EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: LESSONS IN THE PIZZERIA
We are sure we know how to distinguish whether an extra virgin olive oil is of quality or not?
To answer this question APROL Campania, the Organization of Olive Producers of the region, has organized a series of four free appointments in pizzerias in Campania called Oil Wednesdays, with the intention of helping consumers to know the fundamental characteristics of extra virgin olive oil and to orient themselves in the purchase.
Leading meetings, Maria Luisa Ambrosino, panel leader of the Chamber of Commerce of Naples, in moderation Laura Gambacorta, food and wine journalist and oil taster.
Oil Wednesday theme: “What oil on pizza?”.
HOW TO CHOOSE AN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
During the meeting at the Pizzeria Ciro Pellone di Napoli, Dr. Ambrosino has provided some useful information to help you choose extra virgin olive oil.
Attention should be paid to:
- Packaging. Most quality oils (that is, they have important organoleptic characteristics, to be preserved over time) it is packaged in dark glass bottles.
Light is an enemy of the quality of the oil: the oil is subject to photo-oxidation, it turns rancid if exposed to light for a long time. Therefore the dark glass is a useful protection.
- Geographical origin. It is important to know where the oil was made. For some time now, the geographical origin has been written on the front label.
The wording "Olio italiano" indicates that the olives were grown in Italy and that the mill that pressed them is located in Italy. An oil made in Italy is a guarantee of controlled transport.
- Freshness. To know the "age" of the oil, just look at the back label (on the back of the bottle), on which for some time it has become mandatory to indicate the olive harvest campaign. Only Italian oils are required to give this indication.
The harvesting campaign is indicated by the two calendar years between which it took place.
Oil does not keep for long, especially in domestic conditions, where there is no controlled temperature. Better to buy what you need for your needs for a maximum of one year.
EXTRA VIRGIN OIL ON THE PIZZA
Which olive oil should you use on pizza?? There is no exact answer. It is a choice that the pizza chef makes (or even the customer, if given the chance).
There is no pizza recipe that does not include a drizzle of oil as a topping.
The exact moment to put the oil on the pizza (before or after baking) stirs discussions; the important thing is that the olive oil is of good quality, as it has very important functions.
Placed before the pizza enters the oven, it has the function of protecting the other ingredients (pomodoro, mozzarella etc.) – through its antioxidant substances – by the thermal stress that they undergo once fired. Put raw when the pizza comes out of the oven, it becomes an element of the overall aroma of the recipe.
The prevailing thought is to put a little oil before baking and a little more on exit, raw.
There are pizzas specifically designed to be combined with certain oils rather than others.
Inoltre, it is increasingly common to find pizzerias that have a good oil list.
Unfortunately, catering is somewhat of a weak link in the Campania olive oil supply chain: regional oils are not always used in Campania.
Yet Campania is a very important olive-growing region: there are well 5 DOP: Sorrento peninsula, Cilento, Salerno hills, Ufita hills, Terre Aurunche.
But Campanian oils are undervalued, unlike what happens for similar products in other regions of Italy.
The invitation for Campania restaurateurs is to buy Campania oils, which are of excellent quality.
HOW TO TASTE EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
The extra virgin olive oil must be tasted in purity, preferably at a temperature around 28 gradi.
Its smell is called fruity olive, that is, the set of olfactory sensations that recall the healthy fruit harvested at the right degree of ripeness.
Depending on its intensity, the fruity is defined as light, medium or intense.
Another element of evaluation is the type of fruitiness: verde (reminiscent of plant essences, the cut lawn) or mature (reminiscent of a ripe olive, harvest a little less green).
Once the type of fruity has been established (for example green), it must be established if it recalls cut grass or if it is a harsher green that recalls the leaf (or some bitter vegetable), although one does not exclude the other.
The olfactory bouquet of the oil is made up of several descriptors; those used by professional tasters come from the vegetable world: ad esempio, artichoke, mandorla, pomodoro. Descriptors have different intensities, which are quantified numerically.
When tasting, on the other hand, some characteristics such as bitterness are evaluated, the spicy, the sweet and the retro-olfactory component (what remains of the aromatic part).
The stripping operation of the aromas consists in inhaling air through the teeth. In this world the aromatic component that is released inside the buccal cavity reaches the olfactory bulb via the retronasal route.
OIL-PIZZA COMBINATION
We tasted two different oils, one from the Salerno hills and the other from Sannio, and we "played" to combine them with two pizzas: simple tomato and margherita.
The presence or absence of mozzarella completely changes the structure of the pizza; the oil in addition, with its aromas and flavours, thus plays an essential role, going to create an overall balance.
Personalmente, I liked that the oil with hints of bitter herbs balanced the sweetness of the mozzarella.
But of course it's just a matter of taste.
HOW TO BECOME AN OIL TASTER
The organoleptic characteristics of virgin and extra virgin olive oils are determined by a specific tasting committee, the Panel of tasters.
The path to becoming an oil taster includes two phases:
– attend a certified course that allows you to obtain thecertificate of physiological suitability for tasting olive oil, passing the necessary tests;
– attend at least 20 tasting sessions at a recognized Panel.
The possession of these two requirements allows enrollment to the national list of technicians and experts of virgin and extra virgin olive oils.
Pizzeria Ciro Pellone
Via Mario Gigante 94-96 - Naples
such. 081/5934104
https://pizzeriaciropellone.it/
Aprol Campania
https://aprolcampania.it/