Todays episode of THE FOOD SEEN was taped in San Francisco at Stitcher. Maia Hirschbein is an oleologist, an olive oil specialist. She up in San Diego with an orchard as a backyard, but it took a semester at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, for her to realize what her home state of California had to offer. A missed attempt at working wine harvest in Tuscany lead Maia to her first olive grove. Olive oil has a history over 6500 years old, but the national growth of olive trees only started in the late 1700s. Learn about Maias work with the California Olive Ranch, educating us about how olive oil is actually more of a fruit juice, what the best times of the year are to buy a bottle, that it doesnt age like wine (so use it right away), and how taste and talk about all flavors and aromas produced by the myriad of varietals existing around the world, and blended in California. This show was brought to you by Tabard Inn The following olive oils were tasted during this show: 1. California Olive Ranch, Arbeqina 2. Laconia Crete, Pendolino, Leccino, Frantoio, Manzanillo, Mission 3. Deergnaw, Nociara, Taggiasca, Casaliva, Coratina, Picholine 4. Frantoio Grove, Frantoio *image courtesy of http://www.aromadictionary.com/oliveoilwheel.html