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What makes olive oil gourmet? Simple, taste and quality, both of which are usually synonymous in real gourmet olive oil. Getting away from the mass produced oils that are made with more modern methods and take all types of grades of olives is a start. Had selecting only the best olives takes time and cannot be done on a mass production scale or you will sacrifice quality.
That is why I recommend buying gourmet olive oil from small producers that make select batches with hand selected olives, grinding them into a mash with stones like it was done over two thousand years ago and then cold pressing the mash to give you extra virgin gourmet olive oil. You then have to take into account if you will be using a lot of oil or just a little, because the best oil does not keep its flavor for too long and should be used rather quickly. SO you need to decide whether or not you need a large container or just a small one to maximize the freshness.
To see the production of connoisseur level olive oil have a look at our page on the cold press process which deals with the production from harvesting the olives to grinding them into a mash and finally pressing them to obtain the oil. click her to see how cold pressed oil is made.
It is best to store your gourmet olive oil away from any heat or light. Storing it above the stove is not recommended because gourmet olive oil is very susceptible to heat and light, since the best tasting oil is unrefined so that it retains the original flavor. But because unrefined oil is so susceptible to heat it is not recommended for high temperature cooking, for high heat olive pommace oil is better. Also do not store it in the fridge as it will start to solidify. If this happens just place it in the kitchen and let it sit at room temperature and it will clear up and become less cloudy.
Gourmet olive oil is essentially the best tasting olive oil which is usually extra virgin and cold pressed. You can use it for cooking but be aware that you should not heat it to over 140 degrees Fahrenheit as the flavor will change. It also starts to burn at 280 Fahrenheit and when gourmet olive oil is overheated it can produce toxins.
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A great way to store your delicious oils would be to place them into an olive oil cruet. a cruet is a glass bottle that is mainly used for oil and vinegar on the dinning table. They come in various shapes and sizes. Some of them are a combination cruet that stores the vinegar in a separate glass container within the glass container housing the oil. All in all these things are a very nice touch to your gourmet kitchen or your dinning room and will be sure to start many a conversations. If you would like to find out more about cruets, please be sure to visit our page dedicated to the origins and many wonderful suppliers of cruets.
If you have an interesting story or recipe that would benefit other readers please let us know. Send in your recipes and with your permission we will post them here and share them with other avid olive lovers. If you feel really adventurous you can make a video of you preparing the meal and we will host it her for the world to see. Sometimes this is easier for people to follow along as you cook rather than read about it.
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