Like fruit, olive oil has seasons. Like gasoline, it has grades. And like wine, it has aficionados. Local entrepreneur Emmanuel Daskalakis is one of them. This connoisseur of the fruit-of-the-tree has recently dipped into the olive-oil import trade.
His pure-tasting, light extra-virgin olive oil, called Alia ($29.99), comes fresh from his family’s groves on Crete in the Southern Mediterranean. The oil pours from a long, slim, slightly curved bottle and slides down the plate so smoothly you want to kiss it before you eat it. Alia has an unprocessed, fresh, fruity flavor that complements breads without dominating, and drizzles on lettuce without glopping or drenching.
Through April, Daskalakis is stocking the young, fresh-off-the-boat " proprietor’s select. " Then Alia will be replaced by Aria, an older, more mellow olive oil.
Daskalakis calls this olive-oil endeavor his " new mission in life. " Well, now we have one too: finding tasty breads and comparable balsamics worthy of occupying the same plate.
Aria and Alia can be purchased at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, by calling (866) OLIVEOIL, or online at www.araliaimports.com.