A few months ago, Will and I participated in an olive study. This is one of the many weird and interesting things about living next door to a research university: being a research project subject. I’ve always been quick to volunteer for these types of things, not only to help a student or professor with their discoveries, but also because volunteers usually get a gift card or some silly prize for participating.
For the olive study, Will and I were required to taste a variety of black table olives and rate them based on taste, texture, and appearance. The olives ranged from buttery to fishy, firm to spongy, high moisture to low moisture. Of course, at the time they were just rows of olive dishes, all looking practically the same, marked only by a number. So, if you were about to bite into a really disgusting olive, there was no warning whatsoever. Olive #1 might have been a delicious buttery olive, a really enjoyable olive, and then BAM! Olive #2 tastes like fish bait.
The results of the study were released this week and the 38 page report documents all the findings from the study—people generally like domestic olives more than imported olives, for example, although they like Moroccan olives as much as domestic varieties. People like salty olives and dislike rancid or gassy olives (you don’t say).
The report is full of spider web charts and biplots that I don’t understand, but I can tell you this much: after eating twenty varieties of olives over the course of two days, it took several months to finally want to eat an olive again. Salty and buttery or otherwise.
Mmmmm... olives! Did you get a fabulous prize for participating in the olive tasting study?
Posted by: Mel | June 04, 2009 at 09:52 AM