Food & Drink

Spain’s Liquid Gold

By Michele Peterson

Spain’s olive oil aficionados match its oenophiles palate for palate.

“Great nose. Very assertive,” says one participant. “A hint of spice?” ventures another.

These are comments you expect to hear at a wine tasting, only here I’m part of a team of amateur tasters assessing 15 brands of olive oil. Although olive oil might be as revered as wine in Spain, that’s where the similarity ends. There’s no soft lighting or convivial conversations with fellow imbibers across a burnished mahogany bar. Instead, I’m sitting in solitude inside a cubicle the size of a voting booth, while a woman in a white lab coat leads me through the paces. “Once the oil is in your mouth, open your lips and breathe in through your teeth,” instructs Esther Rodriguez Jimenez, technical director of the Regulating Board of Sierra de Segura, an organization that represents 8,200 of Spain’s olive growers.

The protocol for sensory analysis is rigorous. First a code-numbered tumbler of olive oil at 28°C is slid through an opening in the booth. Then tasters grade the sample based on 10 attributes. After scoring, they press a buzzer, a green light flashes and another sample arrives. A plate of apple slices is on hand to cleanse the palate.

The first sample arrives. The sound of vigorous breathing rises from the cubicle next door. I find myself staring at my tumbler, trying to will myself to raise it to my mouth. Unlike wine tasters, we have to swallow what we taste. And although I’m keen to learn as much as I can about olive oil, who really wants to drink a quarter cup of it at 7:30 in the morning?

Tradition

Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil, and nowhere do they take it more seriously than in the province of Jaén. Here, 60 million olive trees carpet the rolling foothills of the Santa Catalina mountains, and the numerous ruins of Moorish fortresses pay testimony to the region’s strategic importance along the ancient trading routes of what Homer called “liquid gold.”

Like grapes, olives reflect the qualities created by the soil, sun and water where they grow. But favourable growing conditions aren’t enough to create quality. Precise production methods define the taste. First the delicate fruit must be protected from extreme temperatures and abrasion. Then, to qualify as "virgin" or "extra virgin", the fruit can only be washed, decanted, pressed and filtered. Additional refining to correct defects in flavour, colour or aroma is not permitted.

“The difference between extra virgin and regular olive oil is like comparing squeezed orange juice and Fanta,” explains Jimenez, whose growers are regulated by the International Olive Oil Council.

We learn that positive tasting notes include buttery, semi-fruity (assertive), peppery, pungent and sweet. Oils with a springtime flavour are described as grassy. I take a small whiff from my tumbler. The liquid smells like fresh hay. I give it a high score. More tumblers of olive oil follow in quick succession. Soon we begin grading negative attributes, such as fusty (stale or mouldy) and rancid. My apple slices disappear quickly.

From theory to practice

To test my newfound knowledge, I head to El Olivo restaurant in Madrid, where olive oil sommelier Rodrigo Martinez presides over an olive oil bar featuring over 40 regional varieties. We begin with picual and arbequina – fresh-pressed, single-variety oils from Castillo de Canena. “A good olive oil should subtly enhance the flavours of a dish, not overpower it,” he says, splashing bright green oil on my gazpacho.

As we continue through the menu, he carefully pairs each course with its perfect oil match. Tasting notes range from robust to earthy. Now that I’m out of my cubicle, I discover that not only can olive oil be as nuanced and complex as wine but that it can also be just as much fun to taste.

(Michele Peterson is a Toronto-based travel writer who covers food from around the world.)

Useful information

El Olivo Restaurant, 1 General Gallegos, Madrid, 34-91-359-15-35
Madrid Tourism, turismomadrid.es
Spain Tourism, tourspain.es

TOP IMAGE: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM / AMPHOTORA IMAGES
JAÉN CITY: SANTIAGO MUÑOZ
OLIVE GROVE: PIERRE MÉTIVIER, PIERREMETIVIER.COM
OLIVE BRANCH: JUAN LUIS SOTILLO