I’m sure many of you, my foodie friends, had heard of O OLIVE OIL or even have a bottle or two of their products in your pantry. Recently, I was selected to participate in the O OLIVE OIL recipe contest hosted on the blog of eRecipeCards. Let me take this time to introduce you to these two awesome companies.
First, the O OLIVE OIL. According to its web-site, it is the original maker of specialty organic citrus-crushed olive oils since 1995 and the maker of the premium barrel-aged wine vinegars since 1997. Greg Hinson, the co-founder and president, created the extra virgin citrus olive oil by crushing whole organic citrus with fresh California Mission olives.
These oils are neither infused nor flavored after pressing. Do you know that it takes about 1½ lbs. of fresh, whole citrus to make each bottle of oil? I’m really amazed and impressed by that. No wonder the citrus flavor is so intense! I’ll share more about the taste test in a bit.
In 1997 Hinson turned this same respect for simple natural process into hand crafting varietal wine vinegars. O OLIVE OIL uses the old world Orleans method of natural aging in wood barrels rather than force-aging the vinegars mechanically. To learn more about the products and the company, please visit their site here.
Up next, the wonderful recipe site that I love and visit often, eRecipeCards.com. It’s a place where you can browse different recipes, share your own recipes, and have all your favorite recipes highlighted in one location. Here is a sample of all the recipes that I have submitted since eRecipeCards first started the site. You can drool/glance at all the recipes in a single page and click on the ones that catch your attention. You can also save and store all your favorite recipes in your own personal recipe box for future reference. Isn’t that a lovely idea?
Now, let’s return to the O Olive Oil and Rice Vinegar. Besides that elegant and hip packaging you see from the top picture above, I also love the fact that the bottle used to store both the citrus oil and the rice vinegar are seal shut by a cork, and not just a screw cap. Similar to a bottle of quality wine, the corks help maintain the flavor and aroma of the products for a longer time. That is, if they last that long in your house. As soon as I pop open the cork (which involves a simple pull, and the cork/cap can be easily pushed back into the bottle for a tight seal for future use), I can smell that crisp and refreshing citrus aroma came rushing out of the bottle.
The package I received included a bottle of O Tahitian Lime Olive Oil and a bottle of O Ginger Rice Vinegar. I was suggested to do a simple taste test with some bread. But before I do that, I really couldn’t resist tasting them as is, with a spoon. Yup, that’s the true taste test, in my opinion.
I was so glad I did that. The Tahitian Lime Olive Oil was packed with that bright and crisp lime flavor. The light green color of the thick and velvety citrus olive oil is just beautiful and smooth. The rich and wonderful flavor of olive and citrusy lime aroma lingered at the back of my throat. Simply heaven and it tasted like summer in my mouth. The O Ginger Rice Vinegar is pungent and the earthy gingery taste is undeniable. I can totally taste the warmth and slightly lemony of ginger in the rice vinegar. It’s fragrant and bright with a hint of sweetness as well.
ahhh.….so good! I can have a shot glass and enjoy another shot of each! Seriously!
Now, let’s taste them together with some bread. I don’t know about you, but whenever I dine at an Italian restaurant, I always asked for some bread with vinegar and olive oil to be served before the entrée. In this case, I wanted more bread simply because I wanted to enjoy more olive oil and vinegar! The O Tahitian Lime Olive Oil and O Ginger Rice Vinegar truly compliment each other and go so well together. I can taste the citrusy from the Tahitian Lime, the earthiness from the ginger, the tartness and sweetness from the olive oil and vinegar. It was a Summer party for my taste buds.
I was so glad no one was watching when I did this taste test….it would be embarrassing if someone saw that I “licked” the plate clean!
I know the holiday season is coming up. This O Tahitian Lime Olive Oil and O Ginger Rice Vinegar set would definitely be on my shopping list for some of my foodie friends and family. The packaging is simple, elegant, and hip. Most importantly, I love the high quality of the products. O OLIVE OIL is offering a 20% discount on ANY order until the end of the year. Plus free shipping on any order of $60 or more (after discount). If you’re interested, simply use the promo code “e-recipecards” at the check out. Don't forget, click here to "Like" them on Facebook.
Please stay tuned for the recipes that I created using these fine products.
*Disclaimer: I received a set of the O Tahitian Lime Olive Oil and O Ginger Rice Vinegar for the purpose of this review post and recipe challenge post for a chance to win a prize (rules and details here). I was not compensated in any other way to write this post. All opinions are 100% my own and always will be.
No comments:
Post a Comment