Why olive oil catches peppery in the throat

Many people trying genuinely fresh extra virgin olive oil for the first time assume something is wrong with it. It is bitter. It catches at the back of the throat. Sometimes it makes them cough.

Nothing is wrong. That is what good olive oil is like, and its absence is what should concern you.

Where the sensation comes from

Both the bitterness and the pungency come from polyphenols — natural compounds in the olive fruit that carry into the oil during pressing.

What is interesting is that they register in different places. Bitterness is tasted on the tongue, as a flavour. The pungency is felt in the throat, and it is not really a taste at all — it is a sensation, closer to what chilli does.

That is why it arrives a few seconds after you swallow rather than immediately.

What official panels say

Formal olive oil assessment scores three positive attributes: fruity, bitter and pungent. Bitterness and pungency are listed among the things being looked for, not among the defects being penalised.

The actual defects are something else entirely: rancid, fusty, winey, metallic, muddy. One detectable defect is enough to cost an oil its extra virgin grade, however good its other attributes.

Why old oil is not peppery

Polyphenols are consumed as they work. They are antioxidants, and every time the oil meets oxygen, light or heat, some are spent protecting the fats in it.

That means the pungency fades over time. Oil that feels soft and smooth and leaves nothing in the throat has either been refined, gone old, or been stored badly.

If you do not like it

That is fair enough, especially at first. Palates adjust to bitterness gradually, and most people find the taste becomes enjoyable after a few weeks. In the meantime there are ways to soften it.

• Stir it into hot food — gentle heat takes the edge off the pungency
• Combine it with something creamy: egg, mashed potato, avocado
• Pair it with acid — lime, vinegar, tomato — which balances the bitterness
• Use it in roasting, where the flavour turns rounder and sweeter
• Start with small amounts and build up