Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #924988 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
A guide to more than 135 of the very best extra virgin olive oils available in specialty shops and supermarkets.

Customer Reviews

An informative and evocative guide to buying olive oil
For anyone at all interested in olive oil, this book is a must. Olive oil is an exciting culinary ingredient, with a long romantic history, but finding one's way through the huge selection available in stores can be daunting.

Judy Ridgway's new book helps take the mystery out of this process. It provides a well organised introduction which answers commonly asked questions about olive oil, such as the difference between olive oil and extra virgin olive oil; what constitutes an excellent oil; what are the various styles of oil, and which styles to use with which foods; how to make sense of olive oil labels; and what kinds of tastes and flavours occur in extra virgin olive oil.

Then follows a directory and review of 100 oils from around the world , from countries as diverse and far flung as Italy, Spain, USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. Judy has visited each grove, and includes not only tasting notes for the oils, but also entertaining and informative information about the growers and the grove. There are also colour photos of each oil, and helpful suggestions on how to use it to best advantage in cooking.

This is far from being just a "list" of olive oils. For me, it became an entertaining and informative trip around the world. Judy's style is crisp yet evocative, and I could "taste" the oils as I read the notes. Better yet, I can now approach all those bottles of oil in the stores with confidence and heightened anticipation.

Erudite Oil
Another really good oily book from Judy Ridgway. She writes with enthusiasm and great style, and must be one of the best tasters of olive oil around. This knowledge and experience comes through in her descriptions and tasting notes, which could save you a fortune by guiding you to the types of oil that you like - "Sweet and Subtle", "Good All Round", "Strong and Punchy" or "Branded and Supermarket" - before you make those expensive mistakes, and they can be really expensive with olive oil!
A very good general introduction guides you through the label reading process, how to buy, and gives some clear tasting terms, as well as introducing the olive producing countries.
My only criticism is that we are not told where the best places to buy these oils are, a small failing in relation to what you can glean from this book.

Useful guide for all olive oil requirments
This attractive little book is extremely useful when buying olive oil for different culinary applications as not only are there comprehensive tasting notes but also suggestions for using the oils from the producers themselves.

I also enjoyed the stories about the families, growers and producers which are featured with each oil and the guide to what to expect from different regions. It was useful, too, to have the oils sorted by style into those that are not so aggressive and those which are very strong.

Everyone will, like me, find the guide to supermarket oils particulalry useful as more and more seem to be appearing on the shelves in store.