Olive Oil Smack Down

So my beloved bzzagent sent me some Filippio Berio olive oil to try out for free. They were mostly touting how it is much better for you than butter and how to substitute it. I'm already an olive oil convert and use it a bunch when it is cost effective (my occasional deep frying of tortillas doesn't warrant a whole bottle of olive oil and gets the vegetable. I also don't care for it in cake and brownie mix as much either). It's my go to for sauteing though. My favorite way to consume it is with bread along with balsamic vinegar.

Which brings us to Thursday's event. I wanted to know if this brand really held any distinction compared to other brands so we did every scientist would do, a single blind study.

Really I just bought a bunch of fancy bread from Kneaders (which divine confections deserve a post all their own) and invited some friends over. I was having so much fun that I forgot to snap pictures until the party was breaking up. My apologies to those friends not shown. But here is my cousin next to our exciting bread. Rosemary focaccia,  paesano, and fresh baguettes are enough to make everyone excited.

Even my nephew, and he doesn't even have teeth.

The proscuttio and salami in the bottom corner were an important part of the experience

Here were some of our ingredients. We also had some costco brand (not shown)

I also made some bruschetta with basil from my garden (the tomatoes were store bought and part of me died inside. My tomato plants have pretty much stopped producing by now). 

I put the olive oils in small trays with the vinegar and had people vote. It was about half for the Bertolli's and half for the Filippio Berio. Costco lost. To me they just tasted different, not better or worse. If I had a less busy day, we would have voted on specific variables like taste, texture, and overall experience. Then we all had at it and mixed in sauteed garlic and the different salts and pepper.

That little cherry tomato is from my garden. A friend gave me a transplant that I completely forgot about until I saw a mini on it last week. The garden surprises keep coming.

We also had some Italian sodas to complete the experience. Of course I didn't snag a picture of them and their whipped cream glory, but here is Justin and the club soda.

It was a great time and I can recommend Filippio Berio as delicious.