Olive Oil

The worldwide demand for extra virgin olive oil has led to some unscrupulous marketing. It recently came to light that producers in Italy were taking soybean, hazelnut, sunflower seed or canola oils (or a blend of these), adding coloring and flavoring ingredients and then selling them as extra virgin olive oil. The EU has set up olive oil taste-test panels to find the mislabeled oils, but batches certainly get through. So far, it seems that only oil labeled as extra virgin has been tampered with, so you are safe when purchasing less expensive pure olive oil for your general cooking. When purchasing extra virgin olive oil, however, your best bet is to start investing in these oils from California, and buy organic whenever possible. Studies have found pesticide, herbicide and insecticide residues in oil made from olives that were treated with those chemicals.

Sciabica sells a wonderful fresh pressed and unfiltered Fall 2007 Sevillano ($40/25.4 oz bottle; www.sciabica.com). Apollo Olive Oil sells a certified extra virgin and organic
Winter 2006/2007 Mistral Blend ($24.95/500 mL bottle; www.apollooliveoil.com), or choose Tehama Gold's Organic Manzanillo olive oil ($44/two 750 mL bottles; www.tehamagold.com)