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Olive oils in France

John Talbott
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John Talbott

John Talbott

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Host's Note: I have moved these posts over from the Restaurants, Food & Chefs News thread because I thought the subject merited a separate thread

Robert Brown, host of the Italy Forum just posted this thread about an olive oil he thinks is terrific that is available at Bon Marche.

In my recent post about Ristorante Lorenzo in Forte dei Marmi, I wrote that his daughter's boutique sold Oliviero Toscani's olive oil, which connoisseurs of the product consider to be at the top ecehelon. This is not a made-up name either, which one may think otherwise given that Oliviero Toscani makes olive oil in Tuscany. He's best known as one of italy's most renown photographers, famous for his work for Benetton, particularly the photograph of the AIDS victim the company used.

I wrote the enterprise through its website to ask if they would send me some in France. Toscani's wife or daughter asked me for my VAT exemption number which, of course, I don't have. I told her that I would be happy to come and visit or that she could send up a case to Lorenzo's store that I would be glad to collect even at the retail price of 26 euros a bottle. She also mentioned that you can buy the olive oil at the Bon Marche food store in Paris (Metro Sevres-Babylone). I want to share this information with you all because most of you will be going to Paris before you go to Forte dei Marmi. As of yet, the product isn't available in the USA, although it can be had in Tokyo. Having owned a couple of bottles so far, I can vouch for its greatness.

Edited by John Talbott (log)

John Talbott

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John Talbott

John Talbott

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Ooh, a star (= hyped and Italian) olive oil, made by a star. Two big handicaps to overcome. Reason enough to give it a try. Does it say anywhere whether Toscani's name is on the label?

No it doesn't but this is the pix Robert linked to and he got the price wrong, it's apparently about 13E.

John Talbott

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MarkinHouston

MarkinHouston

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Ooh, a star (= hyped and Italian) olive oil, made by a star. Two big handicaps to overcome. Reason enough to give it a try. Does it say anywhere whether Toscani's name is on the label?

No it doesn't but this is the pix Robert linked to and he got the price wrong, it's apparently about 13E.

Only 13E? That is an excellent price. Maybe I should fill my wine carrier with olive oil instead of vin jaune.

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Ptipois

Ptipois

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Only 13E? That is an excellent price. Maybe I should fill my wine carrier with olive oil instead of vin jaune.

For one liter, the price would be OK.

I cannot see the capacity of the bottle. For 75 cl, it would be rather on the dear side. Oh well, there's a logo on it... that's about 25% of the price... :rolleyes:

Of course if the oil is really exceptional, well that makes more sense. I'll try and check tomorrow.

Chez Ptipois
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Ptipois

Ptipois

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Of course if the oil is really exceptional, well that makes more sense. I'll try and check tomorrow.

Well I was at La Grande Epicerie yesterday and indeed I saw the OT bottle.

I do not remember the exact price but it was more than 18 euros (maybe 21) for 50 cl, so I turned away and went back to the 6-euro-a-liter Moroccan olive oil which has been my favorite for many months.

Edited by Ptipois (log)
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MarkinHouston

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Of course if the oil is really exceptional, well that makes more sense. I'll try and check tomorrow.

Well I was at La Grande Epicerie yesterday and indeed I saw the OT bottle.

I do not remember the exact price but it was more than 18 euros (maybe 21) for 50 cl, so I turned away and went back to the 6-euro-a-liter Moroccan olive oil which has been my favorite for many months.

I'll be there in two weeks. Where do you get your Moroccan oil (Name please?) Thanks.

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Ptipois

Ptipois

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I read the New Yorker's article about olive oil fraud in Italy and wonder if this has ever been an issue in France.  Does any one know?

Even if there may be frauds in France that I have never heard of, they are not likely to be as serious as the olive oil frauds in Italy. The market of French-produced olive oils is too small and mostly for domestic use. And the AOC system is quite strict, it covers most of the French production. Then again, it is important to read the labels. As for French brands of cheap olive oils like Puget, Lesieur and the like, the oils are indeed imported from countries like Spain, but remain of good quality.

The New Yorker article only confirmed what had been widely known in Southern Europe for some time. I almost never buy Italian olive oils, cheap ones are either tasteless or of irregular quality; expensive ones are — apart from being too expensive — generally too "green" (modelled after what is expected to be the contemporary taste). I much prefer a riper taste, or a "fruité noir", obtained from slightly fermented ripe olives. As far as I know, the recent craving for acrid, pungent olive oils that leave a tingling sensation in the back of the palate was "fabricated" by Italian oil producers. This hype is spreading around, some Spanish and Corsican oils are beginning to show that. It would be a good idea to shoot a new "Mondovino" documentary about the standardization of olive oil.

Having tasted a certain number of French AOC olive oils, I find that they show less of that standardized, aggressive taste. They are rounder and more varied, each region having its own olive varietals. I also like olive oils from Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and Morocco.

Chez Ptipois
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Ptipois

Ptipois

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I'll be there in two weeks. Where do you get your Moroccan oil (Name please?) Thanks.

I'm really sorry, I saw this post only today.

For your next trip to France: my favorite Moroccan olive oil is sold in plastic bottles (1 litre) and is of a very dark green color. It belongs to the category of "fruité noir". The brand name on the label is "Oued Souss". It will cost between 7 and 9 euros a bottle. You can find it in some Maghrebi food stores, especially in halal butcher shops.

I like it a lot, but beware, it is an acquired taste and will certainly not please those who like the acrid-artichokey taste of fashionable olive oils. I have heard that it is only good for Moroccan dishes and salads, and there may be a truth to that.

Chez Ptipois
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Ptipois

Ptipois

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What I want to know is how anyone could taste the "olive oil" that was really hazelnut oil and believe it was, well, olive oil? That's like selling molasses labeled "honey." Who's going to fall for it?

I wondered about that too.

I thought perhaps there is not much difference in taste between refined hazelnut oil and tasteless olive oil, but 1) that would be very farfetched and 2) that is still not much of a praise for the professional tasters who took care of that business.

Chez Ptipois
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