Food News – Olive Oil

In my home, Cobram Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil is our general all-purpose olive oil, and we usually supplement it with a premium olive oil like Joseph First Run or The Little General for dressings and finishing dishes. This month I’ve been trying out Cobram Estate’s ultra premium range, and it looks like our household will be making the switch.

The Cobram Estate Ultra Premium Reserve Hojiblanca [RRP $20/500ml] proved to be my favourite, and also won Gold and Best in Class in the recent New York International Olive Oil Competition. It’s fruity rather than grassy, with a lovely floral fragrance and very little bitterness. For a grassy, robust olive oil with a bit of sophistication, the Première Extra Virgin Olive [RRP $10/375ml] is the way to go. It’s another award-winner, taking out Gold and Best in Class as well, and it proved to be quite versatile. While only a silver medallist, the Cobram Estate Ultra Premium Reserve Picual [RRP $20/500ml] is round and pleasantly peppery. If you can afford all three, the whole suite gives you a broad range of ways to finish dishes at home, just like chefs do in restaurants. You’ll find the ultra premium range at IGA and other independent supermarkets, and at gourmet food stores.
www.cobramestate.com.au

I also tried out Moro’s Seleccion Extra Virgin Olive Oils. They’re also single varietal extra virgin olive oils, based upon three Spanish olive varietals. The Moro Seleccion Hojiblanca [RRP $9.95/500ml] is the fruitiest of the three and would be useful for sautéing seafood; while the Picual [RRP $9.95/500ml] is more robust and peppery, better suiting red meat. The goat’s horn, or Cornicabra [RRP $9.95/500ml] olive oil is grassy and perfect for cooking chicken or pasta. While they’re not in the same league as the aforementioned Cobram Estate ultra premium olive oils, they were fine as general purpose oils for cooking.
www.worldofmoro.com.au