Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting with Gino Celletti

We have just received Gino Celletti’s book Monocultivar Olive Oil Top 2021. His contribution to extra virgin olive oil tasting is fascinating: he tackles crucial topics from a creative and innovative angle.

Here we gather some of the key points Gino Celletti highlights about EVOO tasting.

7 ideas from Gino Celletti on EVOO tasting

1. Coffee, strawberry or mint flavors do not exist: they are perceived through smell, not taste. We should say that something “smells” of mint, not that it “tastes” of mint.
2. EVOO must have aroma; if it has no smell, it cannot be sold: an oil with no aroma is “lampante”: either it is refined (it lost its aromas during processing) or it is simply not olive oil.
3. A “good” oil should be pungent, the more the better: pungency comes from polyphenols: the more pungent, the more antioxidants.
4. If it is not pungent, it may be a scam: a lack of pungency suggests it does not come from olives or that it has been “washed”.
5. If the oil is bitter, be grateful: bitterness is not a defect but an added value (as with white or red wine); it comes from oleuropein, which is also present in raw olives.
6. A green color does not mean quality: it can be achieved artificially by adding beta-carotene to a seed oil; only tasting (pungency, bitterness, aroma) confirms whether it is a genuine EVOO.
7. Acidity cannot be detected in the mouth: oleic acid is insoluble in water and its molecules are larger than the receptors on the tongue; acidity can only be measured in a laboratory.

Frequently asked questions about EVOO tasting

1. Why should a good EVOO be pungent and bitter? Because both sensations indicate a high content of polyphenols, the oil’s natural antioxidants.
2. Can you tell the acidity of an oil by tasting it? No: acidity can only be determined in a laboratory, never by taste.
3. Is an intense green color a sign of a good EVOO? Not necessarily: it can be achieved artificially; what is reliable is the aroma, pungency and bitterness.
4. Why is an intense green color not a reliable indicator of quality? Because it can be achieved artificially by adding beta-carotene to a seed oil; only tasting (aroma, pungency, bitterness) confirms whether it is a genuine EVOO.