Thanks to the organoleptic characteristics of olive oil, we can appreciate its special qualities: Feel how olive oil activates our senses with its aromatic ingredients, taste the special flavor and experience the tactile sensation, together with its visual peculiarities. Since olive oil is a natural product, these sensorial characteristics are closely related to the state of oil as a raw material, the production process, the storage in the olive oil mills, posterior packaging, the type of packaging materials and the commercialization.
The maturity level of olive fruits is one of the features that determines high quality olive oil. This factor has a direct influence on the positive properties or virtues of olive oil, for example, the aroma.
When the olive fruits are very green, they will give olive oil a very intense smell and taste which is known as fruity note or olive fruity note. It is a fundamental characteristic as it must be presented in all olive oils which are classified as "Virgin".
When the olive is very green, the color of the olive oil is also dark green. In addition, the oil will have a very strong and marked fruity flavor. The reason is that the olives contain phenolic substances while they are still green, these elements are powerful antioxidants and will make oil taste bitter, spicy, sharp and astringent.
On the contrary, when the olive fruits are ripe and the oxides have almost disappeared, that is why the oil obtained from them usually has a yellow color and the bitter, spicy flavor is a little slighter, and logically, the fruity flavor is more alike the ripe olive fruits.
The olive oil does not always taste and smell like olive fruits, sometimes it can have the scent of other fruits, a typical example is that some varieties taste like apple.
As for the green notes, they are usually the complementary element to the fruity flavor, besides the leaf or grass, they can also be directly related to the producing process. For example, if the olives are grinded together with the impurities like stems, leaves or branches, the oil might have green notes.
When there is a lack of these green notes, the olive oil can be sweet and often leaves a soft, liquid sensation in the mouth.
We share with you a Spanish popular saying "La mejor cocinera es la aceitera", which means "the best cook is the oil cruet". This shows how important is the role olive oil plays in the Spanish cuisine.
Without any doubt, the olive oil is the ingredient involved in most dishes, from appetizers to desserts, and of course also in pastries or fish, vegetables and meat. Its high presence gives the Spanish cooking a distinctive personality which allows its cuisine to be one of the best and the healthiest.