Smithsonian Explores the World's Best Olive Oils

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Washington’s Smithsonian Institution will host a sem­i­nar, ​“Olive Oil: In Search of Liquid Gold” to explore high-qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oils on February 3, part of its Smithsonian Associates lineup of classes and lec­tures.

Curtis Cord, the pub­lisher of Olive Oil Times and pres­i­dent of the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition will lead the all-day ses­sion that is expected to draw up to 150 atten­dees, accord­ing to Smithsonian Associates.

After a morn­ing ses­sion on tast­ing and qual­ity assess­ment, Cord will lead the group through a guided tour of this year’s NYIOOC award-win­ning oils from 27 coun­tries to demon­strate the abun­dant vari­ety of tastes in olive oils from around the world.

The Smithsonian will pre­pare a lunch designed to illus­trate how pair­ing dif­fer­ent olive vari­etals can enhance and ele­vate foods to new heights.

Attendees will also learn about the peo­ple behind the crit­i­cally acclaimed olive oils. ​“Above all, a great olive oil is a prod­uct of a pro­duc­er’s pas­sion and deter­mi­na­tion,” Cord said. ​“A dis­cus­sion of high-qual­ity olive oil must always begin with an appre­ci­a­tion of its pro­ducer and his or her farm.”

A mul­ti­me­dia pre­sen­ta­tion will bring atten­dees into the groves and mills of olive oil pro­duc­ers on 5 con­ti­nents.

Tickets to the sem­i­nar are offered on the Smithsonian Associates web­site.

Smithsonian Associates — the largest museum-based edu­ca­tion pro­gram in the world — pro­duces edu­ca­tional and cul­tural pro­gram­ming that offers access to the Smithsonian’s world of knowl­edge.

This will be the sec­ond time the pro­gram has exam­ined olive oil qual­ity. In 2014, Cord led a sold-out sem­i­nar at the museum on olive oil appre­ci­a­tion titled ​“The World of Olive Oil.”