News from il Fustino oils & vinegars

In This Issue

Recipes

Events

Question
How long does olive oil last?

Answer
A good extra virgin olive oil, because of its low oleic acid levels, will last up to 18 months if stored properly. Remember: dark glass bottles, tightly capped, away from heat sources.

Quick Links

January 2011 Newsletter

Greetings!

We want to start the first Newsletter of 2011 by expressing our deepest and sincerest gratitude for your support over this last year. Your dedication to our locally owned and managed business has warmed our hearts. We thank you and will continue to work our hardest to earn your continued patronage.

The management and staff of il Fustino

We're including the following article written by Alexandra Kicenik Devarenne for Olive Oil Times (Yes, there is a magazine dedicated to the topic of olive oil!) At first we were thinking to include a paragraph or two, but the article is so compelling and interesting we didn't want to deprive you of a single word. It is well worth your time. You will begin the article an olive oil virgin and exit an adventuresome expert!!

Damn the crocodiles-full speed ahead!

By Alexandra Kicenik Devarenne
Olive Oil Times Contributor | Reporting from Sonoma County, California

The joy of olive oil lies in its many delightful aromas and flavors-from voluptuous ripe olive to bright green grassy notes and from a soft subtle finish to a zippy peppery kick-there is a world of sensory exploration awaiting the adventurer. But like any great explorer, you will be faced with risks-crocodiles in those placid waters. This is an introduction to the most common defects you will find in olive oil: what they are called, what causes them, and how to recognize their presence.

Any discussion of defects must start with rancidity. The sad truth is that most people in the US, for example, are accustomed to the flavor of rancid olive oil. Olive oil is no longer an occasional presence in the kitchen so it is time to change that. We need to start by recognizing one essential fact about olive oil: it is a perishable product. Olive oil tastes best when it is fresh. Think of olive oil on a freshness continuum that goes from just-made, harvest-fresh at one end, to completely rancid at the other. How long it takes an olive oil to go from one end of this freshness continuum to the other depends on many factors: storage temperature, exposure to air and light, and the amount of natural antioxidants in the olive oil in the first place. All olive oils, even the finest ones, will get rancid eventually. This is why you must never hoard olive oil: use it and enjoy it. Waiting for a special occasion to use your good olive oil? How about dinner!

Do you have a clear sense of what rancid oil smells and tastes like? A good image for many people is the smell of crayons. Another helpful item-something that almost everyone has tasted-is rancid nuts. Rancid is fat gone bad, something all of us have encountered at some time. On a rancid scale of 0 to 10, almost everyone will notice a 9 or a 10. The trick is to develop the confidence to pick out rancidity when it is a 5, or a 3, or lower. The flavor of rancidity in olive oil is usually accompanied by a greasy mouthfeel; in fact, the greasiness often is noticeable first.

Go to your cupboard and pull out the olive oil. Sniff it. Taste it. Crayons? Putty? Old peanuts? Don't feel bad about throwing out old olive oil, feel good about it! Don't be surprised if the purge of your pantry includes not just old olive oil but things like old whole-wheat flour (which gets rancid because of the oils in the wheat germ), crackers and cereals.

A general rule of thumb is that olive oil is best consumed within a year. Most oils, if unopened and stored in a cool dark place, will still be good for up to two years, but they steadily lose the fresh fruitiness that you want in olive oil. Greener harvest, robust olive oils will keep better than delicate ripe ones because of the higher content of compounds called polyphenols in greener oils. You can recognize the presence of these polyphenols because they contribute pepperiness and bitterness to the flavor of an oil. If an oil is delicate and soft, made from ripe olives, then you will want to use it quickly, within six months or a year at the most.

The second most common defect of olive oil is called "fusty." It is caused by fermentation in the absence of oxygen; this occurs within the olives before they are milled. This is why it is so important for olives to be processed into oil within as short a time as possible after harvest. Olives left to sit in bags or piles for even a few days will produce fusty olive oil.

And what does fusty smell and taste like? Unfortunately, the answer for a lot of people is "olive oil." For many people, both in the US and abroad, fusty flavors in olive oil are the norm. When I was training for an olive oil taste panel, I remember vividly the day I poured my usual supposedly extra virgin olive oil into a warm skillet and was enveloped by the smell of fustiness. I threw out that bottle and never looked back. Now I know that good olive oil smells like fresh green or ripe olives, and that the smell I always associated with olive oil was in fact the smell of fermented olives. It's difficult to come up with a single descriptor for the fusty smell, but here are some things that might help: sweaty socks, swampy vegetation, or too-wet compost heap. A good way to taste an example of the fusty defect involves table olives. Look through a batch of Kalamata-style olives and see if you can find any that are not purple or maroon-black and firm, but instead are brown and mushy. Eat one. THAT is the flavor of fusty.

Rancid and fusty are by far the most common defects of olive oil. Occasionally you may run into a winey-vinegary defect. That is caused by fermentation with oxygen, and can be reminiscent of vinegar or nail polish. Another defect that crops up once in a while is musty. Caused by moldy olives, it tastes of dusty, musty old clothes, or the basement floor.

How does a shopper put their knowledge of this chamber of horrors to use? Olive oil shopping is a topic for another article, but here are a few things to do right away. Start with freshness. Try local producers if you are lucky enough to live in an area where olive oil is made. Learn as much as you can about the grower.

Whenever possible, taste before you buy. And if you open a bottle and find that it's rancid, return it. An ethical producer will do everything they can to get a quality product to you, but they lose control once the bottle is out there in the distribution chain. Buy from people you trust. By paying more attention to the flavors of olive oil, and experimenting in your kitchen and at the table, you will discover the amazing diversity of this wonderful food. Let knowledge and experience embolden you; damn the crocodiles-full speed ahead!

New Products

Put up your Dukkahs:
New Mediterranean Dukkah from Santa Barbara Seasoning

When we first opened, we were carrying an extremely popular dukkah from South Aftrica. Recently we were notified by the supplier that they were no longer able to profitably import this product. So we began a long and somewhat disappointing search for a replacement.

Recently we contacted Rudy Costillo of Santa Barbara Seasoning, who supplies us with his excellent spices and rubs, to see if he was up for the challenge of developing a dukkah that would rival the original. Rudy and Jim worked together for weeks, developing several different variations until they settled on this one. We think, and so far our customers agree, that this is even better than the original. Made with toasted organic sesame seeds and almonds and blended with an artful array of spices and herbs, just a touch of Tubinado Sugar and Cayanne pepper, it has just the right level of smokiness, sweetness and heat.

Traditionally eaten by dipping bread into olive oil then into the dukkah, the word "dukkah" means "snack" in Afrikaans. It is also wonderful as a crust for baked fish (layer a 1/2" filet with dukkah, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes), a coating for baked chicken or pork chops, to roll over a soft cheese, or sprinkle liberally over rice or salads.

If you haven't tried it, you are definitely missing out on one of life's little pleasures.

Cooking Classes - All New for 2011

Nothing equals the learning experience of a real cooking class. In class you have the opportunity to use your five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. You have the opportunity to interact with the instructor and ask questions to help you better understand the concepts and techniques. You learn new dishes, make new friends, and take home new skills and ideas to make cooking at home and entertaining more enjoyable. In addition to all of these practical reasons, the most important reason of all is its fun!

January 13, 2011 Aparna image

Healthy Indian
Mistress of Spice - Aparna Khanolkar

Exploring the World of Spice
Ayurvedic Lifestyle and Culinary Coach: The Mistress of Spice - Aparna Khanolkar will be at il Fustino preparing dishes that are both tasty and healthy.

On the Menu:

Making a simple spice blend and learning about medicinal benefits of spices and how to store spices
Preparing a mixed vegetable dish using the spice blend
Raitha (a yogurt and cucumber side dish)
Peas Pulao using whole spices

Before relocating to Santa Barbara, Aparma was the main chef at the Chopra Center for Well-Being in Carlsbad, Ca. and catered for their Perfect Health, Soul of Healing and Yoga retreats. She also taught Ayurvedic cooking classes and worked as a part-time chef at the prestigious Chopra Center for Living in Rancho Santa Fe.

Sign up here (only 3 slots left)

February 3, 2011 Julia Child image