O Olive Oil: a taste test and review

I am so excited to have been chosen by erecipecards.com as one of the food bloggers in a first-of-its-kind challenge. I will be writing two posts; this one about O Olive Oil and the taste test that I forced upon my unwitting family and another one featuring a recipe that I created using not only an O Olive Oil, but also their White Balsamic Vinegar. In this challenge, I will be judged on my writing and photography skills (Oy!) as well as the quality of the recipe. One third of the judging score will come from a select panel of experts, another third will come from the folks at O Olive Oil and the last third will come from you, the readers (I will tell you how you can help me out at the end of this post).

Do you know about O Olive Oil in the beautiful tall glass bottles? Have you “liked” them on Facebook? They are a California based company of artisans that produce some of the most amazing olive oil. Using a unique process learned in Italy, it involves crushing hand picked Mission olives along with citrus such as Meyer lemons, Blood oranges, limes, clementines or grapefruits. By crushing the entire fruits together, they create olive oil that is fully flavored. I was able to try their newest creation, Roasted Garlic Olive Oil which is made with real slow roasted garlic swirled with olive oil in small batches.

Did I mention that I also was given a bottle of their White Balsamic vinegar? O started making balsamic vinegars because the imported vinegars were in violation of California’s Proposition 65 which protects consumers against lead and other harmful (read toxic) chemicals. O's balsamics test at levels 30 times lower than the safe levels established by the state of California. I love hearing about companies who are actually interested in protecting the health of the consumer. And you should taste it! I could easily pour it into a tiny aperitif glass and drink it straight.

To add a little culinary culture into my teenage sons' lives, I decided to include them in a little taste test adventure. I poured O Olive Oil and two other leading brands of olive oil into three little bowls. Then I cut up some French bread into large cubes. I did not tell my family which oil I thought would win. In fact, I let them have at it with their usual gusto. Across the board, they all chose the O Roasted Garlic oil as their favorite. I caught my oldest son popping the cork of the bottle a few times afterward, simply to inhale the heady garlic aroma.

Both the Roasted Garlic Olive Oil and the White Balsamic Vinegar could each stand alone as dressings on salad, vegetables or grilled meat. The flavors were bold without being overpowering. You can taste the quality in each product. You can trust that you are serving pure ingredients.

Through the end of the year, you can get 20% off any orders at ooliveoil.com by using the promo code e-recipecards when you check out.  Orders over $60 (after discount) qualify for free shipping.

Now for your part.  One-third of this contest is popularity.  Over at erecipecards.com, each member has a personal recipe box.  The contestant that has their recipe in the most boxes is the most popular, ergo, the winner of that portion of the contest.   If you have not signed up yet at erecipecards, here is the link to the tour page.  It is quite user friendly and there is NO NEED FOR YOU TO HAVE A BLOG.  You can get to my recipe HERE (after I post it, that is).  That's where my original recipe featuring O Olive Oil and Vinegar will be. 

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