Great Article from The Olive Oil Times: How come olive oil can cause a tingly sensation in your throat and not in your mouth?

The Olive Oil Times recently published an interesting article about olive oil tasting sensations. You know that peppery cough and chuckle you feel in the back of your throat when you taste fresh, high-quality olive oil make with spicy olive sorts (like our San Gurmano Intense)? Well, here is why you feel that sensation and what it means for your health!

By Tom Baker
Olive Oil Times Contributor | Reporting from Buenos Aires

For years extra-virgin olive oil has been tasted and judged on its ability to produce a tingling or burning sensation in the back of the throat, the belief being that the more you cough, the better the quality of the oil. Now scientists have come up with evidence to support this method of tasting and to explain why it works.
In a paper published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers revealed that sensor molecules, located in the human throat but not the mouth, attach to a chemical found in high-end olive oils causing the very noticeable sensation.

The idea to study olive oil first occurred to the paper’s co-author Gary Beauchamp around 10 years ago when he was visiting Italy to attend a meeting on molecular gastronomy, an emerging field studying the physics and chemistry of cooking.   A friend brought him some freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil to taste and one sip caused “a very odd sensation,” said Beauchamp, director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.  ”It’s got this burn in the throat, but not in the mouth.”

The discovery not only qualifies an age-old tradition, but also furthers the conversation around olive oil’s health enhancing attributes. During the study researchers found that when crushed Ibuprofen was swallowed and came in contact with the throat, it created the same sensation as oleocanthal, the cough-inducing agent present in olive oil. Scientists now believe that their findings could shed further light on the development of anti-inflammatory drugs.

But why this sensation should be felt in the throat rather than the mouth wasn’t fully understood until researchers turned their attention to a specific flavor-sensing molecule named TRPA1, known to react to noxios pollutants and chemicals found in foods such as wasabi, mustard, and garlic.

Focusing on the TRPA1 molecule, scientists began tests to locate its presence within the body. In taking tissue biopsies from a number of volunteers, they found TRPA1 to be mostly absent from mouth and tongue tissue, but present in large quantities in the upper throat and nose, which was “…a big surprise,” Beauchamp said. Although other noxious chemicals are sensed by many different receptors, it seems that oleocanthal can only be detected by TRPA1 and it is because of this that it is most felt in the throat when high quality extra-virgin olive oils are sampled.

Beauchamp raised a related question, noting that humans have come to appreciate the “pain” from oleocanthal in olive oil, as if there is an inner knowledge that it is advantageous. “How this happens remains a fascinating
puzzle,” he said.

TRPA1 also senses the chemically-unrelated ibuprofen, the team found. Beauchamp believes that it will be in understanding the correlation between the two diverse inflammation fighters that new leads in the development of better anti-inflammatory drugs could be found.

San Gurmano arrives to Philadelphia, PA!

 

We are super excited to announce that we have expanded to yet another state! 

Please check us out at this really cool, family owned and operated specialty food store, Claudio. The Claudio family has been serving specialty gourmet products to the wholesale and retail public for over 50 years and we are delighted to be a part of the legacy now. They are the first store in all of PA to carry specialty Croatian olive oils and vinegar!

Claudio Specialty Foods

924-26 South 9th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: 866-313-FOOD

Website: www.claudiofood.com

San Gurmano arrives in St. Louis, MO!

We are thrilled to announce that San Gurmano extra virgin olive oil is now available for purchase at Extra Virgin, an Olive Ovation, a wonderful store in St. Louis, MO. The store specializes in providing an eclectic selection of delicious oils, vinegars and other goodies, and the owner, Marianne, has built a well-edited offering of exceptional oils. If you are in St. Louis, please stop by the store to sample our product and get some for your kitchen!

 

Visiting San Gurmano production team in Porec, Croatia

This summer we went on our annual trip to Croatia to visit the San Gurmano production team in Porec. What gracious hosts! After touring the nursery and picking out a new olive tree to plant in in our beach house garden, we had a wonderfully indulgent lunch overlooking the sea and old town of Porec.
We discussed some new products for fall (stay tuned!) and overall had a great time catching up with our partners. Here are some photos from the trip:
 

Working lunch: enjoying the delicious food and great company overlooking the beautiful Adriatic and old town Porec

Delicious, unusual and light dessert: Roasted figs with shaved almonds, creme fraiche and raspberry syrup

Wonderful San Gurmano production team in Porec

At MIH (Made in Histria, San Gurmano producers) nursery in Porec, standing in front of a massive olive tree

Video about San Gurmano Elderflower Vinegar

Video about Extra Virgin Olive Oil San Gurmano

Shop our goodies on Facebook!

You can now buy our San Gurmano products directly on our Facebook page! 
Check us out!