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Essential oils

The rise of California's estate olive oils has cooks learning what the world has long known: the oil can be as varied and sophisticated as wine.

By GUI ALINAT
Published February 23, 2005

	[Times photo: Bob Croslin]
	Essential oils The rise of California's estate olive oils has cooks learning what the world has long known: the oil can be as varied and sophisticated as wine. A taste of the sublime and the olive drab If you think all olive oil is created equal, a tasting party will change your mind. Q & A: Olive oil

When did olive oil become like wine, with its taste and aroma compared to freshly cut grass, green bananas or even truffles? Can an oil really mimic the smells of wild flowers or taste of vanilla?

Move over, wine snobs and get ready for the olive oil aficionados.

Truth is, the similarities between wine and olive oil are as ancient as the fruits they come from. But tastings at Williams-Sonoma and other food specialty stores, and dipping plates of oil and herbs at new school Italian eateries such as Carrabba's and Macaroni Grill, have elevated the profile of olive oil.

We've known for years that olive oil is heart healthy. Now it's gotten another boost by the new federal dietary guidelines that put more emphasis on vegetable oil as part of a healthy diet. We have grown accustomed to paying more for olive oil than generic vegetable oil and not everyone will be shocked at the $45 price tag on a liter of French Nicholas Alziari from www.zingermans.com Our tasters tell you it's worth it, Page XE.

Beyond the trends and diet concerns, though, olive oil is as legendary and interesting as wine.

The olive tree needs hills, sun and occasional showers, mild winters and long, warm summers. This is why ancient civilizations tended groves on the land that skirted the Mediterranean. Countries such as Italy, Spain, France, Greece and also Tunisia, Syria and Turkey, have based their mythology, culture, gastronomy and society around wheat, wine and olive oil.

In early America, Christian missionaries migrating West found a land resembling the Mediterranean basin, a land where the olive culture would work just fine: California.

In the modern olive oil world, Spain and Italy are giants. These two countries alone produce 55 percent of the worldwide production. This large production, coupled with successive waves of immigrants from Italy to the United States, built the reputation of the Italian and Spanish olive oils. And, yes, they are good oils, too. Some are even fantastic.

Olive oil came to California in fits and starts. Franciscan missionaries started planting olive trees in the 1800s for survival. Some of those trees are producing today.

New wave California growers have joined the U.S. food and wine revolution. Italian immigrants, famous wineries and retired Wall Street brokers have jumped on the bandwagon. Ancient olive groves have been rejuvenated. New trees are being planted.

U.S. olive oil producers have come a long way since the 1980s, when mainstream consumers were just learning how to use olive oil.

U.S. olive farmers are now trying to reproduce the Napa Valley winemaking success story. Wineries such as B.R. Cohn and Silverado are bottling olive oil to great acclaim.

The new producers have imported Old World techniques and know-how, and applied New World creativity and business sense. Some growers crush citrus with olives, or infuse jalapenos, adding a new edge. Sophisticated bottles and savvy designs please the eye before the palate. But mainly, California just produces extraordinary extra-virgin olive oil.

Where I grew up in Provence, the olive production is tiny, because most groves were decimated by a freeze in the 1960s. The sporadic groves that survived have been slowly taken care of, mainly by family-owned mills or farms. In terms of quality, tiny can be good. Locals microproduce olive oil for their own consumption, and sometimes sell what's left.

Monsieur Bellon, for example, an elderly Provencal man with a big heart and a thick accent, owns one of the best olive oil estates in Provence. He inherited the mill from his father, who got it from his father. The olives are harvested by hand, cold-pressed on site, and the oil is bottled and sold to visitors on the property.

Bellon, who couldn't care less about winning awards or mass production, is the epitome of the notion of estate olive oil.

When the concept of geographic production is unimportant we call the product generic olive oil. A single bottle is filled with oils from different regions, sometimes even different countries.

Generic olive oils are mass-produced and quantity is sometimes more important than quality. The idea is to provide consumers with an acceptable olive oil at an affordable price. Virtually all supermarket olive oils are generic, and indeed they find great uses in our everyday cooking.

What gourmets are looking for is the dark side of the moon, if you will, the side that nobody sees. Olive estates make for a tiny portion of the world's olive oil. In Tuscany or Sicily, in the hills of Provence or Andalucia, and in other Mediterranean countries, thousands of artisans craft olive oil. In California, close to 400 growers produce an oil of exceptional quality. We have yet to see their bottles in our supermarkets.

Along with craftsmanship and the notion of terroir, the type of olives is important. (Terroir is a French term describing how weather, land and water affect the food grown in a specific place.) They bear such names as: kalamata, Nicoise, picholine, arbequina, Mission or Manzanillo.

We have become accustomed to wine varietals: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, zinfandel and so on. Just like wine, each olive oil reflects the character of the olives used. Monsieur Bellon, for instance, uses a blend of four regional olive varietals to craft his oil: the aniselike salonenque, the ardent beruguette, verdale for color and grossane for softness.

In Italy, the pungent varietal frantoio has been producing wonders for centuries, and given Tuscan oil its nobility. In Spain, arbequina, Manzanillo and Sevillano rule. California is mainly planted with Spanish and Tuscan varietals, successively imported by missionaries and Italian immigrants, along with the native Mission. But growers mainly use what they have on hand within their estate, a blend of several regional varieties. Sometimes, though, they release a special reserve made of only one varietal, refered to as monovarietal.

The interesting diversity of character in olive oils enhances and complements food wonderfully.

Great olive oils make a positive impact on food. But what type you use depends how much money you want to spend. With a retail price from $18 to $50 per half liter, estate olive oils aren't cheap. In comparison, generic olive oils have a more attractive price. Expect to pay from $9 to $20 for the same bottle.

I recommend you choose two extra-virgin olive oils: a less expensive, generic oil to cook with, and the best estate-grown oil your money can buy for salad dressing, drizzling and special occasions.

To select your best cooking oil, conduct a taste test. Buy several small bottles of extra-virgin olive oil. Taste the oils by small sips from a spoon. It will be clear which one you like best. This will be your cooking oil. Use it to fry eggs in the morning, saute vegetables or sear tuna steaks. You will benefit from cooking with olive oil on a daily basis without going broke.

Choosing your favorite estate olive oil will be a slightly harder task, yet worthwhile. The finest olive oils are so good they can be enjoyed by the teaspoon. (See accompanying story on where to buy and how evaluate estate olive oils.)

The price will tell you that gold is in the bottle. Again, cooking with an expensive oil is just fine, as long as you can afford it.

- Food editor Janet K. Keeler contributed to this report.

Chef Gui Alinat, a native of Provence, France, is a personal chef based in Dunedin. He writes Chef's Table, a monthly column in Taste, and can be contacted at chefgui@chefgui.com

[Last modified February 22, 2005, 09:56:04]