The Community of Madrid is organising its first virgin olive oil tasting competition in Alcalá de Henares. The professional category prizes reach 8,000 euros.
The Community of Madrid is celebrating the first Virgin Olive Oil Tasting Competition in the region at the experimental farm of El Encín in Alcalá de Henares. According to Madridiario, the initiative aims to recognise the work of these specialists and bring the discipline closer to new profiles.
The competition is organised by the Department of Environment, Agriculture and Interior and takes place at the facilities of the Madrid Institute for Rural, Agricultural and Food Research and Development (Imidra).
The event has two categories. The professional category this year includes 25 accredited tasters and the amateur category has 30 participants.
Contestants will need to demonstrate their sensory skills and their knowledge of virgin olive oil. Exercises include identifying and assessing positive and negative attributes of the product, as well as recognising different olive varieties present in the samples.
The top three positions in each category will receive prizes. In the professional category, the amounts are 8,000, 4,000 and 2,000 euros, and in the amateur category, 500, 300 and 200 euros.
The jury consists of specialists from Imidra and the Official Panel of Virgin Olive Oil Tasters of the Community of Madrid, representatives of the Protected Designation of Origin Olive Oil of Madrid, and members of the tasting panels from the ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda.
With this first competition, the Community aims to give more visibility to the figure of the taster and highlight the olive oil produced in the region.
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