in a 250-year-old traditional farmhouse in the olive grove-speckled hills of rural Tuscany, the scene was set for a food lesson that was delicious – yet far more detailed than initially thought. Here are my hand-picked highlights of the four-hour course.