Oil Blending Experience With Zucchi

The North End.  A little touristy?  In some spots, sure.  Still filled with some residents who are colorful characters?  Yes.  Still a place to go to find Italian-American culture.  No question.  So, when we were recently invited there to attend an olive oil blending class by Zucchi we could not resist. 

We had certainly sampled olive oils at events before and compared tasting notes and discussed flavor.  This was a little more in-depth, however.

The brand brought along several of their master olive oil tasters, people who sometimes taste hundreds of oils each week to ascertain quality and flavor for their blends.  They use primarily Spanish and Italian Oils. 

We were guided through a tasting of four selected oils and talked a lot about flavor and how it actually takes place on the tongue.  When one participant said that she thought an oil tasted acidic we all learned something new from the experts:  one cannot actually taste acidity.  We can detect bitter or sour tastes either of which we often describe as acidic. 

After all of the oils were tasted we were given a scientific beaker to mix our own unique blends together and bottle them.  I noticed that my blend was quite the opposite of what most went with.  I strayed away from the bolder, more peppery tasting notes and went with a much more subtle blend with a distinct fruitiness I felt just tasted more fresh.  Leaving out the bolder oils meant that my bottle would not be full all the way.  I didn't care.

We were even given labels to place on our blends which is pretty cool when friends stop by and notice it in your kitchen.

 

 

After the blending class we all enjoyed lunch at Mama Maria's, our host restaurant, and socializing but more on that in our next post.  This was an absolutely great experience and very informative.  Olive oil is a pantry product found in virtually every one of our kitchens so it was great to learn more about this cooking staple.

 



This event was an informational media event provided courtesy of Zucchi Olive Oils with no editorial promise or consideration.