Noooo... this is not an article about that spinach munching maniac Popeye and his skinny sweetheart Olive Oil (Oyl). I could have used a bit more strength from a can of spinach though, as I had to steel myself for the passions of the olive oil connoisseur crowd and what one of my friend calls the Olive Oil Snobbery.

Like most things associated with food in our increasingly decadent world, olive oil has not escaped the attentions of the gastronomic elite. There is almost as much pomp and circumstance surrounding olive oil and olive oil varieties as there is in the wine world. This passion for opinion over the best olive oil also lives at the grass roots level, where I have personally witnessed family feuds erupt over the simple expression of one's opinion for a particular olive oil brand. For the olive oil novice, all this seems just a little bit nutty! Well, of course it is completely bonkers, but then so are most things us humans do and olive oil is just another in a long list of things some of us spend too much time thinking about! Nonetheless, I am a curious fellow, so I decided to go straight to the source of genuine olive oil info. You may be thinking I am going to say that I sought out the world's most esteemed olive oil expert or perhaps a wise old man who has tended the olive groves of Italy for more than 80 years. You would be wrong on both counts. I instead went to the one true vessel of knowledge when it comes to olive oils and cooking, the Italian housewife. That's right, only the true Italian mother who has raised families and cooked an incalculable number of traditional Italian meals could possibly give me the lowdown on the best all-round olive oil to have in the home.

I poked and prodded a number of middle aged and senior Italian ladies with questions about the merits of a variety of boutique, exclusive olive oils, but time and time again the consistent brand that kept resonating was that of Moro Olive Oil. Sure sure, I know this sounds like some elaborate pitch for Moro olive oil, but in all honesty, I was expecting them to choose any number of high priced, sleek bottled products. In the end, I had to concede to their years of cooking wisdom that Moro and the other notable brand of Sasso Olive Oil stood head and shoulders above all the other fancy olive oils!

As described by the manufacturer, Moro Olive Oil is one of the purest olive oils on the market today. Their olives is apparently picked at the peak of ripeness and there is very little delay in processing the olive to ensure that the flavour and aroma are preserved in the bottle of olive oil.

All the marketing spin aside, the real world users of this oil provided some specific reasons why they think this oil outperforms many others. These are the opinions of the users I sampled and not scientifically tested results!

Moro Olive Oil Features:

Reduced odor during cooking

Reduced tendency for smoke during cooking

Nice, balanced taste that does not overwhelm the food

Does not tend to make the food unduly greasy

Attractive colour for presentation of food

I have grown to like olive oil in all my cooking as I feel it is a healthier alternative to other oils. It may take a little time to become accustomed to the richer taste of olive oil in your food, but if you sample a number of olive oil varieties and choose the one that suits your cooking style, then I think you too may make the switch to olive oil.

LifeSpike Rating

Discuss this article on the forums. (1 posts)