The history of chocolate can be traced to the ancient Mayans, and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. The word chocolate may conjure up images of sweet candy bars and luscious truffles, but the chocolate of today has small similarities with the chocolate of the past. Throughout much of history, chocolate was a revered but bitter beverage, not a sweet, edible treat. Chocolate is made from the fruit of cacao trees, which are native to Central and South America. The fruits are called pods and each pod contains around 40 cacao beans. The beans are dried and roasted to create cocoa beans.

There are hundreds of different varieties of olives, therefore infinite aromas and intensities. Find out which one combines best with your favourite dish or palate. Here you will find our selection made with a team of Evoo experts. The intensity of the oil is influenced by the the type of olive used and how ripe it was when picked. Most olive oils are blends of various types of olives which combine to create an olive oil which conforms to the intentions of the producer. However some oils are monoculture oils, made from a single variety.

TASTING TIPS:

You will want to consider both the aromas and the flavour sensations of each oil. Color is not an indication of quality, although it can influence a taster's perception. Professionals use blue-tinted glasses to remove any bias based on color.

Place about a tablespoon of the oil into your tasting glass. Warm the oil by cupping your hands around and over the top of the glass and slowly rotate it so the oil sticks all around the sides.

Remove your hand from the top of the glass and put your nose up close, inhaling to catch the aromas.

Think about what you smell – is it green, ripe, mature, fruity?

If you want to, jot down your initial perceptions so you can refer back to them as you compare oils.

Now, you taste!

Sip enough oil to hold in your mouth and let the flavors cover your tongue. Make some noise by slowly sucking in some air, which will help release the flavors in the oil.

What notes do you catch – Apple? Tomato? Herbs? Citrus? Nutty? Artichokes?

Do you feel bitterness on your tongue? Pungency in the back of your throat?Think about the level of intensity of each sensation – are they balanced or does one dominate?

Again, jot down some notes so you can look back and compare later.

Once you’ve had your fill of EVOO shots, you can have some real fun by working on pairing different oils with different foods.
You'll be amazed at the variety and results!

Today you will taste:

1. Centoleum - by Centumbrie - Umbria
2. Carolino Amalfi - by Carolino - Campania
3. DOP Chianti - by Pruneti - Toscana
4. Mantegna Leccio del corno - by Tini - Abruzzo
5. Eximius - by Traldi - Lazio
6. Coratina - by Gangalupo - Puglia

Discover more about our EVOO selection:

Listen our Podcasts:

Who invented cheese?

The food we now relegate to the end of the meal, usually before dessert, was one of the most important discoveries in the history of civilisation. Nomadic peoples based their economy on cheese.

In classical Greece the discovery of rennet was attributed to nymphs, from whom the mythical Ariosteo would have learned it, who would have then spread it among men. And all the ancient and modern literature mention cheese. From Homer onwards, cheese gluttons have been countless. The brutality of the Cyclops is transformed into the dreamy ecstasy of the Virgilian shepherds, into the sorrowful sentimentality of the heroes of Arcadia, without cheese leaving the scene.

But even though cheese has been appreciated since ancient times, we do not know the etymological origin of the word for rennet. In fact, today's word cheese is just a derivation of the word "formos" because that is how the ancient Greeks called the wicker basket in which they used to put the curdled milk, evidently to give it a shape.

The Greek formos became the "form" of the Romans who, as it is known, were particularly sensitive to every expression of it and took care to present food on the table, we would say today, with a perfect dressing. In turn, it was transformed, in ancient French, in "formage" and then it took the modern versions of Italian formaggio and French fromage.

Likewise we do not know who first had the idea to help nature to obtain lactic acid by spontaneous fermentation. In fact we do not know who, for the first time, had the idea to guide, modify and sometimes properly block the alcodification of milk: in other words, we do not know anything about the person or the people who started the actual process of cheese making.

This process is the result of centuries of subsequent experiences which are still being modified and studied today. The constant evolution in the technique of preparation, processing and aging of cheeses should not make us think about revolutionary changes occurred during the centuries.

As a matter of fact, the basic principles for making cheese have remained the same as in the good old days, whereas the changes made over time are mainly due to imagination and different tastes.

Today you will taste:

1. Burrata - Puglia
2. Parmigiano Reggiano - Emilia Romagna
3. Gran Kinara - Piemonte
4. Caciocavallo Irpino - Campania
5. Testun Occelli - Piemonte
6. Blue cheese of Bufalo - Lombardia