Spanish Olive Oil Tasting, and a Feast at Playa
What country do you think of when you think of olive oil? Italy? Greece? How many thought of Spain? Well, Spain is in fact the number one producer of olive oil in the world. It's not just the quantity, either. Apparently the winner of the latest international olive oil contest is an olive oil from Spain.
I had gone to a Spanish Olive Oil tasting last year, but it was so much fun that when they invited me again this year, I went. The tasting was led by Alfonso Fernandez, an olive oil expert from the LA trade commissioner of Spain
The formal tastings are done using this dark blue tasting glass, as they do not want to see the color while tasting. Perhaps they don't want to have any misconception based only on visual elements.
We tasted four of the main varietals from Spain: Arbequina, Hojiblanca, Cornicabra, and Picual. For each one, we determined whether the aroma is of ripe fruit or green fruit, and if there is any bitterness and astringency to the olive oil.
The arbequina smelled of ripe fruit (banana) and was sweet with no bitterness. There's a spiciness at the back palate as you swallow.
The Hojiblanca had a medium intensity in aroma and smelled of kiwi. There's bitterness and piquancy in this oil which is great for cooking.
The cornicabra smelled of ripe apple and bananas. It had some astringency but no bitterness and there's less spiciness which came deeper in the throat. This varietal is apparently only found in Spain.
The Picual was many people's favorite. The aroma is much more intense and smelled of green tomato. It was very bitter with some piquancy. It was much thicker. Everything about this olive oil was intense yet it was well balanced.
The tasting was followed a lavish meal prepared by Chef John Sedlar (all incorporating olive oil, naturally). Even though we knew it would be a four course tasting menu, little did we know that each course would consist of four dishes!
Before the courses started we also had a rather big "amuse bouche" in the form of Rivera's famous flan de elote with quinoa. I've had this dish a few times at various festivals and I still fall in love with it all over again, every time.
The first dishes we had were served with a blend of gewurtztraminer and riesling.
Papas salsa verde, serranos, micro cilantro
Picual, fried chiles gueros, crab. The picual varietal is good for dishes with bold flavors such as this.