In this review, I’ll be taking a look at a bottle of Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s labeled as First Cold Pressed and has a Best By date of 11/11/10. This is what I generally call a ’store brand’ of Olive Oil. You’ll find Pompeian Olive Oil on most shelves of grocery stores. Now that’s not a bad thing, it just means they’re a larger company and producer than some of the other Olive Oil producers. I decided to do this review for those who would probably never go out of their way to order a truly Gourmet Olive Oil or look for a special store in their area carrying many types of Gourmet Olive Oil.
The first thing you notice about this oil is that it has a rich amber color. A little darker than some others. I might also say that this bottle of Pompeian Olive Oil was bottled in Spain, as I believe most of their oils are. You can find more information about the other types of oil the carry by visiting their website at http://www.pompeian.com.
Their website states that their oil carries the NAOOA seal. This particular bottle that I have doesn’t have that seal, but it may be an older bottle. The NAOOA is the North American Olive Oil Association. Their members are required to meet the International Olive Council (IOC) guidelines. The IOC is a quality setting and standards body for Olive Oil production. So you can see why it’s important for you Olive Oil to carry one of these seals. The only other seal that I look for is if I’m buying a California olive oil. Then I make sure the producer has a seal from the California Olive Oil Council (COOC). They have their own standards which exceeds that of the IOC.
This extra virgin olive oil has a very mild aroma about it. Certainly not as strong and nutty as the Star Special Reserve olive oil I reviewed a while back.
I first tasted the Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil just by itself. It has a very delightful taste. I’d call it a mild tasting oil, not too strong and not too light. For my taste, this is a good oil for Fish and other light tasting foods. It compliments those dishes very well. But that’s just me. For my salads and other green food, I like a more robust tasting olive oil.
Next I took some of the Pompeian Olive oil and mixed it with some Parmesan Cheese, just a tad of garlic, salt and pepper. Then I tried some plain wheat toast dipped into the mixture. Wow, what a great tasting treat from this mixture. The Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive oil really stood out and helped blend all the ingredients while not overpowering any of them.
Just for the record, I use plain wheat toast so there isn’t a chance of other ingredients throwing off the taste of the Olive Oil or other ingredients I use. Italian garlic bread is great dipped in this olive oil mixture, but the garlic and butter (if used) can overpower or flatten the taste of the Olive Oil.
The next day I used some of the oil on a fresh salad I made for lunch. I simply poured the oil direct from the bottle over the greens, used some Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. The day was pretty warm for this time of year so I sit out on the Patio to enjoy my lunch. The mild tasting oil made this salad very refreshing for the day. It complemented my organic salad very well, like it was meant to be there.
Is this the best Olive Oil I ever tasted..no. But being on off the shelf Olive Oil, I was really surprised at the taste and consitency in this oil. I’ll certainly be keeping it in stock in my Pantry. As with Wine, my taste varies from day to day and sometimes I like the Spanish olive oils when the mood strikes me. This is certainly a quality oil that can be used for many different recipes.
While I was viewing the Pompeian website, I saw other types of Olive Oil that they carried that I’ll be on the look out for. Some are really exciting and I can’t wait to try them. The next time you’re wanting to try something different and very affordable, look for the Pompeian Olive Oil on your grocers shelf. I think you may be pleasantly surprised!