“Ask Matt Caputo” is an ongoing feature where Matt answers commonly asked questions from the market. This week, he discusses condiment grade olive oil.

Question:
I’ve tried some olive oils that taste really strong and can’t imagine how I’m supposed to use them: what would I use something like that for?

Answer:
Most people misunderstand olive oil, or at least think about it a bit too simplistically. There are different types for different purposes, and I’m not talking about extra virgin vs virgin; I’m talking about how it’s used. In Italy, their number one most popular condiment is olive oil. You might have one olive oil that is good for cooking, you might have another that’s good for salads, but some olive oils are so strong and potent that they’re used as a condiment.

Now what is a condiment supposed to do? A condiment is supposed to change the flavor of a finished dish, so you need something really, really potent. In fact, sometimes, these condiment grade olive oils are so potent that if you were to taste them on their own (or maybe even with bread) they might be too strong.

Just recently, we received the new harvest of Viola Colleruita from Italy. It is one of the strongest olive oils in the world, and my absolute favorite to add to finished dishes. A nice soup dish, a finished pasta dish, even on top of things like steak – just a little drizzle on top. Or my favorite to surprise my guests with: on top of gelato, maybe with a little sea salt. The Colleruita just brings out the flavors. It’s really an amazing product. Too bitter on its own, but incredible as a condiment like they would do in Italy.

– Matt Caputo

Olive Oil is near and dear to our hearts at Caputo’s. We’ve told epic stories of our House Olive Oil from Crete, and we occasionally offer classes on this culturally essential ingredient. In our selection, you’ll find excellent choices for cooking, dressing, and even finishing dishes. Find yourself some Colleruita and explore the rest of our selection here.

Disclaimer: While Matt Caputo is a Certified Cheese Professional and specialty food fanatic, he is not a medical professional, doctor, or certified nutritionist. Please consult with your doctor or other qualified health care professional before making any healthcare decisions, diagnostics or treatment decisions based on Matt’s answers.

In July of 2023 we finally made the pilgrimage to restaurant AND cannery, Gueyu Mar. After an elaborate 10 hour lunch, our poor kids were spent, but Yelena and I were left with a deeply profound experience. Spiritual I could say. Life only offers a handful of meals as impactful as this was for us.

Abel Alvarez knows all the fishermen that supply his restaurant with the catch of the day. When we first met, he and his right hand man (Andre) were walking to the restaurant carrying baskets overflowing with fresh fish and crabs. Restaurants everywhere try to create the impression they source like this, but <1% actually do. Gueyu Mar walks the walk.

Abel says he is not a chef, but an “asador,” or grill master. With years of experience on his custom grill, his charcoal kiss is transcendent.

I ate so much I was worried I might die, but these rare and special dishes couldn’t be refused. A truly unique fish, El Rey, was presented in the 5th hour, on our 12th course. With a diet consisting almost entirely of shellfish and crustaceans, this 200 year old specimen typically costs $80 per kilo, raw. As painful as it was to finish every bite, I couldn’t say “too full” after hearing (and tasting) that!

Most of their specialties are prepared in tinned form at the restaurant. The cannery is right inside!

About half the dishes Abel serves in the restaurant use seafood directly from his tins. He doesn’t tell patrons which are fresh and which are tinned, and we found it impossible to tell. These Espardenas (sea cucumbers)? Tinned. The sauce was an emulsion of the oil from the tin, frothed and served with a masterfully fried egg. It was one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever had, and infinitely better than other times I’ve tried the same.

They have recently opened a larger space for more comfortable canning, but every tin still features the daily catches chargrilled by Abel or Andre. The duo spend their first shift at the cannery before beginning lunch service at the restaurant, so the tins always contain the freshest of the day.

There is a huge difference between factory made tins and those made by artisans who have dedicated their lives. Gueyu Mar embodies and reminds us of the proper definition of “artisan.”

When the call came from our warehouse that our first shipment had finally arrived, I screamed like a maniac and ran straight out to see for myself. After so many years of admiration and work, Yelena and I are honored to be the importers of Gueyu Mar’s tins. This is why we do what we do! Now who wants to join us at the restaurant next time!?

As part of Caputo’s Preservation Program we are proud to announce a partnership between Caputo’s Market & Deli, Hacienda Tranquilidad (Baures, Bolivia), and Ritual Chocolate (Heber, Utah). Namely, a chocolate bar made from rare wild cacao.

The Caputo’s Wild Tranquilidad bar started almost a decade ago when Caputo’s donated money on behalf of an agronomist who had discovered something very special. The tests we sponsored provided a USDA Genetic Profile proving Tranquilidad’s samples were a previously undiscovered type of cacao, “Beniano.”

Even before the tests had confirmed it, Tranquilidad’s cacao had become famous being referred to as Cru Sauvage, Cacao Sylvestre, Boliviano, to name a few. The agronomist, Volker Lehmann, bought land in the area and dedicated his life to building a business that would preserve this cacao. Despite the fame and insanely delicious, one of a kind cacao, Tranquilidad has faced bankruptcy, competitors counterfeiting his cacao, fires, drought, floods and more. Long story short, even in the world of fancy chocolate not enough money flows back to the farmer. 

Caputo’s has arranged for Ritual to buy Tranquilidad’s genetically pure Beniano and pay top dollar directly to Tranquilidad with no intermediaries. Ritual uses these jewels of the jungle to make chocolate bars to Caputo’s specifications. After countless tests and tweaks to almost every step in the chocolate making process, Ritual Chocolate proves their mastery with one of the best tasting dark chocolate bars of all time. Caputo’s then gives a full dollar to Tranquilidad for every 60g chocolate bar sold. This represents an additional $7.60 per pound of chocolate sold and is many multiples more than a farmer would receive when selling cacao.

Caputo’s believes that Capitalism can actually be a wonderful system for positive change when all stakeholders in the supply chain share equally in the rewards. We know our community of food lovers will vote with their purchases and join us in blazing a trail to a food system that preserves biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.

In our tinned seafood classes, something that really excites our students is the common types of tuna and how to distinguish them.

As I tried to educate myself on the many types of tuna that are represented in the nice brands of conservas from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, etc, it was a lot harder than I thought. Unfortunately, there is more conflicting and incorrect information out there than you can shake a stick at! After months of comparing notes with industry experts, we were able to create an accurate way of conveying the information visually. We even made it a poster!

For those who are visual learners, check out the poster or Tuna Types page on our website. For those who prefer to simply read words, below are all the types of tuna commonly found in tins, some stats, and other tidbits on everything from history to quality differences. We hope you find them as interesting in this format as our students do in our fishy classes!

REASONS FOR CONFUSION

TUNA vs BONITO

HISTORY
Bonito (Sarda sarda) is a smaller fish found in the Mediterranean. When a similar looking but much larger fish Thunnus alalunga was discovered in more northern waters, it was named Bonito del Norte, or Bonito “of the North”.

Bonito del Norte weighs in at a whopping 88 lbs whereas Bonito’s maximum weight is 18.25 lbs.

CONFUSION?
While “Bonito del Norte” and “Bonito” are often used interchangeably, they are entirely distinct species. Bonito is more closely related to mackerel than tuna

QUALITY
In the wine world, where the grape is grown is indicative of quality. Similarly, the best tuna is caught in the Cantabrian Sea. Only Albacore Thunnus alalung caught in these waters should be called “Bonito del Norte.”

PRESERVING INTEGRITY
Because the term “Bonito del Norte” comes with notoriety and inherent quality, inaccurate claims to it are often made…

…even when the fish is not from the Cantabrian Sea.

…even when it is an entirely wrong species! Bonito and Skipjack often referred to even by fisherman as Bonito del Norte.

Some of this confusion is inadvertent and some is not. Caputo’s asks all our suppliers the hard questions so you don’t have to

See our Tuna Guide page or download the PDF

“Yelena and I just got back from Portugal. It was both deeply inspiring and alarming.

Bad news first. I was surprised to learn that even in countries like Spain and Portugal where I assumed that traditional/artisan methods of production (especially when it comes to conservas) are more highly valued than they are in the US, the canning industry is going through significant consolidation.

To help me learn more, my friend Vasco put together [this] graphic showing every single Portuguese cannery, which brands they produce, and which fishing ports they are based out of.

As I was becoming a conservas geek I learned to revere A Poveira as THE best cannery for sardines and La Gondola for making the absolute best seafood pate. Both were recently bought by a huge Spanish company and they are already in the process of making these venerable canneries “more efficient” in very sad ways.

Others I talked to explained how despite the current perceived renaissance in conservas that it is mostly a proliferation of brands and that the list of canneries is going to continue to get smaller.

Despite all the pressures of the industrial food system snuffing out everything they can, I left feeling very inspired to see some incredibly serious people creating a spark that has the potential to keep the conservas flame burning bright.

While they started as just a brand buying from other canneries, Jose Gourmet has opened what is Portugal‘s newest and smallest cannery. 100 Misterios is the name. They have hired all the most talented hands that the giant factories have recently put out of a job. They go to the auctions daily and only buy the best. Most importantly, their product tastes the way a romantic like me would expect the smallest cannery in Portugal to taste. The best.

With how slick their packaging and marketing is I expected the owners of Jose Gourmet to be rich investors or a VC group. I was wrong. It was started by a man who is not wealthy and still works his day job as a full-time commercial airline pilot and his friend who is an artist (hence the beautiful packaging). If I understood his story well, Adriano, the pilot, sold his old condominium to start 100 Misterios.

Both men divide their time between Porto and Lisbon and are insanely excited about conservas. Some of the projects they are working on are unprecedented. Obviously, as their master importer I am biased, but I think they are important to the industry and where it will go.”

– Matt Caputo

When you shop at Caputo’s, you help us determine what is important to the industry and where it will go. You help us support small producers who are uplifting their communities, challenging monopolies, and enriching the earth. 100 Misterios is a perfect example of this ethos. They have targeted a loss in their community, locked on, and figured out how to revive it by any means necessary (condominiums be damned). By far the smallest cannery in Portugal, most of their production capacity is allocated to preserving traditional techniques you have come to know and love in Jose Gourmet and Ati Manel. We admire them for this artisanal work, but that’s not to say they don’t have more plans in store. Want to know more? Stay tuned to find out…

Although I hope that Caputo’s can be a catalyst for changing the entire US food system, I also realize I may be tilting at windmills. If we cannot change the entire food system, I know we can at least ensure the success of a select few farmers and artisans. When short term profits are disregarded, we can make sure precious gems like Mesa Farm have absolutely all the support they need. We can make sure that when they falter, they can continue. Randy Ramsley, the owner of Mesa Farm, is one of the last to uphold farming traditions as they were done hundreds of years ago. He goes deep into regenerative agriculture and far beyond sustainability. Visiting his farm is a spiritual experience. Years ago we agreed to create logos and a marketing plan for Randy, but we also guaranteed we would buy 100% of his excess cheese supply. We have held to our commitment through thick and thin and Randy is always the first to say Mesa Farm would have folded at several different junctures if it were not for the support of the Caputo’s community of food lovers and food professionals.

Mesa Farm is a shining example of how agriculture should be conducted; however, wholesome cheese and land stewardship in Utah is not our only area of concern. As chocolate fanatics, it has been painful to watch the global food system whittle away at the biodiversity of cacao that indigenous civilizations of Central and South America experienced.

This pain became particularly unbearable during the beginning of the pandemic when Luisa Abram’s father Andre told us our favorite bar, Juruá 70%, would need to be permanently discontinued. This bar was made with a unique genetic strain of cacao that only grows along the banks of the Jurua River in Brazil’s Upper Amazon. He explained the mounting challenges and financial burden of accessing this cacao (in the world’s most remote jungle) and bringing it to market made it impossible to continue.

As he explained the challenges, I understood that they were complicated, continuous and growing. I also realized that any hope of making this wild crop economically viable may take a decade of investment. I knew their company was facing pandemic induced financial challenges and could not shoulder the burden.

This is when I knew that despite our own pandemic emergencies, Caputo’s could solve this.

If we throw out any expectation of profit on this chocolate bar in the near future, we could prepay for the next harvest. Luisa and Caputo’s together could make sure the small community in the Jurua had the money and guidance to set up their own fermentary and continue to return to Jurua to harvest this incredible cacao, year after year. With Caputo’s guaranteed support, Luisa can purchase all of the Jurua cacao the foragers can procure. 

It cost us a lot, but the nice thing about not having investors to please and owning your own family business is that you get to decide what to invest in. It may not make a worthy investment return in my lifetime, but that is not what is important. What is important is that Caputo’s and Luisa Abram have created a bar of chocolate that will ensure this crown jewel of the Amazon is protected for future generations.

When you taste a Caputo’s Wild Jurua bar you experience the gustatory exhilaration of some of the world’s most rare cacao. Then, when you see the Caputo’s shield emblem on the walls of our store or on the pages of our website, you will know what it stands for, and that you have joined us in our fight. What a beautiful way to fight: spreading camaraderie and love for intrinsically good food.

https://caputos.com/product/caputos-wild-jurua-70-luisa-abram/