Taste

A gold-worthy, low-acidity oil

At an oil tasting session during the 2016 Olio Officina Festival, we were very favourably impressed by Sagra Oro, a low-acidity extra virgin olive oil. This sapid, harmonious and very palatable oil is extremely versatile, has all the bearings of a great personality, as well as a delightful balance of bitterness and pungency

Luigi Caricato

A gold-worthy, low-acidity oil

This extra virgin olive oil is available on the market in 1-litre bottles. Its quality-price ratio is exceptional, even more so if you consider how little you need to dress and add flavour to food. The price of extra virgin oil is, as we all know, extremely variable, depending on where the purchase is made; supermarkets sell this oil at around 6 euro, and this is doubtlessly a very fair and reasonable price for such a versatile oil. Sagra Olio is ideal for a variety of uses, because it possesses a great personality, with a delightful and harmonious balance of aromas, flavours and tactile sensations.

The ultimate testing ground is the tasting, the moment when it is poured inside a glass and sampled as it is, for it is only then that one can truly discern all its features. When it was first tasted in Milan during the 2016 Olio Officina Festival last January, everybody was pleasantly surprised by its great personality, which was already evident from its green fruity bouquet. The bottle that was opened at the time was properly stored and used some time later in another tasting session. It still preserved all its positive traits, a sure sign of a well-structured oil.

The oil in question is Sagra Oro, an extra virgin oil made entirely from Italian olives. As highlighted on the label, one of its main features is its low acidity, an eye-catching caption that never fails to attract the consumer’s attention. “Low acidity” is a masterful marketing definition that relies on a very simple claim, reported on the back label: “The lower the acidity level, the greater the quality of the oil”. The level of free acidity in this oil is 0.3%, “more than two times lower than the threshold level set by EU legislation”, as highlighted in the label.

The back label also claims that low acidity is not the only parameter affecting the quality of an oil, and reports its peroxide value, wax content and spectrophotometer analysis values.

TASTE TEST

An unclouded green oil with rich golden hues. On attack, the nose reveals vegetable notes of artichoke and grass. It can be classified as an intensely fruity oil, full of the green notes that are so typical of olives that have not reached full ripeness.
The palate is clean, and the oil is soft, harmonious and pleasantly fluid: bitterness and pungency are strong but well balanced. The finish is characterized by a clear, persistent hint of piquancy and the return of the artichoke notes.

Use. Because of its versatility, Salov’s Sagra Oro oil finds a variety of applications in the kitchen, where it can be used both for cooking and raw. It has a high smoke point so is excellent for frying (artichokes, for instance, are perfect) or for preparations that require prolonged cooking, such as ragout. It makes a perfect dressing for green salads or even seafood salads, although in this latter case it is best to use only a small amount. It is great with red or white meat, but also drizzled over vegetarian dishes and legumes, thanks to its vegetable notes that enhance the flavours of the food with which it is paired.

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