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Very often, when it comes to tasting the extra virgin olive oil, most people feel (and we hope they always do) a slight tingling in their throat. One of the best characteristics of EVO oil but which unfortunately, sometimes due to personal taste and to misinformation, it is seen as having a defect, mistaking the oil for an impure or even a rancid product.
When extra virgin olive oil pinches the throat and brings bitter notes, these are actually a reflection of the pure quality of the oil itself and therefore synonymous with an olive oil product that boasts a great variety of qualities, both from a nutritional and organoleptic point of view.
But really, why does extra virgin olive oil tingle in the throat?
Let’s see together what we owe these magnificent sensations to and what they mean for an EVO oil.
In technical terms, if an olive oil stings in the throat it means that it is rich in polyphenols, particular substances that are very healthy for the human organism which, thanks to their presence, determine the level of stinging in the oil. A more or less balanced result of a mixture of two very important aromas when talking about EVO oil: spicy and bitter.
An high quality extra virgin olive oil should therefore inevitably provide, when tasted, these particular sensations of spiciness and bitterness, especially if we are talking about new oil and therefore unfiltered oil.
Therefore, be wary of those extra virgin olive oils that have a “bland” or “too delicate” smell and taste because they mean everything except quality and freshness. We need to purchase a quality culinary product, such as olive oil, in a conscious way, knowing that if you feel a tingling in your throat it is not synonymous with poor quality but rather, it is precisely what defines and confirms the quality that you are looking for.
Purchasing an EVO oil with full awareness and knowledge of the product also means realizing that, if at the moment of tasting it with the glass the tingle will be intense and hard to make disappear, when it is used in combination with some foods or for the preparation of particular recipes, the spicy sensation of the olive oil will be considerably calmed by the other ingredients.
Let’s mention for example mayonnaise, which has always been prepared with seed oil because “extra virgin oil is too strong!”, nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, the proteins of the egg and the lemon take away the bitter taste of the extra virgin olive oil, without however affecting its nutritional and healthy value in the slightest.
Do we want to mention another reason why inquiring about a certain product, such as olive oil, give the opportunity to the consumer to really make a conscious purchase?
We have noticed that in most cases the tingling of an EVO oil is automatically attributed to its presumed acidity. And here too we can say for sure that this is not the case!
The famous “acidity of the oil” is a very important evaluation parameter but which is not perceptible to human taste, as the fatty acids of olive oil, by chemical nature, are both odorless and tasteless.
It is therefore essential not to categorize an extra virgin olive oil that stings in the throat as an acidic oil, but instead learn to recognize the level of acidity by reading the label and consider the possible bitter and spicy notes of an olive oil as its greatest qualities.
If you are curious to taste some Bonamini oils that best recognize the qualities we have just talked about, here’s our TOP 3:
1. Santa Giustina extra virgin olive oil: produced with perfectly ripe fruits, to experience a sensation of freshness, with an aromatic and strong taste.
2. Vert De Vertes extra virgin olive oil: the only EVO oil produced with a selection of only green olives, with the fragrant aroma of leaves and fresh fruit and a balanced bitter-spicy flavour.
3. New/Unfiltered Oils: which we talk about in this article on our Bonamini Blog Filtered or Unfiltered Olive Oil: let’s make this clear!
