See subject. GQ, not CS.
James Peterson points it out in a number of his books. I didn’t believe him at first, but gold-darnit if it isn’t true.
Wooden spoons or pestles it works out fine-tasting. The speed is slower, fewer molecules are agitated, what? And how would that change the molecular structure for the taste profile?
FWIW, “extra-virgin” is a measure of acidity (less of it) in the oil, compare to “pure.”
Seems to be the polyphenols in olive oil, which are normally buffered by the oil so they can’t dissolve in whatever you’re adding the oil to. But if you get things going fast enough, the polyphenols lose their lipid protection, and are free to consort with whatever other substance happens to be around, ultimately allowing themselves to be tasted.
By the way, the Google search I used to find this answer (olive oil bitter whisk) has, as the second result, a Google Books result from James Peterson’s Cooking p. 358, ISBN 1607744066, if anyone wants to see where Peterson mentioned it.
You can get factual answers in Cafe Society. Moved there.
samclem, moderator
How do they combat the bitterness when making olive oil mayonnaise?
If someone were beating me with a metal whisk, I’d be bitter too.
In a homemade mayonnaise or alliolli there is no bitterness one can taste (mayonnaise is olive oil and egg; alliolli is olive oil and garlic; garlic mayonnaise is all three) - whether that has to do with the pressence of the other ingredients or with how long you’ve whisked it to form the emulsion, I have no idea. What I’m wondering is why would anybody whisk olive oil by itself.
Not if you’re Rihanna.