Texas Locavore

At the urging of a vigilant reader, I conducted a tasting last night to compare newfound Texas olive oils to a couple of others. My ever-supportive husband and I tasted Central Market’s inexpensive Spanish version ($4.99/500mL), Monini’s pricier Italian one ($10.17/500mL) (which I picked up at my neighborhood H.E.B.), and the two from Texas (Farrell’s and Texas Olive Ranch). Here are our notes:

• Central Market - “light green; slightly bitter”
• Monini - “round, rich flavor; olive-y”
• Texas Olive Ranch - “great olive taste; succulent”
• Farrell’s - “earthy/mushroomy; similar to Central Market one”

So we’re no professional tasters. And all of these were surprisingly similar — none was really fruity like some olive oils can be, for instance. We did determine, though, that the one we most enjoyed sopping up with hot focaccia — the only one that motivated us to sponge the bowl clean with our bread, then refill it — was the Texas Olive Ranch version. My husband thinks its lack of filtration might be the reason for its especially luscious flavor.