While I agree that you have to be careful about olive oil you buy in a supermarket, I am somewhat wary about the UC Davis results. My wariness is a function of two sentences. One is on the front page of http://olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/ -- it says “Enhancing the quality and economic viability of California table olives and olive oil” (emphasis mine). The second one is in the report and it says “We are grateful to Corto Olive, California Olive Ranch, and the California Olive Oil Council for their financial support
of this research.”
Also, an observation. EVOO ages. If you really want the freshest tastiest yummiest EVOO you need to buy it around December, a month or two after the harvest (the bottle should have the harvest date on it). If you take the same EVOO and try it after a year has passed, it will be different, certainly by taste. Note that it’s still “true” EVOO—no heating or adulteration or anything. It’s just that time has passed.
To try real fresh EVOO buy a bottle of what’s called Olio Nuovo and make sure it’s not more than a couple of months after the harvest.
I am not sure about the calendar of California olive growers, but Italian olio nuovo is not available right now—this year’s harvest will arrive in late November or December. Look for it e.g. here or here.
While I agree that you have to be careful about olive oil you buy in a supermarket, I am somewhat wary about the UC Davis results. My wariness is a function of two sentences. One is on the front page of http://olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/ -- it says “Enhancing the quality and economic viability of California table olives and olive oil” (emphasis mine). The second one is in the report and it says “We are grateful to Corto Olive, California Olive Ranch, and the California Olive Oil Council for their financial support of this research.”
Also, an observation. EVOO ages. If you really want the freshest tastiest yummiest EVOO you need to buy it around December, a month or two after the harvest (the bottle should have the harvest date on it). If you take the same EVOO and try it after a year has passed, it will be different, certainly by taste. Note that it’s still “true” EVOO—no heating or adulteration or anything. It’s just that time has passed.
To try real fresh EVOO buy a bottle of what’s called Olio Nuovo and make sure it’s not more than a couple of months after the harvest.
This is now on my to do list.
I am not sure about the calendar of California olive growers, but Italian olio nuovo is not available right now—this year’s harvest will arrive in late November or December. Look for it e.g. here or here.