Kalios Extra Virgin Olive Oils

TAST­ING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Fruiti­ness in olive oils can be dis­tin­guished in three groups: green fruity, ripe fruity, and black fruity. Each vin­tage from Kalios is care­ful­ly cho­sen for dif­fer­ent pair­ings and meth­ods of use for a unique din­ing expe­ri­ence every time.

• 01 – Har­vest­ed at the start of the sea­son in Novem­ber, this vin­tage is a favorite of Miche­lin-star Chef Christophe Arib­ert of the Grand Hotel Les Ter­rass­es in Uriage-les-Bains, France. It is a green fruity olive oil, with intense aro­mas and veg­e­tal notes of fresh hazel­nut, cut grass, and toma­to leaf, all end­ing in love­ly pep­pery notes on the palate.
• 02 – This vin­tage comes from the mid-sea­son (Decem­ber) har­vest of green and ripe vio­let olives. It is marked­ly gen­tle, pos­sess­ing a won­der­ful body with botan­i­cal notes of fresh grass, toma­to leaf, cut hay, and a hint of hazel­nut. It’s a favorite of Miche­lin-star chef Éric Guérin of La Mare aux Oiseaux in Saint-Joachim, France.
• 03 – At the end of the har­vest sea­son in Jan­u­ary, the olives for this ripe fruity oil are select­ed from the trees, at the time when they are deep­est vio­let. It light on the palate, with amaz­ing finesse. French chef Aman­dine Chaig­not of the Rose­wood Hotel in Lon­don par­tic­u­lar­ly loves it for its almond notes.
  
  

PREPA­RA­TION

Each vin­tage is best used with dif­fer­ent kinds of food. Vin­tage 01 is meant for your fresh greens, from sal­ads to steamed veg­eta­bles, and for driz­zling over cold appe­tiz­ers. Vin­tage 02 is won­der­ful for toss­ing fresh pas­tas, from cream to toma­to to pure oil-based ver­sions. Vin­tage 03 is ide­al for your sautéed veg­eta­bles and grilled white fish, and for stir­ring into home­made mash. Why not exper­i­ment with the cui­sine from the Pelo­pon­nese? Dish­es there are abun­dant in pork, fish, and lamb. Olive oil fea­tures heav­i­ly in their grills and mari­nades, whether with sim­ple aro­mat­ics like dill and fen­nel, or used as the base of toma­to sauces. 

EVOO GOING GREEK

The Greeks have been mak­ing olive oil for 50 or 60,000 years. About 60 per­cent of their cul­ti­vat­ed land grows olives, and about 70 to 80 per­cent of their olive oil is con­sid­ered extra vir­gin. They are the world’s third largest exporter and pos­si­bly its top con­sumer. This is because olive oil is ingrained deep in their cul­ture. They con­sid­er it part of a healthy dai­ly diet, and so ensure that their prod­ucts always have low acid­i­ty lev­els. The Greeks even have sep­a­rate types of olives for snack­ing and for mak­ing their olive oil. Koronei­ki is by far the most robust for this lat­ter pur­pose and the least demand­ing in terms of grow­ing needs.

Storage Instructions

Olive oil should be stored in a cool, dry, dark cup­board, away from the heat and light. Choose a spot in the kitchen that’s away from the oven. The best tem­per­a­ture for stor­ing oil is from 13 to 21°C.