Staying healthy and eating healthy has definitely been a part of my New Year's Resolution, which I'm happy to say I've been accomplishing this year. I walked and completed a 10K. Have been cooking every weekend (Gasp!).
So I always love to check in with my favorite Canadian/French food writer and cook - Rosa Jackson. Rosa lives in Nice, France and I took a 5 day cooking course with her. I still love the recipes she had us whipping up.
Since 'olive oil' is a healthy cooking mantra, Rosa living in the heart of good olive oil country has some great tips on what you need to know about olive oil. When you go shopping for your next bottle - check out her tips below and you can read more on her blog.
Top 10
1. The term "extra virgin" doesn't guarantee good flavor, it's just a measure of acidity. Any oil with less than 0.8 percent acidity is considered extra virgin. Very good olive oils usually have around 0.4 percent acidity.
2. The term "first cold press" is no longer allowed on European labels, since all olive oils produced using modern methods are cold-pressed.
3. There was a time when "Italian olive oil" could be made with olives grown in Spain and pressed in Italy. This is no longer allowed, but producers have got around it by using the generic phrase "product of the EU" on their labels. The French brand Puget uses images of Provence (and the name of a real town) to sell oil made with "olives from the European community."
4. Even small, artisanal-looking olive producers in Italy (or France, for that matter) could be selling you Spanish oil. An example is the well-known Alziari brand in Nice, which after a television exposé last summer admitted to supplementing its locally grown olives with Spanish olives.
5. France's olive production is tiny compared to Italy's or Spain's, which is why it's so hard to find French olive oils outside France. Take advantage while in Provence of the opportunity to buy these oils, which are generally produced on a small scale. Wrap them well and don't forget to check them in when flying.
6. Despite the small production, France produces a surprising variety of olive oils depending on the type of olive used and its maturity. A good place to sample French oils in Paris is the shop Première Pression Provence. In Nice, visit the boutique Oliviera in the Old Town, where Nadim and Régine will introduce you to their hand-picked oils from all over Provence. Boutiques like these (unless you can visit a farm) are the best places to find fresh oils, since supermarkets will always sell off older oils first.
7. According to Jacqueline, a (non-organic) spray commonly used to treat the olive fly creates a scent similar to room freshener in the finished oil.
8. Avoid buying olive oils in clear glass bottles unless you know they have been stored away from light and you plan to use them quickly. Exposure to direct sunlight can quickly turn olive oil rancid, which is why I won't touch most of the oils displayed at outdoor markets.
9. To be sure of a French oil's origin, look for the label "AOP" (Appellation d'Origine Protégée).
10. Not all Italian olive oil is peppery and bitter like Tuscan oil. Liguria produces a delicate oil with the same type of olives found around Nice, known in Italy as "Taggiasca," and there are dozens of other regional oils to discover.
