Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Oil pressed from olives within hours of harvest, with no chemical processing and an acidity below 0.8%. The "extra virgin" designation is regulatory, not poetic.

Cooks tend to keep two bottles. One — older, milder — for cooking. One — fresh, peppery, often single-estate — for finishing. They are not interchangeable, and a good finishing oil heated past 180°C is a small tragedy.