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Great Southern Groves 2024 Silver Award

How Olive Oil is Judged: From Chemistry to Taste

For anyone passionate about high-quality olive oil, knowing how it is judged can deepen your appreciation for premium quality olive oil. Australia olive oil competitions uphold strict standards by combining scientific analysis with expert tasting. Here’s are the key steps in assessing an olive oil’s quality and what these evaluations mean for both consumers and producers.

Step 1: Chemical Testing

Chemical analysis begins the judging, focusing on four main indicators:

% Free Fatty Acid (FFA): A low FFA suggests good grove and processing practices. For an olive oil to be called ‘Extra Virgin’, is needs to have a FFA% under 0.8%.

Peroxide Value (PV): This measures oxidation levels, giving insights into the oil’s freshness and storage conditions. The maximum peroxide value for an Extra Virgin Olive Oil is 20 with high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil having a peroxide value below 12.

UV Absorbance: This test helps assess the oil’s preservation state, indicating whether it has started to degrade.

Polyphenol Content: Polyphenols affect both taste and health benefits. High-polyphenol oils offer robust flavours, while lower levels result in milder, delicate oils, categorized as ‘R’ (robust), ‘M’ (medium), or ‘D’ (delicate).

These chemical measures provide a reliable foundation to gauge quality before tasting.

Step 2: Sensory Assessment

Australian olive oil competitions use the Australian Olive Association’s 100-point scoring system. This includes an assessment of the oil’s freshness, aroma, and flavour complexity, balance, and aftertaste.

AROMA being good fruit intensity, complexity & absence of faults.

PALATE including good fruit intensity, the bitterness & pungency, balance and absence of faults

COMPLEXITY balance, including bitterness & pungency.

This judging process gives consumers confidence, knowing the oil’s quality is confirmed scientifically and through expert taste, helping them find the ideal oil for their culinary needs.

Great Southern Groves – Tuscan Style, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and PRIMA Extra Virgin Olive Oil have both won SILVER at the recent, 2024 – WA Olive Awards.

These awards are run annually by Western Australian Olive Association. Judged by world class olive oil judges, overseen by moderator, Isabella Okis.

The judge’s description of our oil:

Tuscan Style Extra Virgin Olive Oil

(In all of our bottles, tins and boxes)

AROMA: Fresh and strong aromas of tomato leaf and thyme.
PALATE: Pleasant creamy palate; grassy, tomato leaf and tomatoes transfer from aromas.
COMPLEXITY: Balanced finish with some persistence.

Tuscan Style Extra Virgin Olive Oil Chemical Analysis:
FFA%: 0.2
Peroxide: 6
Polyphenol: 382

PRIMA Extra Virgin Olive Oil

(Limited release – SOLD OUT)

AROMA: Floral bouquet aromas together with rocket and capsicum.

PALATE: Fruits transferred well with added banana and tomato leaf and herbs with mild bitterness and pungency.

COMPLEXITY: Balanced and complex.

PRIMA Extra Virgin Olive Oil Chemical Analysis:
FFA%: 0.2
Peroxide: 6
Polyphenol: 349

The different types of oil in the market place

Put simply, Olive Oil is actually the juice of the Olive fruit. The way in which the olives are processed then determines the grade of oil and all the types of olive oil you will see on the supermarket shelf.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the oil extracted from the olives mechanically, without the use of excessive heat, has not been refined or had any chemicals or solvents added. Extra Virgin olive oil also possesses no defects so there are also very strict chemical tests that it must pass. We are lucky in Australia that around 95% of all olive oils produced are Extra Virgin.

Virgin olive oil is a lower grade of extra virgin that has started to oxidize.

Pure and Light Olive Oils have undergone some sort of refinement. Any refining removes the flavour, aromas and any goodness like the antioxidants out of the oil. Light only refers to the flavour as light olive oil has the exact same calories as Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Pomace oil is not really heard of in Australia due to the small quantities we produce – Pomace is the waste product at the end of processing Extra Virgin. It is all the crushed pips and skins. There is a very small amount of oil in the pomace and in countries like Spain and Italy where there is so much of it, it is commercially viable to use heat and use solvents to remove this last little skerrick of oil. This is then refined and becomes your pure and light olive oils.

Lampante olive oil is usually the oil that is made from old olives or olives with defects. This is then processed and refined to be used industrially. Originally it was “Lamp” oil – hence “Lampante”.

We recommend you always buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It has the best flavour and is the most beneficial for your health.