Have you ever been to an olive oil tasting? I bet you haven't, right? But you've probably either been to a wine tasting event, or sampled different wines at a vineyard or wine bar.

Tasting olive oil is similar, but also a lot different. Here's why:

First, the professionals (yes, there are professional olive oil tasters) use a dark colored glass so that they're not influenced by the color or the clarity of the olive oil. While we might consider those qualities in wine, they're not important to olive oil.

Second, you take a very small sip. That's because we not only taste olive oil on the taste buds on our tongue, but we also experience some irritation from the acidic qualities of olive oil in the back of our throat when we swallow. Swallow too much, and your throat will feel like it's on fire. This throat irritation is actually a good thing, and it's one of the ways that olive oil is ranked. There's also a difference in how long it takes for the irritation to start, and how long it lasts. Trust me, you don't want it to last long!

Third, you never drink the rest of the olive oil in your glass. Since olive oil, like all fats, has about 120 calories per tablespoon, it would be really easy to gain a lot of weight. We never drink olive oil any way, so skip the drinking and remember to take just a small sip or two.

Besides the throat irritation, look for a variety of tastes on your tongue. You may also experience these same tastes by smelling the olive oil. Sometimes you sense a definite fresh mown grass aroma and taste; this is considered a fresh and young olive oil. You might also taste hints of tomato, or tomato leaves, or even almonds, fruit, or vanilla. The taste of olive oil varies with the variety of olives used, where the olives were grown, and even how they were processed.

If you have a couple of different types of olive oil in your cupboard, you'll learn a lot by conducting a small taste test on your own. Just remember to sip!