Colleen Cruze and Lorenzo Caponetti; photos by Colleen Cruze of Cruze Dairy Farm
Special thanks to The Public House, Avanti Savoia, and UT's Organic Crop Production Program for sponsoring this great event! The olive oil tasting was held on Monday, 1.24.11 in conjunction with artisanal olive oil producer Lorenzo Caponetti's visit to Knoxville. Slow Food Knoxville member Mary Rogers helped with the olive harvest at Casa Caponetti, the family's 125 acre farm and agritourismo destination near Tuscania, Italy, last October after attending Terra Madre. Mary, a research associate for the UT Organic Crop Production Program, arranged for Lorenzo to speak about his farming experiences at UT's Ag campus and Culinary Institute.
The tasting was planned as a casual meet and greet with Lorenzo after his day of lecturing at UT. By pairing two olive oils from local gourmet food importer Avanti Savioa (one of the best-kept secrets in Knoxville) with Lorenzo's own extra virgin organic olive oil, our host Laura Sohn of the Public House and Mockingbird Events orchestrated a complex range of flavors for us to compare. The three oils were served in ramekins with a side of oil cured olives and bread, all on the Public House's signature wooden serving board. Well-selected wine pairings were available from the bar, fueling lively conversation among the attendees- many SFK regulars and also some new faces- all lovers of good food.
Lorenzo explained how to properly sample olive oil. To begin, cup the ramekin of oil in one hand for a while to gently warm it, cover it with your other hand and swirl. Then stick your nose in and explore the aromas. Tasting is the next step, similar to tasting wine. Take a sip and slurp the oil in the back of your throat. Look for subtleties in flavor- is it grassy, floral, spicy, bitter, buttery? Any number of factors can dictate flavor- the varietal of olive, conditions under which they are grown, handling of the olives, ripeness at the time of pressing. One quality that Lorenzo told us to be aware of is a stinging or astringent sensation at the back of the throat. Apparently this is from cancer-busting antioxidants and polyphenols in the oil and you will feel this only if you are tasting very fresh, extra virgin olive oil of high quality. We could sure feel it- so healthy it hurts (just a little)! Unlike other oils which are extracted from the nut or seed of the plant, olive oil is pressed from the flesh of the olive fruit and is really more like a juice, so the fresher it is, the more nutrients and flavor it will retain.
Knoxville was an early stop on Lorenzo's busy tour of the United States. Visiting culinary programs, Slow Food chapters, restaurants and more, his goal is to educate people about the benefits olive oil and the importance of preserving artisanal traditions and sustainable farming practices. He brought tins of his oil of various sizes for purchase and shared with us his vision of creating an internship program in organic farming and small-batch olive oil production at his farm in Italy. We are happy to have a new friend from the birthplace of the Slow Food Movement, and grateful to everyone involved for the fun, informative and delicious evening!
Visit this site to learn about the health benefits of olive oil.
Posts
