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HOW TO USE A MILD - SWEET OLIVE OIL FOR OUR DISHES.

April 20, 2020 Post by Anopaea Organic Estate

We all know that, as there are different varieties of vines that give monovarietal wines with distinct characteristics from each other, the same way there are different varieties of olive trees that give monovarietal olive oils with different characteristics from each other. It is also widely known that, as a wine fits better with a certain dish than another one, it is also the same with the olive oil that a monovarietal one fits better with a certain dish than another one of a different variety.

When we speak about a mild-sweet olive oil of a good quality production, we speak about an olive oil that has not any bitter elements when we taste it or has just only a few of them and that is because of the DNA of the variety. In that olive oil, we might recognize a few pungent elements, as a “burning” sensation mainly at the back of the throat and those elements are more prominent as the olive oil is fresh. One of the few Greek varieties that produce mild-sweet olive oils is the ancient Greek variety of the “MANAKI” olive trees.

Τhe use of olive oil for our dishes obeys some general rules, as the use of wine for our table. We will mention those rules for the use of a mild-sweet olive oil below (mainly as raw). But in any case, because cooking is mainly about experimenting and making our taste fantasies true, we should always have in mind that a) every rule has its own exception, b) the rules exist in order to reverse them, c) many times the result of that reversal is very interesting and can light up new taste paths, and finally d) taste is just a very personal matter.

As a first general rule: a mild-sweet olive oil is added into dishes where we want to promote the recognition of the tastes and the aromas of our main creation and not to dominate them by the taste and the aromas of the olive oil. In such a situation, we use the olive oil as a bond in between our different ingredients. As a second general rule: a mild-sweet olive oil is added into dishes where the ingredients of our main creation have by themselves intense taste or many bitter and spicy elements. In such a case, the addition of an olive oil with a lot of bitter and pungent elements would possibly result in a tasty imbalance. As a third general rule: with a mild-sweet olive oil we start the “induction” to the olive oil usage of babies and adults that have not any previous olive oil experience or culture. After that “induction”, they can progress to more “difficult”, bitter and pungent olive oil tastes. As a forth general rule: In pastry making, wherever we use the olive oil as a butter substitute (either for a healthy diet or for religious reasons or for medical reasons such as lactose intolerance or for a diet free of animal products or finally because simply the recipe demands olive oil) a mild-sweet olive oil will guarantee a safer final result as it will not dominate our creation, so again, we go back to the first general rule….

Now, a few examples of where to use a mild-sweet olive oil in our kitchen. In fresh salads with seasonal tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, the mild-sweet olive oil promotes the recognition of the characteristic tomato aromas and at the same time bonds the salad as a tight creation. For fresh or boiled greens, especially those with intense to bitter taste, such as rocket and boiled wild greens, contributes to a balanced final result. Its use with a spicy feta cheese or any other spicy cheese such as parmesan flakes in a rocket salad, allows the peppery elements of the cheese to dominate the dish. In very spicy sauces, the mild-sweet olive oil functions as a regulator of the final spicy result. For fish and seafood, allows the elegant fleshy tastes to become prominent.

Speaking about pastries, we will initially choose a mild-sweet olive oil for an olive oil cake for our breakfast, for cookies, biscuits and brownies, bitter creations with cocoa and dark chocolate in order not to use additional sweeteners, but also for our first attempt of an olive-oil ice-cream!!! Not to mention the traditional pastries of the eastern Mediterranean cooking such as almost every kind of halva and baklava-type pastries.

Of course, when we speak above about olive oil, we always speak about extra virgin olive oil and preferably about an organic one.

Finally, we should mention a few things concerning the monovarietal “MANAKI” olive oil, that we have already told you that it is one of the few Greek mild-sweet olive oils. Its color is golden green. It is one of the most fruity and aromatic Greek olive oils. The aroma of fresh olives is combined with herbal notes, breezy smell of freshly cut grass, green tomato and citrus flowers. Such an olive oil, mild-sweet, organic, extra virgin, monovarietal “MANAKI” olive oil, multi-awarded for its quality and taste, is our label “SACRUM DONUM”.

Author: Chris Kavalieratos, Doctor - Organic Olive Oil Producer - Certified Olive Oil Taster.

Copyright 2020, Anopaea Organic Estate – Chris Kavalieratos. You can use the whole article or a part of it by simply mentioning Anopaea Organic Estate and Chris Kavalieratos as the original author and by informing them via anopaea@hotmail.com email.

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