TASTE
A world of olive oil
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
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When she was just a girl, Carol Firenze's grandparents, first-generation immigrants from the Liguria region of Italy, used to tell her how long and hard they had to work to earn enough money to afford good olive oil during the Depression years, and how precious this ingredient was to them.
Later, when she traveled to Italy to meet her cousins there, she eagerly tasted different kinds of olive oil and found that Italians are almost as interested in talking about olive oil — the oil they press from their own orchards, the memorable olive oil at a special meal, uses for olive oil, their experiences with regional olive oils — as they are in making it.
A history major in college who received her doctorate in education with a focus on cultural understanding, Firenze came to understand that the olive tree, olives and olive oil mirror the history of Western civilization.
The more she learned about the rich golden-green fluid, the more it fascinated her. Finally, she determined to write a different kind of book about olive oil: Not just another cookbook about how to use olive oil in the kitchen, but one that identifies the place of olive oil in every room in the house. The book, illustrated with watercolor drawings, is "The Passionate Olive: 1010 things To Do with Olive Oil" (Ballantine Books, hardback, $17.95) and it offers everything from instructions for how to make beauty treatments with olive oil to olive oil lore dating back to Greek and Roman times. Plus, of course, her Nonna's and Mama's own recipes.
Firenze, who arrives in Hawai'i tomorrow for signings and appearances here, is an international management consultant.
But her heart is olive-shaped. She is a certified olive oil consultant and a board member of the California Olive Oil Council.
Her book stands on three key messages:
One thing to know is that Italy exports more olive oil than it produces, so some olive oil labeled "packed in Italy" or "imported from Italy" may be made from olives grown in Tunisia, Morocco, Spain or Greece. There is nothing wrong with the olives from these countries, Firenze said, but one key to fine olive oil is pressing the olives within 24 hours of picking. In California, some new varieties are being grown that can be mechanically picked with grape-harvesting equipment; these olives can reach the press within 90 minutes.
Olives that have traveled don't make the best-tasting oil, she said. Look for the source of the olives in the fine print on the label; it's required to be there. If you're buying an "Italian" olive oil made with Greek olives, you might want to think twice.
In Italy, extra virgin olive oils must be certified so by a professional taster, who will disqualify the oil for any defect. Tasters are looking for fruity, bitter and pungent characteristics; defects are described as fusty, musty, winey-vinegary, muddy, metallic or rancid flavors. The oil also is tested for acidity level. There are 41 such tasters in the world, but only one in California, she said.
Firenze believes that olive oil is on the same path to sophistication that wine has taken in the United States.
"When I was young," she said, "we just ordered red or white. Now everybody knows the varietal and style they want."
Similarly, olive oil is pressed from many different cultivars (plant types, analogous to wine varietals), each of which has different color, taste and intensity. It's a world of flavors to get to know.
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
