How Italian Restaurants Have Such Perfect Bread Dipping Oil
Those of you who enjoy eating at Italian restaurants from time to time are probably familiar with the pleasure of dunking delicious chunks of bread into the perfect bread dipping oil served in these eateries. Before the arrival of the main course, this yummy appetizer keeps us satiated as we keep dipping our bread! But have you ever wondered how Italian restaurants serve such perfect dipping oil? They certainly have a few secrets up their sleeves. These include using the best quality extra virgin olive oil and a delicious mix of seasonings and herbs.
If you are keen to recreate restaurant-quality bread dipping oil at home, you could try this herb mix for a dipping oil, or just follow the lead of Italian restaurants and keep their tips in mind. This way, the next time you are hankering for an Italian bread dipping oil experience, you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own home.
Tips for achieving the perfect bread dipping oil
Ask any expert the absolute basic tip to achieve restaurant-quality bread dipping oil, and they will tell you that you must use the highest quality extra virgin olive oil. The best kind of EVOO, as it is often known, is so good that it may not even need any addition of seasonings or herbs to enhance its flavor. A simple swirl of your crusty bread in this tasty oil is enough to take you to bread-dipping heaven.
In fact, Italian restaurants use an EVOO known as finishing oil to coat the dipping oil just before serving it on the table. This adds extra freshness and taste to an already tasty dip. When the dipping oil is so good on its own, it often doesn't need strong flavoring to enhance it further. However, basic seasonings like garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest can be added without tampering with the original taste of the oil.
Some people also like to add balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese for more depth and richness. Herbs like oregano, basil, parsley, and rosemary are also popular additions in some versions of this dipping oil.
How to check for the highest quality of oil
Now that you are aware of the secret to achieving the tastiest bread dipping oil at home, you may be wondering how to assess if the extra virgin olive oil you plan to use to make it is of the highest quality. After all, with so many different options available on the market, it could be difficult to figure out which brands are best and which ones are just using marketing gimmicks. So, here's what you should know before buying olive oil.
Smelling and tasting the oil is undoubtedly the best way to determine its quality. The highest quality EVOO is slightly bitter to taste and has an earthy, grassy smell. Labels are your best friend in this situation. A clearly-indicated batch, bottling, or harvesting date shows the oil's freshness. However, if only an expiration date is highlighted, it means the oil could be old. The extra virgin tag on the packaging is also extremely important to ensure no chemicals have been added to the product.
Third-party certifications on labels proving the claims of the oil are another handy endorsement of its quality. Most importantly, you must observe the bottle closely. The highest quality oils are packaged in glass bottles in a slightly darker hue as that keeps out the light, which could spoil the oil faster.