If it Tastes like Olive Oil

I love presentations because of the element of interaction impossible to duplicate by a recorded show. While my honey and I are not always in agreement about topics, we respect each other enough to attempt to learn about each other's interests. My hobby and one of my former careers is cooking/recipe developer. Since he prefers to have me cook and might even be a little intimidated by the kitchen, he held my hand for protection when we walked into the library conference room for an olive oil presentation and tasting.

Arriving early is essential to ensuring a good seat. I like the first or second rows. People crowded in around us, some couples, some family and a few groups of friends on an outing. The temperature in the room rose and I got comfortable by taking off my cardigan. The presenter started right away.

She gave an outline of her talk and told us at what point she would answer questions. We learned about the types of olives, producing regions and climates where olives thrive, harvesting and processing to ensure a fruity tasting oil or blending to make a standardized product. She covered health benefits and how to choose an olive oil based on personal taste.

We learned facts and anecdotes we hadn't known. Most of the audience was impatient for the tasting portion when we would sample six different oils from various countries and two balsamic vinegars. The moment she invited people to taste, a rush to get in line resulted in a couple of overturned chairs, trampled feet and many hands grabbing for bread cubes. Some people would hold up the bottle and exclaim about the attributes we had just learned.

My honey and I held back and chatted. We weren't in any hurry because three of the companies had provided sample sizes we could take home (in glass bottles for easy recycling). Our turn came just as the bread was running out. We each got three large cubes we broke into smaller chunks to dip in the different oils and experience the flavor variations. The old saying that two people who spend a lot of time together develop similar tastes is correct. We chose the same olive oil as our favorite. That evening for dinner, we had fine quality olive oil samples to drizzle on our salads.

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