Olive Oil & Vinegar

Like probably most folks I head to the grocery store and commonly refresh on some olive oil and vinegar (red wine or apple cider) every once in awhile. I've probably been doing this for as long as I remember, but a few months ago a friend gave me a bottle of olive oil from Italy.

I'm not sure how else to bluntly say it - everything I used with that oil tasted better. It was like my salad dressings got a permanent upgrade in the flavor department. Anything I cooked in a pan with that oil just had a new touch of zing. It of course also worked as just a plain mixture of oil/spices for a bread dip.

So as I walked through the grocery store sad my better olive oil had run out - I was determined to explore and try more olive oils locally. However, I needed something in that moment so left with my favorite grocery store brands.

I was lucky that my girlfriend has lived here in Tampa her whole life - so she knew exactly where to go to between stores and farmer markets to stumble upon some robust olive oil.

I already blogged about our first stop, but after attending the Keel Farm's Farm Weekend we stumbled upon our first purchase of new oils. This led to the purchase of a few balsamic and extra virgin oils - or exactly as below:

• 2 Mango Sriracha Infused White Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 Robust Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Elderberry Infused While Balsamic Vinegar

These were purchased from 15olives and I learned pretty quickly that the mango sriracha white balsamic is amazing. For someone who loves a bit of heat and spice this was an unmatched flavor that did great on anything from chicken to salad to pizza. I will probably continue to re-buy the sriracha balsamic as I run out, because its just too good to ignore. The olive oil was a jump above the grocery store, but I didn't feel it matched the unnamed gifted oil that started this off.

A few weeks passed and once again I found myself at a farmers market and stumbled upon a different stand called "Olive the World". I really enjoyed how most of these stands allowed me to try the items before purchased, so I left with some real tiny bottles of:

• Roasted Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Meyer Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Traditional Style White Balsamic Vinegar
• Blood Orange White Balsamic Vinegar

This one was unfortunately more miss than hit with both of the oils just having an overwhelming amount of either garlic/lemon present. Now I figured with such small bottles you probably are meant to mix these oils with others, but I found with a tiny amount of either of these oils it overpowered the dish.

However, the balsamic vinegars had a great taste and I used them commonly to caramelize some mushrooms and provide some kick to some dressings.

Now on a different mission for some veggies, salsa and potatoes we stumbled upon an Italian stand that was offering some Italian olive oil and some pepper infused oil. Immediately I had to try the infused oil and it lived up to my expectation. It took any dish and just elevated the heat factor of it, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

As this stand was all about pastas, sauces and oils I tried a basic oil/pesto pasta with the olive oil and it delivered - with a robust crisp flavor. However, I still oddly just prefer a red/white sauce over an oil based pasta.

Finally after all these farmers markets - it was time to go to the real deal. A real brick and mortar store that specialized in olive oils.

This store is what I was missing in my life. The instant we walked in we were greeted and asked what we were looking for. I explained I wanted a robust olive oil, but also some spicy/heat induced oils or vinegars and we were off. As the photo above shows I was guided between all these different oils (or vinegars) and tried them out one by one.

Price can go up quick in a visit like this, but I knew I had to get some Christmas shopping done. After I picked a few I knew I wanted to purchase I was surprised to see they just pluck an empty bottle from a box and fill up your requested choice from the containers pictured above.

So I left with bottles of:

• Green Chili Infused Olive Oil
• Oregano White Balsamic
• Neapolitan Herb Dark Balsamic

I haven't got to use these yet as they were just purchased yesterday, but I'm excited to try out more and more oils/vinegars in an attempt to elevate some cooking creations. As Christmas and New Years arrive I'll probably have plenty of chances to use more of these,

I'll probably have to slow down now that I've got a solid amount of olive oil, but who knows what it'll happen if another olive oil stand is near.