CLEVELAND, Ohio — If you’re a serious foodie like me, you have several bottles of olive oil in your kitchen. A light bottle of oil for sautéing with a mild flavor, a medium oil for salad dressings and several strongly flavored bottles for drizzling over soups and salads, finishing pastas or just dipping fresh bread.
While the light and medium oils may be easy to find, how does one identify the best olive oil for finishing? Or gifting? Northeast Ohio has several passionate importers and retailers, two professional educators and a tasting bar to help source the best of the green gold.
By now most people know that “extra virgin” is mechanically extracted and unrefined. They may not know that the harvest date matters. And it does. To maximize flavor and health qualities, olive oil should be used before it’s two years old. A harvest date makes that calculation possible…