EVOO

Registration and entries are now open for the South West Olive Association’s fourth annual Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition. Judging will take place on or about 6 October, with a team of experienced judges assessing entries using the AOA 20-point olive oil sensory scoring system. An awards presentation dinner will be held at a time and date to be confirmed; details will be announced in Friday Olive Extracts at a later date. Cost of entries is $60 for SWOA members and $75 for non-members. Expressions of interest are due by 31 August and entries close on 17 September. For registration and entry forms, contact David Burt on 0407 192 474 or email [email protected]

Olives New Zealand has organised a training event entitled “Tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oils for Aspiring Judges”, being run to concide with the national EVOO Awards in September. An introductory course for people interested in judging or evaluating Extra Virgin Olive Oils, or people who just want to know more about tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oils, the event will be presented by Fernando Roman Martinez, head judge for 2012 New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards. A Doctor of Biological Science and specialist in oils and fats, Sr Martinez is also an internationally respected olive oil taster. The program will include sensory evaluation, IOC standards for defects and positive attributes, guided tastings of oils from various countries, and judging based on the IOC Mario Solinas Judging Criteria. The course will be held on Tuesday, 18 September at the Massey University Albany Campus, Auckland. Registrations close on 10 August. More information and registrations https://www.olivesnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Tasting-Extra-Virgin-Olive-Oils-for-Aspiring-Judges.pdf

Expert tasters can judge the quality of an olive oil just smelling it, and they are not afraid to drink it from the official, small blue glass. But when it comes to “normal people” there is no better way to enjoy a good extra virgin olive oil than using it in a tasty recipe.That is why Arsial (Lazio’s Regional Agency for Development and Innovation in Agriculture) and Uliveti del Lazio (Lazio’s olive oil producers association) asked a bunch of young, clever chefs to come up with their own interpretation of some of the best extra virgin olive oils from the region.

Entries are now open for the 13th Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil competition. Oils are judged by both regionality and fruitiness intensity, with additional categories for flavoured oils. Medals are awarded and winners also benefit from the display and sales of gold-medal winning oils at the annual LA County Fair. The 2012 competition introduces separate competitions for northern and southern hemisphere oils, ensuring all international EVOOs are judged at their freshest and best quality. Entry deadline for the southern hemisphere competition is July 6. More information https://www.fairplex.com/wos/olive_oil_competition/

Another extra virgin olive oil blended to woo young taste buds is being marketed by a Spanish producer.
Designed to be subtle in flavor but fruity and slightly sweet, the new product from Almería-based Castillo de Tabernas is 60% Picual, 20% Hojiblanca and 20% Arbequina and has a maxmimum acidity of 0.1%. The company says the blends were those preferred in taste tests with more than 2000 children and are designed to introduce them to EVOO’s health benefits from an early age. Perhaps we should be taking ‘Fresher is Better’ into Australian and New Zealand kindergartens – Ed.