Another Olive Oil Update

I’ve been collecting a whole slew of olive oil projects to share with you.  So here goes…

Olive Oil Ice Cream                                                                                  The perfect olive oil ice cream is something I’m still working on.  I’ve had a few unsuccessful attempts and a few pretty-good outcomes.  But I can tell that pure success is lurking just around the corner. I can just feel it.  In my trials so far, I’ve been combining traditional ice cream techniques with traditional vinaigrette techniques.  One of the first steps in ice cream making is the whisking together of egg yolks and sugar.  I do this, and then start drizzling in olive oil in a thin stream, all the while whisking, just as you would with a vinaigrette.  And then, when the sauce (the potential ice cream) is all but complete, I drizzle in more olive oil with this same technique.  A double whammy of extra virgin olive oil.  I just need to adjust my ratios a bit, and I’ll have utter perfection on my hands.  (The unsuccessful trials need not go to waste though – they’re fabulous plunked into my morning coffee!)

 

Olive Oil ‘Butter’                                                                                           This one is ultra-simple, but I still think it’s pretty cool.  It’s a quick combination of olive oil and mono-diglyceride.  I warm it up, I cool it down, and presto!  Spreadable olive oil!   Imagine it spread on warm crusty bread with sprinkling of salt.  Mmmmm.  Who needs butter?  

 

Olive Oil Cotton Candy                                                                         Part of me thinks this one’s cheating a bit.  I mean, it’s only cotton candy with little drops of olive oil  and sea salt sprinkled on top.  Technically, it’s cotton candy with olive oil.  Not olive-oil-cotton-candy.   But when you pop this small wispy-sugar orb into your mouth, it’s instantly infuses with olive oil sweetness.  It just works, if you know what I mean.  Anyways, who am I to say boo to cotton candy?                               

 

Olive Oil Powder                                                                               Another simple preparation.  Easy as can be really, but oh so cool.  Combine 2 parts malto-dextrose with 1 part olive oil.  Give it a spin in a food processor. And voilà!  Powdered olive oil!

 

Olive Oil Custard                                                                                        For the custard, I use the same cream-sauce-cum-vinaigrette technique that I developed for the ice cream.  The end product is pretty similar, and quite nice.  Thick and smooth with a good balance of eggy richness, and a vibrant olive oil presence. 

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Olive Oil Gummies                                                                                        This has got to be my greatest success at Alicia!  These things are fantabulous!  They rival Haribo (the best gummy bears in the world– the only brand I’ll buy).  But like I said, these gummies of mine, miraculously, are just as good.  Gooey capsules of sugary extra-virgin olive oil.  They enliven your mouth with a rich burst of intense olive-oily flavor.  I could seriously eat handfuls.  Too bad that on top of being completely sugar laden, they’re full of fat too!  But they’re so darn good, I keep getting special order requests.  I make a new batch about every week.  In fact, I’m making some more tomorrow. Yay!

 

Olive Oil Air                                                                                                         Easy peasy.  Extra-virgin olive oil.  Lecithin.  Combine.  Heat.  Blend. Done.

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So, there you have it.  My entire olive oil repertoire.  You know, I don’t think I’ll ever taste a drop of olive oil again without experiencing an instant flood of lovely Alicia memories.  How lucky.