When was the last time you did a taste test with olive oil? You haven’t? Really? Well, to be honest with you I hadn’t either until Carapelli Olive Oil sent me an Olive Oil tasting kit, complete with three Carapelli Olive Oil flavors… Premium 100% Italian, II Numerato and Organic Olive Oil.

The kit included instructions on how to conduct a proper Olive Oil Tasting. Apparently when you taste olive oil, you’ll find the most success when you utilize the four S’s… Swirl, Sniff, Slurp and Swallow. Sounds quite lady like, doesn’t it?

Putting my manners aside, I went on to taste testing the Carapelli Olive Oil. What I discovered was:

• The Organic oil went down smooth with a really light peppery undertone
• The Numerato was mild and smooth… reminded me of an oil based salad dressing. It didn’t have a lot of oomph to it, but was good.
• The regular Extra Virgin olive oil was the most robust of them all. I loved the peppery tones and the crisp flavor.

In order, I enjoyed the Extra Virgin Oil the best, Organic second and Numerato third. All in all, each olive oil had a quality, rich flavor. Try Carapelli Olive Oil yourself and discover which one is your favorite. Enjoy this $1.00 OFF coupon at www.CarapelliUSA.com.

If you aren’t into slurping olive oil, another way we enjoy the pure and smooth taste of olive oil is by dipping Foccacia Bread into it.  This is our favorite recipe for Foccacia, made especially delicious with a side of Carapelli Olive Oil.

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Foccacia Bread

• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons Carapelli Olive Oil
• Toppings of your choice (we like a simple Kosher salt / Cracked black pepper topping)

1. In large bowl, stir together flour, salt, sugar, yeast, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper.
2. Mix in vegetable oil and water.
3. When dough has pulled together, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat with oil.
5. Cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm place 25 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
7. Punch dough down, place on greased baking sheet.
8. Pat dough into 1/2-inch thick rectangle (doesn’t have to be perfect).
9. Using your knuckle, make indentations in the dough about 1/2-inch apart, then prick dough with fork.
10. Brush top with olive oil, then sprinkle with your choice of toppings.
11. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.

The post Carapelli Olive Oil Tasting {Recipe: Simple Focaccia Bread} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I wasn’t aware of the fact that a simple bottle of Greek artisan olive oil could be so different than what we’ve been using on a regular basis in the past. I was happy with the olive oil we used, until now. Now that I’ve tasted the various varieties of Olive Oil from Alejandro and Martin, we won’t be turning back. The color is natural, rubbing it between my fingers it lacks the “heavy” feel of my other olive oil and the flavor is just as intense as they profiled it to be. In this instance, the flavor of the Greek fragrant and fruity olive oil is just that… fragrant and fruity, with a very pleasant crispness.

I decided to test the Greek Olive Oil a few ways. First off I decided to take a little shot of olive oil to let the flavors marinate my taste buds. I was expecting it to feel like taking a shot of Crisco, but it was suprisingly pleasant. In fact, I can imagine that in a few years Olive Oil tastings will be a hip and trendy thing to do, as are wine tastings today. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to swallow the olive oil or if I should spit it out. I decided to swallow it and had an altogether different flavor experience as it hit the back of my throat…touching on the slightly peppery side.

The next avenue for tasting was as a dipping oil for a fresh baguette. I typically mix my olive oli with dipping spices, but the flavor of this oil stands up to the fresh baguette perfectly on its own.

I had big plans to use this Greek Olive oil in a recipe from the Alenjando and Martin website. The recipe is for Marsala Wine Baby Cakes. However, if you remember back to my deviant menu planning on Monday when I was supposed to make Chicken Marsala, the Marsala Wine that I swear we had, has disappeared. I plan on picking up a bottle the next time I’m at our local wine shoppe… until then I’ll just have to enjoy this wonderful Olive Oil as is.

Was Food and Wine Magazine right in saying that Greek Olive Oil is a must taste in 2007? I do believe so. This is one taste I’m glad to have had the opportunity to experience.

One month ago today, I dished about Getting Spicy With Hubby

Over at our family blog, I dished about the To Be Read Challenge 

The post Food & Wine Magazine 100 Tastes to Try in 2007 – Taste #4 Greek Olive Oil appeared first on Dine and Dish.