Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

>In article >,

> "Giusi" > wrote:

>> > Must be the latest foo-foo food trend. I know of at least three within >
>> > 25 minutes of me.

>> I don't know that I would characterize it that way. Americans in general
>> tend to be ignorant about olive oil, as demonstrated here lately. What
>> better way to allow them to get to know the product? It's good for you, so
>> getting familiar with it, understanding how to use it and why one rather
>> than the other can't be bad?

>I can't disagree with most of what you're saying ‹ it's just that all of
>a sudden they're popping up "all over the place." What I would be
>really curious about is if they attract new customers and hold them or
>if the prices will keep folks away.

The problem with such a shop is it is not likely to carry a wide
range of olive oils. It is more likely to carry a handful of oils
from each of a range of captive producers. One such shop I went
into had no olive oils, other than French olive oil. I like French
olive oil but I'm not going to buy one more than once a year.

I do somewhat question that "Americans tend to be ignorant about olive
oil". So do people from other countries. I think the basic level
of olive-oil knowledge one finds in a chef or foodie from America
is about the same as that in Italy or France or Greece or Spain.
The latter person may have more market knowledge, e.g. they know
where better to find it. What's misssing in America mostly is
valid marketing -- one can see 50 high-priced olive oils in a specialty
shop in the U.S. and only maybe 5 are remotely worth the price.

Steve