Most of us are aware about wine tasting and wine sommeliers. This weekend at Annabelle hotel in Paphos we learned that olive oil has its own sommeliers, who taste and asses its quality.
Dr. Tassos Kyriakides, sommelier and biostatician at Yale University and Jill Myers, sommelier and educator, were the speakers at the event hosted by Annabelle Hotel on October 20. “Most people know wine tasting, but the equivalent method of tasting olive is just as interesting and beneficial for the body,” Kyriakides told the audience.
The guests had the opportunity to try eight award-winning olive oils, in special shot glasses while the sommeliers explained the different characteristics of each one, the type of olive tree that produced them and which foods they would go well with.
Dr. Kyriakides and Ms. Myers noted that the quality of each olive oil depends on which olives are chosen to produce it, when they are harvested and how soon they are taken to olive mills.
To to make a good olive oil, olives must be taken to the mill just hours after they are collected, they said.
Regarding the health benefits of olive oil, the two sommeliers stressed that the regular consumption of extra virgin olive oil can help prevent certain illnesses, as well as lower blood pressure.
