Color has little to do with the quality of olive oil, and it offers no clues to whether an olive oil is rancid. Instead, use your nose and palate: does the olive oil smell like a box of crayons, candle wax, or the oil floating on top of an old jar of peanut butter? If so, it's rancid. The sad truth is that most Americans, accustomed to the taste of rancid olive oil, actually prefer it.
This quote highlights an important aspect of culinary expertise: the ability to discern quality beyond superficial characteristics like color. Olive oil, often judged visually by consumers, actually demands a sensory evaluation involving smell and taste. The advice to detect rancid olive oil through odors reminiscent of crayons or candle wax is a practical guideline for assessing freshness, steering us away from relying on misleading visual cues. This resonates with a broader principle in cooking and food appreciation—quality should be judged by essence rather than appearance. The mention of many Americans' unfortunate preference for rancid olive oil underscores how cultural and habituated palates may become accustomed to subpar ingredients, resulting in a lowered standard of taste. It subtly critiques mass distribution and consumption patterns which prioritize availability and price over quality. Furthermore, this insight invites consumers to engage more thoughtfully with the ingredients they use daily, promoting greater awareness and an elevated culinary experience. In essence, it reminds us that true flavor evaluation is a multisensory process and challenges us to reset our expectations and practices regarding a fundamental cooking ingredient, olive oil.
