Food & Fun > Tastes

Reappraising the color of oil. Why hide it while tasting oils?

The question is clearly provocative, but it paves the way to a possible revision of the established practices in organoleptic evaluation of extra virgin olive oils. Does it really make sense neglect the sense of sight?

by Luigi Caricato
http://www.luigicaricato.net

Why not to give dignity back to the sight? Why is it put in the background? Is it correct? The visual approach does not justify the assessment of the quality of an extra virgin, but it still counts. The consumer also chooses because of colors.

Does it make sense maintaining the use of the amber tulip glass, so that the taster cannot see the color and aspect of the oil? Nowadays, it is also true that the sensorial judge knows the oil much better than in the past, which means that the color and transparency would not affect the judgment anymore. Or maybe not?

We asked if it is worth reappraising the sense of sight to professional tasters, who are not influenced by common places or strict judgments.
And what do you readers think of this? Do you have ideas or suggestions?

MARCELLO SCOCCIA

The premise is that the professional taster should not be psychologically influenced, and his objective should remain objective, no matter how the oil and its color look. The official method has imposed the use of dark glasses just to avoid any type of bias due to the color.
Now, the color certainly affects the choice of consumers very much, and many identify the quality of the oil following wrong prejudices that identify the quality of an oil from the tone of its color; in some areas, an intense green, in others a golden yellow. But this issue is related exclusively to the choices of the consumers. For a professional taster, color and aspect does not affect the judgment.

Marcello Scoccia
Chief Panel, vicepresident Onaoo, Imperia



FRANCA CAMURATI

I believe that the use of the dark glass is still reasonable, especially because there is no scientific method to assess an acceptable range of the color of the oil.
Within the International Olive Council, we have tried to normalize a visual, non instrumental, evaluation of the color, but we have not reached any satisfying conclusion.
As regards the impact of the color in the judgment of the consumer, it is “dangerous” to let establish any relation between the color and quality of oils, since the conservation conditions (prolonged exposition to the light, temperature) deeply influence the color because of oxidative processes.

Franca Camurati
Chief Panel Experimental Station Oils and Fats, Milan, until 2006 and expert of the International Olive Council



LORENZO CERRETANI

The main goal of the introduction of a well structured method that eliminated the visual element from the evaluation was to prevent the tasters to be influenced by the appearances.
I personally think that the use of the dark glass to mask the color is correct and useful, especially during the training of tasters; at the same time, the professional taster is able to avoid such an influence.
I am also persuaded that the sensorial judgment expressed by a panelist should not depend on the color of oil, since it is well known that the sight has a synesthetic effect on the smell and taste perceptions. This effect can be avoided using lights able to “mask” the color of the product which is under exam.
At the same time, I agree that the visual aspect should not be neglected, given the importance that the consumer gives when evaluating a product. Still, this point deserves a deep discussion. Before “readmitting a sense”, it should be imperative to understand the parameters to take into account for the judgment.
As regards the visual parameters, the analysis by the colorimeter and the turbidimetry (both analytical instruments) is clearly faster and less expensive, and therefore I believe unnecessary to involve the judges, which may cause an “interference” in the other evaluations.

Lorenzo Cerretani
Chief Panel of the Department of Food Science at University of Bologna



BARBARA ALFEI

In an official panel test the visual phase can be neglected. Color and clearness are not correlated to the quality of the product. The official glass, blue or ochre, anyway dark, is alright, although I think that a good, expert and well trained taster should be able to evaluate an oil objectively, without being affected by the aspect, concentrating only on the smells and tastes in his judgment of the positives and negatives of a product.
I propose the transparent, cup-shaped glass, to characterize oils. The color is not related to quality, but is indisputably interesting to characterize the typicalness.

Barbara Alfei
Chief Panel Assam Marche



LUCIANO DI GIOVACCHINO

Even if the taster will not be influenced, it is better that he has no idea of the color. Probably, some consumers are oriented to choose the oil in function of the color, but this would mean using transparent bottles, which would be a serious mistakes, because the light is responsible for the photo-oxidation of the oil, which is a far faster process then the self-oxidation due to air, about one hundred times faster. This would mean damaging the product, with a tangible damage for the consumers, too.

Luciano Di Giovacchino
Former researcher with the Cra-Ise, Pescara



GIORGIO SORCINELLI

I personally reckon that the hypothesis of taking the color into consideration could be viable, even though the expert tasters could be marginally influenced by it. Can I say that I would be influenced by the fact that I do not like very yellow, or yellow-brown, or dark emerald green oils? I am sure I would not, even though chromatic variations could be representative of abnormalities.

Giorgio Sorcinelli
Chief Panel Olea



DANIELA CAPOGNA

The visual aspect certainly affects the consumers’ choices, so that it is an important parameterof the overall sensorial analysis, but it is a very subjective parameter too, not necessarily related to the quality of an oil. In opinion, it could make sense add an objective description of the color, in addition to the parameters evaluated by the sensorial analysis, judging the color separately from the smell/taste features. The taster is human, with personal preferences, and he could be influenced. I would maintain the dark glass, and then separately evaluate the color. This would allow the consumer to access all the necessary information, color included, before buying a product.

Daniela Capogna Food technologist


LUCIANO SCARSELLI

My experiences has been that my tasters, albeit well trained, have expressed their opinions on the colors, obviously not during the analysis. The objectiveness of the sensorial analysis (Coi method) could therefore be affected. In terms of valorization of the product, I would carry out an analysis “in the darkness”, and then an evaluation of the color, separately, in a transparent glass. It is of course necessary to define the relationship between the color and quality, the intensity, the perception of mature of green olive, and the time between the harvest and the tasting. Thus, a more complete judgment could be formulated, taking into consideration the valorization and definition of typicalness, although the modern presses make this thing harder.

Luciano Scarselli
President Ascoe, Pisa



PAOLA FIORAVANTI

I personally disagree on the introduction of this parameter to assess the quality of the virgin oil. Often, a green oil corresponds to an old and mature fruit or vice versa. Therefore, the color could induce in error and, since we have always said that the bottle for the commercialization must be dark, I do not see how this can go together with the visualization of the color.
It looks to me like there is advancement towards dealing with the sensorial analysis of oils like it is done with wines. I know both, and I reckon that the differences between the two products are relevant: the oil is integrant part of a dish, the wine is a drink that makes us feel good and also attracts us with its brilliant colors, which are typical of a vineyard and of the methods of vinification. Last, I can eat without drinking wine, or drinking wine without eating (meditation wine), but I cannot do the same with the extra virgin olive oil.

Paola Fioravanti
President Umao, Roma

by Luigi Caricato
http://www.luigicaricato.net
07 December 2009 Teatro Naturale International n. 11 Year 1

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