Labels

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Great new Olive oil...

Belasco Extra Virgin Olive Oil....$23.99 / 500ml
Bottled Unfiltered
(currently only at Forsyth)
It is always nice to find a high quality product when you did not even know you were looking for it. We discovered this Olive Oil at a wine tasting with an importer. This olive oil is produced from olive groves that are a thousand years old in the Navarra region of Spain. The key to good olive oil is the low acidity. In fact it is the acidity level that is used to grade good olive oil from Extra Virgin to Virgin. Belasco has an acidity level of lest than .1%** This oil has a great floral nose and is perfect on salads or just dip your favorite bread in it!


**Acidity
Belasco has less than .1% acidity
One measure of quality in Olive Oil is acidity (free acidity, expressed as the proportion of oelic acid). The International Olive Oil Council, for example, requires a level of no more than .8% of oelic acid to carry the “Extra Virgin” designation. Oils with the “Virgin” designation cannot have more than 2% of oleic acid, and the list goes on, with other grades of quality.
Belasco’s max acidity of 0.1% is a fraction of the legal limit (.8%), and among the lowest levels one will find on the market (Lucini (Italy), for example has level of 0.2-0.4%, Goya (Spain) has a max of 0.4%). The levels in widely available, commercial brands tend to be much higher.

No comments: