July 21, 2026 • 38 mins
George Duran and Karla Walsh kick off a deliciously wild ride on the Always Hangry podcast, diving into the zany world of Costco food samples, dietary quirks, and the hilarious lengths people go to when it comes to food.
They explore the cult-like following of Costco, where samples can skyrocket sales by a whopping 2000%! George shares some eyebrow-raising anecdotes about the most bizarre things sampled at Costco, from lemon crème to even wet dog food, leaving listeners in stitches.
They also tackle the serious side of dietary restrictions and the myths surrounding olive oil, ensuring that no topic is left unturned. So grab your favorite snack and join them for a fun-filled chat that’s bound to tickle your taste buds and your funny bone!
Finally, George sits down with Alexandra Devarenne of the Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA) to bust some of the biggest myths surrounding olive oil. From how to choose a quality bottle at the supermarket to whether you should really cook with extra virgin olive oil. Alexandra shares practical tips that will change the way you shop, store, and use one of the world's healthiest ingredients.
Takeaways:
- In today's episode, they delve into the quirky world of Costco food samples, revealing just how much those tiny bites can boost sales by a whopping 2000%.
- They share hilarious stories about bizarre food sampling experiences at Costco, including some truly outrageous items, like wet dog food and even toilet paper!
- They discuss the challenges of accommodating various dietary restrictions, sharing amusing anecdotes about friends who seem to have more food rules than a game of Monopoly.
- The conversation touches on the ethics of food sampling and the fine line between tasting and stealing, prompting some lighthearted debates about supermarket morals.
- They also explore the science behind why free samples can trigger a sense of reciprocity, compelling shoppers to buy what they taste, even if it’s just a tiny chip of something.
- Finally, they wrap up with a fun game about drizzling olive oil on unexpected foods, proving that culinary experimentation knows no bounds, even if it involves ice cream!
Guests
- Karla Walsh — lifestyle & food writer
- Alexandra Devarenne — Extra Virgin Alliance ·
Next week: George sits down with feel-good foodie Yumna Jawad.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Costco
- Yahoo Finance
- Better Homes and Gardens
- Travel and Leisure
- Allrecipes
- Eating Well
- Bon Appetit
- Whole Foods
- Extra Virgin Alliance
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I do have to admit anotherthing. I've stolen chicken wings
also one time.
How do you do that?
Welcome to the Always Hangrypodcast, where we break down the
way we eat. The good, the bad,and the completely ridiculous. I'm
George Duran. On today's show,we're diving into the world of Costco
(00:20):
food samples, surviving theminefield of dietary restrictions,
and exposing the tricks behindover hype restaurant reviews. And
later on, we'll separate factfrom fiction and bust some of the
biggest myths about olive oil.Joining me today is Carla Walsh.
She's a lifestyle writer whospent nearly 20 years eating, traveling,
(00:41):
and telling us where to go andwhat's actually worth it.
Such a pleasure to be here, George.
You know, I know you'vewritten for a lot of magazines, obviously,
right? Travel and Leisure,Better Homes and Gardens, all recipes,
Eating well Shaped, BonAppetit. So on and on. You must have
read and written about a lotof weird stories out there, right?
I have, yes. I feel like I candive deep into topics from, like,
(01:05):
poop to, like, luxury hotelswithin the same day.
Oh, wait, but in terms offood, though, there's no poop. Right.
Thankfully, that's a health story.
Okay. So you have to receivesome assignments that are kind of,
like, bizarre, out of thenorm. And then when you do your research,
you're just like, I cannotbelieve this is actually happening.
Yeah, yeah. And so many foodtrends and stuff like that. You're
(01:26):
just like, wow, am I reallyresearching this? Or how did we miss
the plot so much about thisspecific ingredient that people are
now afraid of?
Yeah. And what's the thingthat gets the biggest clicks?
Ooh. There's just like anendless supply of topics that you
can explore at Costco, fromthe food court to the samples to
the aisles. And I think that,like, once it's an if, you know,
(01:48):
you know, community, like,once you have a membership, you're
like, oh, I see whateverybody's been talking about.
I mean, it's a cult following.I am one of the cult followers myself.
And the one thing that I'vealways loved from the very beginning
are the samples at Costco. Infact, there are some beautiful facts
about Costco's samplings.There's. According to Yahoo Finance,
sampling can increase sales by 2000%.
(02:08):
Wow.
So if you're literally givingout those samples, the problem with
Costco, sometimes they'regiving out tortilla chips. I don't
think I'm that excited abouttortilla chips.
Right. Last time I was there,it was like a creatine drink that
was like, right by the checkout.
Yeah, yeah, I'm not. I'm nottasting that. I'm good with that.
Frozen pizza, by the way, isusually sees an increase of 600%
(02:28):
when sampled.
Okay.
Also, free samples triggerwhat's called reciprocity. It's when
you feel obligated to buysomething because you tasted it.
And that happens to me in thecheesemonger. Like, they give me
all these samples to taste. Orin the ice cream.
Ice cream, yes. You're like,oh, I have to get a double scoop
now because I put them out.
Yeah. And you know what? AsI've gotten older, I'm just like,
eh, I don't want it. I've hadenough samples. I've done that. Have
(02:52):
you done that?
I've totally done that. I'm sorry.
Well, the weird thing is thatI started going deep into a rabbit
hole and trying to figure outwhat are the weirdest things that
Costco sampled. So here,here's a list of the weirdest things
that Costco has sampled. Lemoncreme, fish oil.
Oh, you're gonna try that? Itwasn't like a supplement.
(03:12):
It was literally like syrup,almost like a little shot.
No, I'm not trying that at Costco.
Pepto Bismol.
Absolutely not. Yeah, I mean,if you need that when you're shopping
at Costco, you should probablybe closer to a bathroom.
They've actually. Yeah, I feellike if you try the other samples
and then you're running.
Around, maybe you need alittle gut support.
Maybe it works together.
Well, yeah, exactly.
(03:33):
Wet dog food.
No, nobody's dog is. I don'tthink they allow dogs, do they? Unless
they're service dogs.
But I mean, what are you goingto do with that wet dog food afterwards?
Like, do you. Maybe it's forhumans too. Like, you should taste
it because some people tastetheir dog food to see if it's okay.
I guess I do have a friendthat just feeds their pet rotisserie
chicken and that's it.
Okay. But we're talking theother way around here.
(03:53):
Yeah.
This is a weird one. Toiletpaper. There are instances all over
online and photos that showtoilet paper being sampled.
Okay, so like, do you just useit as like a tissue?
I mean, that's not what toiletpaper is for.
No, it's not.
Yeah, they were giving outrolls in, like, Ziploc bags.
(04:14):
Oh, wow. It's like a take home project.
I would take that in a heartbeat.
Yeah, I mean, you.
But like, straight to theCostco bathroom. I think we'll take
in Korea, They've been givingout wine for samples.
Yes.
I would sample that, because,you know, purchases will just jump
2,000%. Mexico, they dochampagne, 100% caviar here in the
(04:36):
United States.
Yes.
They have sampled caviar onpotato chips.
Great. I think that's aperfect pairing.
That's. I would not leave. Imean, is there a limit how much you
can sample?
Right, Exactly. They wouldhave to turn us away.
Laundry detergent.
Ooh, interesting.
There was an instance inAustralia where they were giving
out longitudinal in littlecups, by the way.
Oh, that seems like it's gonna spill.
(04:58):
Well, I mean, I don't know ifyou're taking it home or you're taking.
A shot, but I hope not.
That's a weird one. Andfinally, the one that really caught
my eye. Water.
Okay.
Just water. That's it. Theywere literally sampling water, and
I can't imagine being next tothe water fountain and then having
someone give it to me in alittle plastic cup to taste. So I
(05:20):
don't get that one.
I feel like I'd almost try itto just be like, there has to be
something special about thiswater that we're sampling it.
No, it was literally bottledwater. Just pouring it in there.
Is there anything that youdon't eat? Do you have any dietary
restrictions?
No, I eat pretty mucheverything. I'm not a huge fan of
raw oysters. It's a texturething for me. I admire what they
do for the oceans, but not my favorite.
(05:42):
But here's what I think aboutoysters. I tell people who have never
tried it and want to try itfor the first time. You want to taste
the ocean.
Yeah.
It's like that mist when youwalk to the beach and you smell that
saltiness. That is whatoysters should taste like. And it's
so wonderful when youexperience that outside of the ocean
area, when you slurp anoyster. And for me, it's mignonette
sauce, which is like shallotsand red wine. It's just that acidity
(06:05):
gives it. And then when youopen an oyster, do you know there's
a way to check if it's fresh?Right. Once it's open, fill me in.
You take your finger or alittle stick, and you just poke at
it, and it retracts.
Whoa. That's a good pro tip.
I talk about dietaryrestrictions because I'm finding
out that a lot of my friendssuddenly have dietary restrictions
(06:25):
that I've never heard about.Or. I mean, the biggest dietary restrictions
out there are lactoseintolerance, Gluten intolerance,
which is like celiac diseaseand then vegetarianism. That's kind
of a dietary restriction. Eventhough with a celiac 1% of the population,
the world population, hasceliac disease. Did you know that?
I knew it was quite limited.And then a lot of people just have
(06:46):
like a gluten sensitivity.
So what's going on with that?
Yeah, I think they just feelbetter when they avoid it. So I'm
like, to each their own,Whatever makes you happy.
Except when they come to my home,.
It makes it a little more challenging.
Look, I'm the first person toadjust the menu for someone's dietary
restriction. But I had onetime someone, a friend of ours, come
in and she was always glutenfree, strictly. And everything I
(07:09):
made was gluten free for her.Went out of the way for her. And
no joke, one time we all wentto a restaurant and she ordered mussels
and there was this beautifulbasket of bread. And I have never
seen anyone eat an entirebasket of bread.
Well, it's probably becauseshe didn't have it for so long. She's
just like, finally.
I was seething. I wasseething. I'm like, I do everything
(07:30):
to work around those dietaryrestrictions. And there she is eating
an entire basket of bread. I'mnot inviting her again.
That's fair. I mean, it alsois reciprocal. Unless they're hosting
you, I don't feel like youalways need to be hosting them.
Yeah, Thanksgiving is anabsolute nightmare for me as well.
That's challenging.
Do you have a family that hasa lot of.
No poultry. They're allergicto poultry. No fish. Wait, you can
have a poultry allergy, man.My brother in law has a poultry allergy.
(07:52):
Wow. Okay.
No seafood. Again. That'sanother allergy from him. No peanuts.
My son is allergic to peanuts.So again, I understand when someone's
allergic. No pork and gluten free.
Okay. Wow.
This is Thanksgiving.
Yeah.
I make literally fourdifferent kinds of stuffing for Thanksgiving.
Wow.
Have you ever lied to someoneabout what you've cooked? And if
they're like, vegetarian,you're like, eh, I'm throw a little
(08:14):
chicken stock in here.
No, I haven't. That seems likejust like asking for it. I wouldn't
like it if people did it tome. So.
Well, it's not fair if theycome to your home and they suddenly
tell you, oh, by the way. Oh,by the way. I can't.
I feel like it's one of thoseyou need to disclose it at the invitation
phase. Of the process. Andthen people can plan around it or
just bring your own dish.Like, I always think it's appropriate
(08:37):
if people have foodintolerances. To ask the host, like,
would it be okay if Icontributed to the potluck? Would
I be throwing a wrench in thesystem? Of course, if it's like a
plated sit down thing, thenthat wouldn't make as much sense.
So here's a good tip that Ialways do. In my phone book, on my
phone, I write down people's allergies.
Oh, that's such a good idea.
That's what I do. Because Iforget there's so much to keep track
(08:58):
of.
That's so smart. You can dolike their birthdays, like.
Yeah.
Fun facts. And then food allergies.
That's what I do.
Yeah.
In mine, I don't, I don't evencare about their birthdays.
That's.
I care about their allergies.They come over for dinner. That's
all I care.
Yes.
Yeah. Maybe Apple or evenAndroid should come up with like
a little checklist of like,allergies, you know, Exactly.
Like on a menu where it's just gf.
(09:19):
Yes, that's it. That's it. Orlike, you know, ibs, you know, things
like that. Get that freeCostco toilet paper ready. And you're
traveling here from DesMoines, Iowa?
Yes.
So obviously New York City hasa plethora of restaurants to choose
from.
Yeah.
How do you find out whichrestaurant to eat?
It's so hard. I have, just forNew York City, I have like a spreadsheet
that's like, just when I seethings that people recommend that
(09:42):
I trust, or a friend dinedhere and raves about it, I just kind
of add it to my little NewYork spreadsheet. But in general,
when I'm looking at places inadvance, like when I'm traveling
for work, I do kind of trust,like the larger sources. And then
I'm not above looking at likea Google collective star rating.
It to me feels like an Amazonrating for like a printer or something.
(10:04):
It's like if there are 5,5000people who tend to like veer towards
this path, then I can probablytrust the general vibe, you know,
knowing that there will besome disgruntled folks in the mix.
But if there's a local diningcritic, I might poke around and see
what they've written lately.
I'm going to tell yousomething about those online reviews,
even articles. First, theycreate too much of a buzz in some
(10:26):
restaurants and you can't getin for six months, and it's.
So hard if the restaurantdoesn't know it's coming. Like, I
totally empathize with that.Like, some people don't want to be
reviewed, which is totally fair.
So my secret to going torestaurants. This is a really good
one. I look at the photos oneither Yelp or Google, but the ones
that the restaurants didn'tpost. Yeah, that's it right there.
(10:47):
If you can take a beautifulshot of a food with your horrible
photo skills and it looksgood, that is the restaurant I'm
going to. And I can instantlytell what it is. I don't look at
the stars. I don't look atwhat they wrote. I don't care about
the disgruntled people. I lookat the bad pictures of the food,
and if that looks good enough,I'm going to that restaurant.
Ooh, that's so good.
And obviously, word of mouthis fantastic. Again, you have both
(11:08):
different experiences of food.But I was going through Reddit, of
course, and doing someresearch, and somebody wrote something
that was very funny in termsof the reviews that some of these
people have online, and hesaid, I never do TikTok or Instagram.
I have found that the majorityof the influencers on there clearly
have crap food court pizza astheir baseline.
(11:31):
Ooh, burn.
I agree with that. That is sotrue. Like, who are you to rate this
place? And I don't know you.And you're right, you maybe like
cafeteria food, and you'relike, it's amazing.
Well, then you get paid.
So, like, maybe you get paid,maybe you don't. But, I mean, who
are you?
Okay, this is fascinating. Howdo you feel about line culture? I
feel like New York City has,like, a lot of places that, like,
have people lining up forthem, whether it's like a mochi donut
(11:55):
or a frozen yogurt shop.There's like, they're famous on TikTok.
And so people lie. Are youever, as New Yorkers say online,
in that situation, I willnever wait for food.
I will never wait for food inpublic anywhere in a restaurant,
because there are a lot ofother options right around the corner
that are just as good. Now, ifthere's a place that really, truly
(12:16):
has great food and there's aline, I took a put a reminder six
months later in my calendar.It says, hey, go back to this place.
Because after six months, itdies down.
Totally.
Yeah. These are tips on how tonot choose a restaurant. Let me know
if you agree with this. Nevergo into a restaurant that has food
displayed in front of it.
Okay. Like a slice shop.
No.
Does that count?
(12:37):
No. You see those, like, fakefood plates in front?
Yeah, that. That makes sense.
That's a red flag.
If there's ducks in the windowand they're just, like, rotisserie,
them. Great plastic food.
Or even, like, they. They makea whole dish and actually put it
in front.
Yeah. That's fair.
Do not go into thoserestaurants. Yeah. Never go to a
restaurant that has photos ofthe food on the menu unless it's
(12:59):
Asian.
I agree with that. Yeah. I wasgonna say, until that asterisk came,
I was a little bit like,.
I just don't know all theAsian foods. Right.
Sometimes if it's not anEnglish, it's just kind of helpful.
Right. Never going to arestaurant whose menu size is too
big.
I generally agree with that.It's giving a little Cheesecake Factory.
Yeah. And it feels likethere's just so much potential for
(13:20):
food waste. Like, it's hard tomake it through all of those ingredients.
If you're serving sushi andtacos and pizza and sandwiches and
pasta, like kebabs orsomething, it's just like, what are
you. What is your brand?
Make up your mind. What do youwant to do? Yeah. This is a big one.
You walk into an Asianrestaurant, and there are no Asians
(13:42):
in there. Ooh.
I don't know if I wouldimmediately walk out, but it is always
a good sign when it is. Theirculture supports it.
Yeah. And that goes for othercultures, too.
Totally.
It's just easier, you know, tofigure out that you're an Asian restaurant
and there's, like, Koreanrestaurant. There's Koreans everywhere.
And I'm like, this is theplace to come. And if I don't see
any, I have a. I have kind oflike, there's something wrong here
(14:04):
possibly.
Yeah. That's interesting.
And then what to order. Okay.So you walk into a restaurant, and
you. You've never been therebefore. You have no idea what to
order. The menu is written.There's no photos. There's no way
to know any. Any way. Any way.You kind of go in there. Do you ask
the waiter, like, what's good?
I feel like asking them what'sgood is, like, setting them up to
(14:25):
fail.
Yeah. The one thing that thewaiter can reply to me when I ask,
what's good on the menu? Andthey say, everything's good.
Yeah, exactly.
That means everything's bad.
Oh, no.
But there's another step thatI go, okay, you ready for this?
Yes.
When I sit down wherever it'swith. I get up to, quote, unquote,
go to the bathroom to wash myhands. Yeah. I spy on everybody's
(14:47):
dishes.
That's so smart.
You check it out. And I walkslowly, and it's kind of weird. People
think I'm just stalking them.I'm just checking out their food.
I'm like, what is that? Andthen when the waiter comes, like,
what did they order?
Yeah, that's smart.
So every time I go into therestaurant and my kids make fun of
me, they're like, why do youalways have to go to the.
You're just washing your hands.
Leave me alone.
Hygiene.
(15:25):
Hygiene. Yeah, I'm reallyspying on everybody's food. All right,
we're gonna take a quickbreak. When we come back, we'll find
out if stealing food from yourlocal supermarket is ever justified.
And later on, I'll sit downwith one of the world's foremost
olive oil experts to separatefact from fiction. Welcome back.
(15:45):
You know, this is somethingthat has been in the news a lot.
The New York Times wrote anarticle recently about microluting.
It's one of the hottest trendsamongst young crowds. It's the argument
if a company is big enough andthey're rich enough and annoying
enough, that swiping a fewthings here and there isn't stealing.
It's kind of a statement.
Yeah. I have strong feelingsabout this because I actually got
(16:07):
assigned a story about this,too, for Better Homes and Gardens.
And I reached out to everygrocery store contact that I have.
None of them wanted to go onthe record to tell me what was okay
and what wasn't okay. And it'sso interesting because, like, to
me, it feels like a prettyeven line of, like, if you're offering
samples for people to sample,that is okay. You should not be taking
or trying something that isnot offered.
(16:29):
Yeah, you know what? I'mtaking the grape, and I'm tasting
it. Yeah, I'm taking thisraspberry, and I'm tasting it. I've
gotten caught doing that, bythe way, by shoppers. They're like,
you can't do that. But I'msorry. If I'm gonna pay $6.99 for
a little pint of raspberries,organic raspberries. I need to. I'm
sorry. I need to taste it. Andtrust me, if it's good, I'm buying
it. I'm buying two of them.But if it's not good, I'm like, I'm
(16:49):
not spending $7 on garbage raspberries.
Yeah.
I think we should all be ableto taste anytime we want, but that's
tasting. We're also talkingabout kind of just slipping in a
few. Because at the end of theday, what people claim is that it's
completely harmless. A lot of.A lot of these companies already
take and factor, you know, anyfood loss. Yeah, food loss. So they
have that budget on the side.And also you're going against the
(17:12):
big corporate entities.
You know, I feel like myresponse to that would be everything's
going to get more expensive ifwe all start doing that. And so that
would be. My fear is, like, ifwe're already worried about groceries
in this economy, that it willjust start raising the bottom line
a little bit.
I've stolen something at WholeFoods one time.
Ooh, do tell.
Yeah, I needed a Thai chilipepper. I just needed one Thai chili
(17:36):
pepper. And when I went to thegrocery to the scale, it wouldn't
register it.
Oh, shoot.
I just popped it in my bag.
I think sometimes the peoplewho scan you will do the same thing.
I do have to admit anotherthing. I've stolen chicken wings
also one time.
Just how do you do that?
So the packages in thissupermarket, I won't say, but it's
(17:57):
a big corporate supermarket.They have the barcode printed in
the back. Except thecondensation kind of messed up that
barcode.
Oh, no.
And if you need to scan it andthe barcode doesn't work, you have
to type in the entire number.The numbers. I was in a hurry to
get these wings.
You were scanning your own?
I was scanning. Of course Iwas scanning my own. And by the third
(18:17):
package of organic chickenwings, I didn't have the time. I
had to. And it wasn't. I had to.
Darn it.
The other thing is that Idon't want to get banned from the
supermarket.
Right.
Like, that is my biggest fear.They can throw me in jail overnight
in the hole. I don't care. Imean, make me pay 10 times more.
(18:38):
Just put me away. Please worka shift, but please do not ban me
from this market.
Yeah. How were the chickenwings? Was it worth it?
Bitter. They just tasted awful.
Oh, my God.
I just couldn't even swallow it.
Especially that third pack.
Well, it was just intermingledwith all the other wings. I just.
(18:58):
It was.
The guilt was just a bad wingruins the bunch.
Yeah. Bad stolen wing. Hereare the top three items that are
stolen in supermarkets. Numberthree, snacks.
Okay.
You know, people get theirlittle chocolate bars and stuff and.
Oh, okay. I was thinking,like, maybe they open like the box
of fruit snacks. Because,like, I've seen some of those. It's
just like somebody yanks oneand you're just like, what are you
(19:19):
doing?
That's a lot of big Costcothing. You sometimes just see it
open. And by the way, thatjust tells me that I can sample,
too.
By the way, somebody started it.
That's what it. Yes, exactly.They open the floodgates and it's
like, you know what? Like,they're not going to be able.
To sell this anyways.
Let's. Let's get going. So Ido get it in my hand in there, too.
I'm like, let's go. I've neveropened a package. I have just put
(19:39):
my hand in there and gottenthat little thing of crackers to
taste it.
Okay, snacks. What else is onthe list?
Number two is cheese.
How do you like a fully shrinkwrapped cheese?
I guess you know, cheese isvery expensive, especially the high
end cheeses.
Yeah, totally.
It's one of the biggest thingsthat's stolen. Like a big block of
parmesan.
I was picturing someonewheeling out the parmesan wheel that's,
(19:59):
like, up to their.
Waist or possibly, you know,the softer cheeses and putting them
down their pants and justlike, things go wrong.
Yeah, some of those can smellpretty bad.
The number one thing that isstolen always is meats.
Okay. I mean, meat isexpensive right now, but that also
would be difficult to steal.
They're stealing it to resell it.
Oh, my God. There's like asecond market for.
(20:22):
There's a black market.
Would you trust meat sold toyou from not a butcher or not a grocery
store?
Well, what cut of meat is it?
Tomahawk steak.
Oh, man. Oh, my God. It couldbe in the back of an old sedan. Of
course, it could be roomtemperature. Like, I'm all over it.
If it's a ribeye, if it's likeprime ribeye, of course I'll steal.
(20:42):
But if we're talking about,like, flank steak and such, I mean,
I don't know where that flanksteak's been. Thanks for being on
the show. Really appreciate it.
This was so much fun. Ilearned so much about you and the
culinary worlds. I'll neverlook at Costco samples or oysters
or toilet paper. The same.
And you promise if I call you,you'll bail me out if anything happens?
(21:04):
100%. I'll be there in a heartbeat.
(21:28):
Fantastic. Yeah. Carla Walsh,thanks so much for coming on the
show. Next up, we're talkingto someone who knows more about Olive
oil than most of us know aboutour own children. Think of her as
the sommelier, but for oliveoil. We'll be right back. Welcome
back. If you've ever wonderedwhether olive oil belongs in a frying
pan, a salad or a trust fund,the Stacks interview is. Our guest
(21:53):
today is Alexandra Devarenneof the Extra Virgin alliance and
she's here to help us separateolive oil fact from olive oil fiction.
Welcome to the show, Alexandra.
Thank you very much.
If you were inside of asupermarket and you had 30 seconds
to choose olive oil, where areyou going to go? What are you going
to choose? What are youlooking for?
The first thing I think Iwould look for is a best before date
(22:16):
that is not tomorrow.
Nobody does that. Nobody'slooking at the like expiration date
or best before date on oliveoil. Nobody. I don't even do that.
Yeah. And that's why if I gointo a, say, a fancy deli or market
and there's bottles, but theyhave a, you know, a light film of
dust on their shoulders,that's not a great sign because I
(22:39):
want to make sure I'm gettingan olive oil that is, you know, moving.
It's got to be being restockedand being sold, not something that's
been sitting on a shelf forever.
So it's important to have agood turnover rate with these olive
oils because the fresher the better.
Within certain parameters. Iactually like to compare olive oil
(23:02):
to shoes. So when you have saytwo pairs of shoes, one pair of shoes
you got at, you know, I'm notgoing to name names, but the cheapo
shoe store and the other pairis a pair of well made with leather
shoes. So the plastic shoesand the leather shoes, when they're
brand new, both are prettygood. They look kind of similar.
(23:25):
What really tells is as youwear those shoes, the cheap shoes,
the plastic shoes, the poorlymade shoes go to pieces, they start
looking really shabby and oldvery quickly. Well made shoes, you
know, those other shoes, theyhold up better. They do better. And
(23:45):
olive oils are somewhat thesame that you have a well made olive
oil especially. And it must bewell taken care of. And this is something
that we can get into is bestpractices in storage and display
and stuff. But they agebetter. So when people say, oh, it
has to be the most recentharvest, I look for an olive oil
(24:09):
that is ideally from the mostrecent harvest. But sometimes you
can find an oil that's twoyears old, it's been well taken care
of, it will be in absolutelyperfect condition.
How on earth do people knowwhich olive oil to buy then?
That takes buying and tasting.And I would also say really, olive
(24:32):
oil shouldn't be that hard.And I think people, people get stressed
out. I actually lurk in theolive oil section of supermarkets
a lot.
I think I've seen you there.
You probably have. And I'mlike. And occasionally I'll ask people,
what do you look for? And theanswers are usually things that to
(24:55):
me are pretty irrelevant. Butthis look of deer in the headlights
in front of the olive oil setis so common and the industry has
to bear responsibility forthat. In many ways I think that there's
so much disinformation,misinformation, conflicting information
that people get in front ofthe olive oil set and they freeze,
(25:17):
they're paralyzed. Just buyit. Just choose. Look out for something
that is too cheap. If it's toocheap to be true, it is not true.
Don't look for stuff that isif it's $5 for a liter in this country,
(25:40):
no. So you want to getproducts that are reasonable price.
They don't have to be superexpensive, but just be wary of things
that sound too good to be true.
How do I know if an olive oilcompany is blending other oils in
their olive oil?
The chances of that in USretail are virtually nil. There was
(26:03):
the largest off shelf studyrecently done in the US the problem
of adulteration is not athing. It is really not a thing,
really what people need tolook out for. And this is where that
extra super ultra cheap offbrand that you've never heard of,
(26:25):
that would be where there wasa couple of products that were found
to have the addition of otheroils. They were nothing you'd ever
have heard of and the pricingwas off. So those are kind of the
red flags. But if you'rebuying any one of the major brands
(26:45):
in a supermarket in the USRetail, adulteration is not a thing.
And I'm seeing a lot of what Isee. There are two lanes here. I
see the cooking olive oil andthen the drizzling olive oil. Is
that still true that youshould kind of. Can I use the drizzling
to cook with?
Sure, if you have the money.See, to me, absolutely it's a question
(27:07):
of economics. If you canafford to buy fabulous olive oil
to cook with, go for it. Whynot? But I don't. Yeah, I mean, to
me it is more important thatpeople look for an olive oil that
they like and that they canafford. And extra virgin for me,
(27:28):
extra virgin is all of it.
What does that Mean extra virgin.
Extra virgin is the highestgrade of virgin olive oil. Virgin
olive oil is olive oil that'smechanically extracted. It has all
of the natural phytochemicals,the polyphenols, the sterols, all
of the things that go into anolive and an olive oil. They're all
(27:49):
there in extra virgin oliveoil. So it is by far, it's the tastiest
and it has the most healthbenefits and so on. The next grade,
which is just called olive oilin this country, is a blend of refined
olive oil and virgin oliveoil, usually about 15%, give or take
of virgin. And that is aperfectly good choice for someone
(28:14):
who's just starting out andis, is getting used to having something
that flavorful. Right. Andthey're looking for something that's
a little more like a neutralcooking oil, which is, they've been
using canola oil or whateverelse, or vegetable oil, that's fine.
But what we have found is thatpeople very quickly become kind of
hooked on that olive oilflavor and then they trade up to
(28:37):
extra virgin because that'sreally the, that's where the fun
is. That's. Those are thereally exciting products.
Yeah. I want to tell you a fewmyths, or perhaps they're not myths
about olive oil that I'veheard of. Clear glasses. The light
can affect the olive oil. Isthat true?
That is not a myth. That isabsolutely true. Olive oil is very,
(28:59):
very sensitive to ultraviolet light.
Is it okay to buy olive oil ina plastic squeeze bottle?
If that's what you want, sure.Yeah. No, the whole plastic thing
is for long term storage. Westore olive oil in stainless steel
tanks and plastic is not anideal long term storage. But for
(29:24):
the short term, those arealmost all PET bottles, both the
rigid ones and the squeezyones. And PET is perfectly fine for
a consumer package. It's. It'sjust not going to be in that bottle
too long. And you know, as achef that, you know, chefs for years
(29:46):
have been taking up putting itin a squeeze bottle and using it
because it's convenient.
Right, of course.
And that's important. Oliveoil should be convenient. That's
one of the reasons why we tellpeople, don't put it in the refrigerator.
You don't want to have to waitto use it. You want it to be available
so you can use it all the timeat every meal.
I buy my olive oil from CostcoLarge Extra Virgin, the best one.
(30:09):
It is in plastic, but it isdark and the turnaround is very quick.
This is my regular fryingsauteing olive oil. Am I doing the
right thing here?
You certainly are. Say youlive alone buying that large, you
know, product, the extravirgin that you like at Costco or
someplace. I don't thinkthere's anything wrong with doing
that. But what I wouldrecommend for a person there is to
(30:32):
carefully decant it intoabsolutely clean glass bottles and
close, you know, seal them upand put those in the refrigerator.
Because you're going to takeit out one at a time. It never goes
back in. But that way, ifyou've bought enough to last you
for four months, it's betterthat it be in a container with no
(30:55):
headspace, because oxygen is,is an enemy. Right? And that's one
of the reasons why I love bagand packaging. Bag in box packaging
is the best because the bagcollapses and therefore you don't
have that oxygen exposure.Light, air, heat, time, those are
the things that get you witholive oil. So you want to keep it
(31:18):
away from light, want to keepit away from air. And that's why
they always say, be sure toseal the bottle and so on.
That's crazy, because when yousay bag in box, I think of the cheap
wines that you buy out there.But for olive oil, it totally makes
sense.
It is. I know. And this is,this has been an obstacle to the
adoption of bag in boxpackaging because for everyone, it's
(31:40):
the. It's the box wine, it'sthe cheap stuff and so on. That's
the association. There arebrands that have rejected that thinking
and have done absolutelygorgeous bag in box packaging. In
fact, one of them, you can seeit at the Extra Virgin alliance booth,
that there is a product therethat comes in a bag and box and nobody
(32:03):
would look at that and say,oh, that's a cheap product. It's
a beauty. It is absolutely gorgeous.
Are the Italians using bag in box?
Oddly, I would say less than.This is a brand from South Africa,
actually, that has this one. Iknow brands in Portugal, Spain, some
Italian brands also. It's sortof everywhere. But being adopted
(32:26):
slowly because there's fear ofthe, you know, of consumers having
that perception you're talkingabout. And this is. It's like you
might have been thinking ofasking about first cold press because
that's something that peopleput on labels and yet it means, really
means nothing because.
Wait, wait, wait. First coldpress means nothing with olive oil.
(32:49):
Oh, now absolutely meansnothing. Because in order to be extra
virgin grade, it has to be thefirst press and it has to be done.
In fact, it's not even reallyA press. It's a centrifuge and it
has to be done under lowtemperatures. So it's a throwback
(33:13):
to the old days.
Quickly, tell me how olive oilis made, because are you taking raw
olives and then squeezingthem? Tell me how it's made.
What you do is, first off,you. The olives have to be fresh.
They cannot sit. You get themoff the Tree and within 24 hours
they gotta go into the mill.The first thing you do is you, you
know, they get cleaned. Butyou grind them with the seed. Seed
(33:36):
and all, you grind them up.And that can be done in a number
of different ways. But youcome out with something that is a
paste and it's kind of acoarse paste with chunks of pit.
And it's. See, you know, it'sgot the seed, it's got. It's got
pulp, everything in it. Thatthen goes into something that's called
a malaxer. And that is thebeginning of the separation process
(34:01):
where it slowly, very slowlychurns and the oil begins to separate
there. But more importantly,there's a lot of biochemical activity
that takes place because thephenols in an olive are. A lot of
them are in the water part ofthe olive. So those start to get
(34:23):
transferred into the oil andso on. So there's a whole bunch of
chemistry that goes on in thisthing. And then it goes into a centrifuge.
And in the old days it wentinto mats which got pressed, right,
which is where the pressbusiness comes from. But you spin
it and that separates out tooil, water and solids. And then it
(34:43):
goes in through another spinto clean it. And you have virgin
olive oil. And if you had goodolives, you have extra virgin olive
oil.
Let's say you have a highquality, super expensive, high quality,
fruity, a little pepperiness.What should I taste that olive oil
with?
I think probably the bestthing would be the hot potato test.
(35:03):
What?
Because heat is important,right? You want those aromas, those
volatiles. Heat will releasethem, right? So hot is good. So take
that potato, you know, open itup and then put your fabulous olive
oil in there. I'm also. I likea little salt in there. And then
you're going to be justenveloped by the aroma of this olive
(35:28):
oil is going to come up andthen. Sounds great.
What is the Extra Virgin Alliance?
The Extra Virgin alliance isthe specialty section of the North
American Olive OilAssociation. And we, Our focus is
to build appreciation forextra virgin olive oil. And we do
(35:48):
this through telling thestories of the Products and the people
behind them.
Is there A stamp? An EVA stamp?
Yes, there is. We have the AVAseal and it's EVA S E A L avaseal.org
yeah.
And you can't just buy intoit. I mean, you really have to go
through.
Oh, there's a whole process.Yeah. And these oils also meet very
(36:12):
stringent criteria ofchemistry and sensory evaluation
and packaging requirements,and so, you know, some best practices.
So any product that has theAVA seal has met a series, you know,
a set of criteria.
All right, we're gonna do itquickly here. We're gonna play a
little game called Would you'ddrizzle it? Tell me if you drizzle
(36:34):
olive oil on any of thefollowing. You ready?
Okay, I'm ready.
All right. Vanilla ice cream?
Absolutely.
Oh, wow. Coffee?
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Really putit in coffee. Sure.
Okay. Watermelon?
Yes.
How about breakfast? Oatmeal?
Oh, yeah, all the time.
Sure. Okay.
Absolutely.
Hot chocolate?
(36:54):
You could. Yeah, you could.
My kids wouldn't really. Idon't think if I put olive oil in
their hot chocolate, theywould just throw it in my face.
Really?
For sure.
You gotta work on those kids.
Yeah, I do. Pancakes?
Sure.
Okay.
Sure. You could do that.
Yeah. My kids, again, wouldprobably slaughter me. Finally. Peanut
(37:14):
butter and jelly, huh?
Now, that one, I would maybetry it once. I don't know. It's a
little hard for me tovisualize, but. Yeah, why not?
Yeah, why not?
You know, instead ofmayonnaise on sandwiches, I use olive
oil all the time. I don'tthink I've put mayo on a sandwich
in years.
(37:35):
You know, Alexander Duvarin ofthe Extra Virgin alliance, thank
you so much for being on theshow. I'll probably find you lurking
in my local supermarket soon.
Absolutely.
So I really appreciate it.What is the website to go to to find
out more about the AVA. TheExtra Virgin Alliance.
AVA seal.org okay, Evaseal.org that's us.
(37:57):
Fantastic. Thanks so much forbeing on the show. And folks, thanks
for tuning in to AlwaysHangry. Don't forget to join us next
week when I'll be sitting downwith feel good foodies Yumna Jawad
for another fun conversationyou won't want to miss. And if you
haven't already, be sure tosubscribe to Always Hangry wherever
you get your podcasts. Orvisit alwayshangrodcast.com for episodes,
updates, and much more. I'mGeorge Duran. Until next time, stay
(38:20):
hungry.
I do have to admit anotherthing. I've stolen chicken wings
also one time.
How do you do that?
Welcome to the Always Hangrypodcast, where we break down the
way we eat. The good, the bad,and the completely ridiculous. I'm
George Duran. On today's show,we're diving into the world of Costco
(00:20):
food samples, surviving theminefield of dietary restrictions,
and exposing the tricks behindover hype restaurant reviews. And
later on, we'll separate factfrom fiction and bust some of the
biggest myths about olive oil.Joining me today is Carla Walsh.
She's a lifestyle writer whospent nearly 20 years eating, traveling,
(00:41):
and telling us where to go andwhat's actually worth it.
Such a pleasure to be here, George.
You know, I know you'vewritten for a lot of magazines, obviously,
right? Travel and Leisure,Better Homes and Gardens, all recipes,
Eating well Shaped, BonAppetit. So on and on. You must have
read and written about a lotof weird stories out there, right?
I have, yes. I feel like I candive deep into topics from, like,
(01:05):
poop to, like, luxury hotelswithin the same day.
Oh, wait, but in terms offood, though, there's no poop. Right.
Thankfully, that's a health story.
Okay. So you have to receivesome assignments that are kind of,
like, bizarre, out of thenorm. And then when you do your research,
you're just like, I cannotbelieve this is actually happening.
Yeah, yeah. And so many foodtrends and stuff like that. You're
(01:26):
just like, wow, am I reallyresearching this? Or how did we miss
the plot so much about thisspecific ingredient that people are
now afraid of?
Yeah. And what's the thingthat gets the biggest clicks?
Ooh. There's just like anendless supply of topics that you
can explore at Costco, fromthe food court to the samples to
the aisles. And I think that,like, once it's an if, you know,
(01:48):
you know, community, like,once you have a membership, you're
like, oh, I see whateverybody's been talking about.
I mean, it's a cult following.I am one of the cult followers myself.
And the one thing that I'vealways loved from the very beginning
are the samples at Costco. Infact, there are some beautiful facts
about Costco's samplings.There's. According to Yahoo Finance,
sampling can increase sales by 2000%.
(02:08):
Wow.
So if you're literally givingout those samples, the problem with
Costco, sometimes they'regiving out tortilla chips. I don't
think I'm that excited abouttortilla chips.
Right. Last time I was there,it was like a creatine drink that
was like, right by the checkout.
Yeah, yeah, I'm not. I'm nottasting that. I'm good with that.
Frozen pizza, by the way, isusually sees an increase of 600%
(02:28):
when sampled.
Okay.
Also, free samples triggerwhat's called reciprocity. It's when
you feel obligated to buysomething because you tasted it.
And that happens to me in thecheesemonger. Like, they give me
all these samples to taste. Orin the ice cream.
Ice cream, yes. You're like,oh, I have to get a double scoop
now because I put them out.
Yeah. And you know what? AsI've gotten older, I'm just like,
eh, I don't want it. I've hadenough samples. I've done that. Have
(02:52):
you done that?
I've totally done that. I'm sorry.
Well, the weird thing is thatI started going deep into a rabbit
hole and trying to figure outwhat are the weirdest things that
Costco sampled. So here,here's a list of the weirdest things
that Costco has sampled. Lemoncreme, fish oil.
Oh, you're gonna try that? Itwasn't like a supplement.
(03:12):
It was literally like syrup,almost like a little shot.
No, I'm not trying that at Costco.
Pepto Bismol.
Absolutely not. Yeah, I mean,if you need that when you're shopping
at Costco, you should probablybe closer to a bathroom.
They've actually. Yeah, I feellike if you try the other samples
and then you're running.
Around, maybe you need alittle gut support.
Maybe it works together.
Well, yeah, exactly.
(03:33):
Wet dog food.
No, nobody's dog is. I don'tthink they allow dogs, do they? Unless
they're service dogs.
But I mean, what are you goingto do with that wet dog food afterwards?
Like, do you. Maybe it's forhumans too. Like, you should taste
it because some people tastetheir dog food to see if it's okay.
I guess I do have a friendthat just feeds their pet rotisserie
chicken and that's it.
Okay. But we're talking theother way around here.
(03:53):
Yeah.
This is a weird one. Toiletpaper. There are instances all over
online and photos that showtoilet paper being sampled.
Okay, so like, do you just useit as like a tissue?
I mean, that's not what toiletpaper is for.
No, it's not.
Yeah, they were giving outrolls in, like, Ziploc bags.
(04:14):
Oh, wow. It's like a take home project.
I would take that in a heartbeat.
Yeah, I mean, you.
But like, straight to theCostco bathroom. I think we'll take
in Korea, They've been givingout wine for samples.
Yes.
I would sample that, because,you know, purchases will just jump
2,000%. Mexico, they dochampagne, 100% caviar here in the
(04:36):
United States.
Yes.
They have sampled caviar onpotato chips.
Great. I think that's aperfect pairing.
That's. I would not leave. Imean, is there a limit how much you
can sample?
Right, Exactly. They wouldhave to turn us away.
Laundry detergent.
Ooh, interesting.
There was an instance inAustralia where they were giving
out longitudinal in littlecups, by the way.
Oh, that seems like it's gonna spill.
(04:58):
Well, I mean, I don't know ifyou're taking it home or you're taking.
A shot, but I hope not.
That's a weird one. Andfinally, the one that really caught
my eye. Water.
Okay.
Just water. That's it. Theywere literally sampling water, and
I can't imagine being next tothe water fountain and then having
someone give it to me in alittle plastic cup to taste. So I
(05:20):
don't get that one.
I feel like I'd almost try itto just be like, there has to be
something special about thiswater that we're sampling it.
No, it was literally bottledwater. Just pouring it in there.
Is there anything that youdon't eat? Do you have any dietary
restrictions?
No, I eat pretty mucheverything. I'm not a huge fan of
raw oysters. It's a texturething for me. I admire what they
do for the oceans, but not my favorite.
(05:42):
But here's what I think aboutoysters. I tell people who have never
tried it and want to try itfor the first time. You want to taste
the ocean.
Yeah.
It's like that mist when youwalk to the beach and you smell that
saltiness. That is whatoysters should taste like. And it's
so wonderful when youexperience that outside of the ocean
area, when you slurp anoyster. And for me, it's mignonette
sauce, which is like shallotsand red wine. It's just that acidity
(06:05):
gives it. And then when youopen an oyster, do you know there's
a way to check if it's fresh?Right. Once it's open, fill me in.
You take your finger or alittle stick, and you just poke at
it, and it retracts.
Whoa. That's a good pro tip.
I talk about dietaryrestrictions because I'm finding
out that a lot of my friendssuddenly have dietary restrictions
(06:25):
that I've never heard about.Or. I mean, the biggest dietary restrictions
out there are lactoseintolerance, Gluten intolerance,
which is like celiac diseaseand then vegetarianism. That's kind
of a dietary restriction. Eventhough with a celiac 1% of the population,
the world population, hasceliac disease. Did you know that?
I knew it was quite limited.And then a lot of people just have
(06:46):
like a gluten sensitivity.
So what's going on with that?
Yeah, I think they just feelbetter when they avoid it. So I'm
like, to each their own,Whatever makes you happy.
Except when they come to my home,.
It makes it a little more challenging.
Look, I'm the first person toadjust the menu for someone's dietary
restriction. But I had onetime someone, a friend of ours, come
in and she was always glutenfree, strictly. And everything I
(07:09):
made was gluten free for her.Went out of the way for her. And
no joke, one time we all wentto a restaurant and she ordered mussels
and there was this beautifulbasket of bread. And I have never
seen anyone eat an entirebasket of bread.
Well, it's probably becauseshe didn't have it for so long. She's
just like, finally.
I was seething. I wasseething. I'm like, I do everything
(07:30):
to work around those dietaryrestrictions. And there she is eating
an entire basket of bread. I'mnot inviting her again.
That's fair. I mean, it alsois reciprocal. Unless they're hosting
you, I don't feel like youalways need to be hosting them.
Yeah, Thanksgiving is anabsolute nightmare for me as well.
That's challenging.
Do you have a family that hasa lot of.
No poultry. They're allergicto poultry. No fish. Wait, you can
have a poultry allergy, man.My brother in law has a poultry allergy.
(07:52):
Wow. Okay.
No seafood. Again. That'sanother allergy from him. No peanuts.
My son is allergic to peanuts.So again, I understand when someone's
allergic. No pork and gluten free.
Okay. Wow.
This is Thanksgiving.
Yeah.
I make literally fourdifferent kinds of stuffing for Thanksgiving.
Wow.
Have you ever lied to someoneabout what you've cooked? And if
they're like, vegetarian,you're like, eh, I'm throw a little
(08:14):
chicken stock in here.
No, I haven't. That seems likejust like asking for it. I wouldn't
like it if people did it tome. So.
Well, it's not fair if theycome to your home and they suddenly
tell you, oh, by the way. Oh,by the way. I can't.
I feel like it's one of thoseyou need to disclose it at the invitation
phase. Of the process. Andthen people can plan around it or
just bring your own dish.Like, I always think it's appropriate
(08:37):
if people have foodintolerances. To ask the host, like,
would it be okay if Icontributed to the potluck? Would
I be throwing a wrench in thesystem? Of course, if it's like a
plated sit down thing, thenthat wouldn't make as much sense.
So here's a good tip that Ialways do. In my phone book, on my
phone, I write down people's allergies.
Oh, that's such a good idea.
That's what I do. Because Iforget there's so much to keep track
(08:58):
of.
That's so smart. You can dolike their birthdays, like.
Yeah.
Fun facts. And then food allergies.
That's what I do.
Yeah.
In mine, I don't, I don't evencare about their birthdays.
That's.
I care about their allergies.They come over for dinner. That's
all I care.
Yes.
Yeah. Maybe Apple or evenAndroid should come up with like
a little checklist of like,allergies, you know, Exactly.
Like on a menu where it's just gf.
(09:19):
Yes, that's it. That's it. Orlike, you know, ibs, you know, things
like that. Get that freeCostco toilet paper ready. And you're
traveling here from DesMoines, Iowa?
Yes.
So obviously New York City hasa plethora of restaurants to choose
from.
Yeah.
How do you find out whichrestaurant to eat?
It's so hard. I have, just forNew York City, I have like a spreadsheet
that's like, just when I seethings that people recommend that
(09:42):
I trust, or a friend dinedhere and raves about it, I just kind
of add it to my little NewYork spreadsheet. But in general,
when I'm looking at places inadvance, like when I'm traveling
for work, I do kind of trust,like the larger sources. And then
I'm not above looking at likea Google collective star rating.
It to me feels like an Amazonrating for like a printer or something.
(10:04):
It's like if there are 5,5000people who tend to like veer towards
this path, then I can probablytrust the general vibe, you know,
knowing that there will besome disgruntled folks in the mix.
But if there's a local diningcritic, I might poke around and see
what they've written lately.
I'm going to tell yousomething about those online reviews,
even articles. First, theycreate too much of a buzz in some
(10:26):
restaurants and you can't getin for six months, and it's.
So hard if the restaurantdoesn't know it's coming. Like, I
totally empathize with that.Like, some people don't want to be
reviewed, which is totally fair.
So my secret to going torestaurants. This is a really good
one. I look at the photos oneither Yelp or Google, but the ones
that the restaurants didn'tpost. Yeah, that's it right there.
(10:47):
If you can take a beautifulshot of a food with your horrible
photo skills and it looksgood, that is the restaurant I'm
going to. And I can instantlytell what it is. I don't look at
the stars. I don't look atwhat they wrote. I don't care about
the disgruntled people. I lookat the bad pictures of the food,
and if that looks good enough,I'm going to that restaurant.
Ooh, that's so good.
And obviously, word of mouthis fantastic. Again, you have both
(11:08):
different experiences of food.But I was going through Reddit, of
course, and doing someresearch, and somebody wrote something
that was very funny in termsof the reviews that some of these
people have online, and hesaid, I never do TikTok or Instagram.
I have found that the majorityof the influencers on there clearly
have crap food court pizza astheir baseline.
(11:31):
Ooh, burn.
I agree with that. That is sotrue. Like, who are you to rate this
place? And I don't know you.And you're right, you maybe like
cafeteria food, and you'relike, it's amazing.
Well, then you get paid.
So, like, maybe you get paid,maybe you don't. But, I mean, who
are you?
Okay, this is fascinating. Howdo you feel about line culture? I
feel like New York City has,like, a lot of places that, like,
have people lining up forthem, whether it's like a mochi donut
(11:55):
or a frozen yogurt shop.There's like, they're famous on TikTok.
And so people lie. Are youever, as New Yorkers say online,
in that situation, I willnever wait for food.
I will never wait for food inpublic anywhere in a restaurant,
because there are a lot ofother options right around the corner
that are just as good. Now, ifthere's a place that really, truly
(12:16):
has great food and there's aline, I took a put a reminder six
months later in my calendar.It says, hey, go back to this place.
Because after six months, itdies down.
Totally.
Yeah. These are tips on how tonot choose a restaurant. Let me know
if you agree with this. Nevergo into a restaurant that has food
displayed in front of it.
Okay. Like a slice shop.
No.
Does that count?
(12:37):
No. You see those, like, fakefood plates in front?
Yeah, that. That makes sense.
That's a red flag.
If there's ducks in the windowand they're just, like, rotisserie,
them. Great plastic food.
Or even, like, they. They makea whole dish and actually put it
in front.
Yeah. That's fair.
Do not go into thoserestaurants. Yeah. Never go to a
restaurant that has photos ofthe food on the menu unless it's
(12:59):
Asian.
I agree with that. Yeah. I wasgonna say, until that asterisk came,
I was a little bit like,.
I just don't know all theAsian foods. Right.
Sometimes if it's not anEnglish, it's just kind of helpful.
Right. Never going to arestaurant whose menu size is too
big.
I generally agree with that.It's giving a little Cheesecake Factory.
Yeah. And it feels likethere's just so much potential for
(13:20):
food waste. Like, it's hard tomake it through all of those ingredients.
If you're serving sushi andtacos and pizza and sandwiches and
pasta, like kebabs orsomething, it's just like, what are
you. What is your brand?
Make up your mind. What do youwant to do? Yeah. This is a big one.
You walk into an Asianrestaurant, and there are no Asians
(13:42):
in there. Ooh.
I don't know if I wouldimmediately walk out, but it is always
a good sign when it is. Theirculture supports it.
Yeah. And that goes for othercultures, too.
Totally.
It's just easier, you know, tofigure out that you're an Asian restaurant
and there's, like, Koreanrestaurant. There's Koreans everywhere.
And I'm like, this is theplace to come. And if I don't see
any, I have a. I have kind oflike, there's something wrong here
(14:04):
possibly.
Yeah. That's interesting.
And then what to order. Okay.So you walk into a restaurant, and
you. You've never been therebefore. You have no idea what to
order. The menu is written.There's no photos. There's no way
to know any. Any way. Any way.You kind of go in there. Do you ask
the waiter, like, what's good?
I feel like asking them what'sgood is, like, setting them up to
(14:25):
fail.
Yeah. The one thing that thewaiter can reply to me when I ask,
what's good on the menu? Andthey say, everything's good.
Yeah, exactly.
That means everything's bad.
Oh, no.
But there's another step thatI go, okay, you ready for this?
Yes.
When I sit down wherever it'swith. I get up to, quote, unquote,
go to the bathroom to wash myhands. Yeah. I spy on everybody's
(14:47):
dishes.
That's so smart.
You check it out. And I walkslowly, and it's kind of weird. People
think I'm just stalking them.I'm just checking out their food.
I'm like, what is that? Andthen when the waiter comes, like,
what did they order?
Yeah, that's smart.
So every time I go into therestaurant and my kids make fun of
me, they're like, why do youalways have to go to the.
You're just washing your hands.
Leave me alone.
Hygiene.
(15:25):
Hygiene. Yeah, I'm reallyspying on everybody's food. All right,
we're gonna take a quickbreak. When we come back, we'll find
out if stealing food from yourlocal supermarket is ever justified.
And later on, I'll sit downwith one of the world's foremost
olive oil experts to separatefact from fiction. Welcome back.
(15:45):
You know, this is somethingthat has been in the news a lot.
The New York Times wrote anarticle recently about microluting.
It's one of the hottest trendsamongst young crowds. It's the argument
if a company is big enough andthey're rich enough and annoying
enough, that swiping a fewthings here and there isn't stealing.
It's kind of a statement.
Yeah. I have strong feelingsabout this because I actually got
(16:07):
assigned a story about this,too, for Better Homes and Gardens.
And I reached out to everygrocery store contact that I have.
None of them wanted to go onthe record to tell me what was okay
and what wasn't okay. And it'sso interesting because, like, to
me, it feels like a prettyeven line of, like, if you're offering
samples for people to sample,that is okay. You should not be taking
or trying something that isnot offered.
(16:29):
Yeah, you know what? I'mtaking the grape, and I'm tasting
it. Yeah, I'm taking thisraspberry, and I'm tasting it. I've
gotten caught doing that, bythe way, by shoppers. They're like,
you can't do that. But I'msorry. If I'm gonna pay $6.99 for
a little pint of raspberries,organic raspberries. I need to. I'm
sorry. I need to taste it. Andtrust me, if it's good, I'm buying
it. I'm buying two of them.But if it's not good, I'm like, I'm
(16:49):
not spending $7 on garbage raspberries.
Yeah.
I think we should all be ableto taste anytime we want, but that's
tasting. We're also talkingabout kind of just slipping in a
few. Because at the end of theday, what people claim is that it's
completely harmless. A lot of.A lot of these companies already
take and factor, you know, anyfood loss. Yeah, food loss. So they
have that budget on the side.And also you're going against the
(17:12):
big corporate entities.
You know, I feel like myresponse to that would be everything's
going to get more expensive ifwe all start doing that. And so that
would be. My fear is, like, ifwe're already worried about groceries
in this economy, that it willjust start raising the bottom line
a little bit.
I've stolen something at WholeFoods one time.
Ooh, do tell.
Yeah, I needed a Thai chilipepper. I just needed one Thai chili
(17:36):
pepper. And when I went to thegrocery to the scale, it wouldn't
register it.
Oh, shoot.
I just popped it in my bag.
I think sometimes the peoplewho scan you will do the same thing.
I do have to admit anotherthing. I've stolen chicken wings
also one time.
Just how do you do that?
So the packages in thissupermarket, I won't say, but it's
(17:57):
a big corporate supermarket.They have the barcode printed in
the back. Except thecondensation kind of messed up that
barcode.
Oh, no.
And if you need to scan it andthe barcode doesn't work, you have
to type in the entire number.The numbers. I was in a hurry to
get these wings.
You were scanning your own?
I was scanning. Of course Iwas scanning my own. And by the third
(18:17):
package of organic chickenwings, I didn't have the time. I
had to. And it wasn't. I had to.
Darn it.
The other thing is that Idon't want to get banned from the
supermarket.
Right.
Like, that is my biggest fear.They can throw me in jail overnight
in the hole. I don't care. Imean, make me pay 10 times more.
(18:38):
Just put me away. Please worka shift, but please do not ban me
from this market.
Yeah. How were the chickenwings? Was it worth it?
Bitter. They just tasted awful.
Oh, my God.
I just couldn't even swallow it.
Especially that third pack.
Well, it was just intermingledwith all the other wings. I just.
(18:58):
It was.
The guilt was just a bad wingruins the bunch.
Yeah. Bad stolen wing. Hereare the top three items that are
stolen in supermarkets. Numberthree, snacks.
Okay.
You know, people get theirlittle chocolate bars and stuff and.
Oh, okay. I was thinking,like, maybe they open like the box
of fruit snacks. Because,like, I've seen some of those. It's
just like somebody yanks oneand you're just like, what are you
(19:19):
doing?
That's a lot of big Costcothing. You sometimes just see it
open. And by the way, thatjust tells me that I can sample,
too.
By the way, somebody started it.
That's what it. Yes, exactly.They open the floodgates and it's
like, you know what? Like,they're not going to be able.
To sell this anyways.
Let's. Let's get going. So Ido get it in my hand in there, too.
I'm like, let's go. I've neveropened a package. I have just put
(19:39):
my hand in there and gottenthat little thing of crackers to
taste it.
Okay, snacks. What else is onthe list?
Number two is cheese.
How do you like a fully shrinkwrapped cheese?
I guess you know, cheese isvery expensive, especially the high
end cheeses.
Yeah, totally.
It's one of the biggest thingsthat's stolen. Like a big block of
parmesan.
I was picturing someonewheeling out the parmesan wheel that's,
(19:59):
like, up to their.
Waist or possibly, you know,the softer cheeses and putting them
down their pants and justlike, things go wrong.
Yeah, some of those can smellpretty bad.
The number one thing that isstolen always is meats.
Okay. I mean, meat isexpensive right now, but that also
would be difficult to steal.
They're stealing it to resell it.
Oh, my God. There's like asecond market for.
(20:22):
There's a black market.
Would you trust meat sold toyou from not a butcher or not a grocery
store?
Well, what cut of meat is it?
Tomahawk steak.
Oh, man. Oh, my God. It couldbe in the back of an old sedan. Of
course, it could be roomtemperature. Like, I'm all over it.
If it's a ribeye, if it's likeprime ribeye, of course I'll steal.
(20:42):
But if we're talking about,like, flank steak and such, I mean,
I don't know where that flanksteak's been. Thanks for being on
the show. Really appreciate it.
This was so much fun. Ilearned so much about you and the
culinary worlds. I'll neverlook at Costco samples or oysters
or toilet paper. The same.
And you promise if I call you,you'll bail me out if anything happens?
(21:04):
100%. I'll be there in a heartbeat.
(21:28):
Fantastic. Yeah. Carla Walsh,thanks so much for coming on the
show. Next up, we're talkingto someone who knows more about Olive
oil than most of us know aboutour own children. Think of her as
the sommelier, but for oliveoil. We'll be right back. Welcome
back. If you've ever wonderedwhether olive oil belongs in a frying
pan, a salad or a trust fund,the Stacks interview is. Our guest
(21:53):
today is Alexandra Devarenneof the Extra Virgin alliance and
she's here to help us separateolive oil fact from olive oil fiction.
Welcome to the show, Alexandra.
Thank you very much.
If you were inside of asupermarket and you had 30 seconds
to choose olive oil, where areyou going to go? What are you going
to choose? What are youlooking for?
The first thing I think Iwould look for is a best before date
(22:16):
that is not tomorrow.
Nobody does that. Nobody'slooking at the like expiration date
or best before date on oliveoil. Nobody. I don't even do that.
Yeah. And that's why if I gointo a, say, a fancy deli or market
and there's bottles, but theyhave a, you know, a light film of
dust on their shoulders,that's not a great sign because I
(22:39):
want to make sure I'm gettingan olive oil that is, you know, moving.
It's got to be being restockedand being sold, not something that's
been sitting on a shelf forever.
So it's important to have agood turnover rate with these olive
oils because the fresher the better.
Within certain parameters. Iactually like to compare olive oil
(23:02):
to shoes. So when you have saytwo pairs of shoes, one pair of shoes
you got at, you know, I'm notgoing to name names, but the cheapo
shoe store and the other pairis a pair of well made with leather
shoes. So the plastic shoesand the leather shoes, when they're
brand new, both are prettygood. They look kind of similar.
(23:25):
What really tells is as youwear those shoes, the cheap shoes,
the plastic shoes, the poorlymade shoes go to pieces, they start
looking really shabby and oldvery quickly. Well made shoes, you
know, those other shoes, theyhold up better. They do better. And
(23:45):
olive oils are somewhat thesame that you have a well made olive
oil especially. And it must bewell taken care of. And this is something
that we can get into is bestpractices in storage and display
and stuff. But they agebetter. So when people say, oh, it
has to be the most recentharvest, I look for an olive oil
(24:09):
that is ideally from the mostrecent harvest. But sometimes you
can find an oil that's twoyears old, it's been well taken care
of, it will be in absolutelyperfect condition.
How on earth do people knowwhich olive oil to buy then?
That takes buying and tasting.And I would also say really, olive
(24:32):
oil shouldn't be that hard.And I think people, people get stressed
out. I actually lurk in theolive oil section of supermarkets
a lot.
I think I've seen you there.
You probably have. And I'mlike. And occasionally I'll ask people,
what do you look for? And theanswers are usually things that to
(24:55):
me are pretty irrelevant. Butthis look of deer in the headlights
in front of the olive oil setis so common and the industry has
to bear responsibility forthat. In many ways I think that there's
so much disinformation,misinformation, conflicting information
that people get in front ofthe olive oil set and they freeze,
(25:17):
they're paralyzed. Just buyit. Just choose. Look out for something
that is too cheap. If it's toocheap to be true, it is not true.
Don't look for stuff that isif it's $5 for a liter in this country,
(25:40):
no. So you want to getproducts that are reasonable price.
They don't have to be superexpensive, but just be wary of things
that sound too good to be true.
How do I know if an olive oilcompany is blending other oils in
their olive oil?
The chances of that in USretail are virtually nil. There was
(26:03):
the largest off shelf studyrecently done in the US the problem
of adulteration is not athing. It is really not a thing,
really what people need tolook out for. And this is where that
extra super ultra cheap offbrand that you've never heard of,
(26:25):
that would be where there wasa couple of products that were found
to have the addition of otheroils. They were nothing you'd ever
have heard of and the pricingwas off. So those are kind of the
red flags. But if you'rebuying any one of the major brands
(26:45):
in a supermarket in the USRetail, adulteration is not a thing.
And I'm seeing a lot of what Isee. There are two lanes here. I
see the cooking olive oil andthen the drizzling olive oil. Is
that still true that youshould kind of. Can I use the drizzling
to cook with?
Sure, if you have the money.See, to me, absolutely it's a question
(27:07):
of economics. If you canafford to buy fabulous olive oil
to cook with, go for it. Whynot? But I don't. Yeah, I mean, to
me it is more important thatpeople look for an olive oil that
they like and that they canafford. And extra virgin for me,
(27:28):
extra virgin is all of it.
What does that Mean extra virgin.
Extra virgin is the highestgrade of virgin olive oil. Virgin
olive oil is olive oil that'smechanically extracted. It has all
of the natural phytochemicals,the polyphenols, the sterols, all
of the things that go into anolive and an olive oil. They're all
(27:49):
there in extra virgin oliveoil. So it is by far, it's the tastiest
and it has the most healthbenefits and so on. The next grade,
which is just called olive oilin this country, is a blend of refined
olive oil and virgin oliveoil, usually about 15%, give or take
of virgin. And that is aperfectly good choice for someone
(28:14):
who's just starting out andis, is getting used to having something
that flavorful. Right. Andthey're looking for something that's
a little more like a neutralcooking oil, which is, they've been
using canola oil or whateverelse, or vegetable oil, that's fine.
But what we have found is thatpeople very quickly become kind of
hooked on that olive oilflavor and then they trade up to
(28:37):
extra virgin because that'sreally the, that's where the fun
is. That's. Those are thereally exciting products.
Yeah. I want to tell you a fewmyths, or perhaps they're not myths
about olive oil that I'veheard of. Clear glasses. The light
can affect the olive oil. Isthat true?
That is not a myth. That isabsolutely true. Olive oil is very,
(28:59):
very sensitive to ultraviolet light.
Is it okay to buy olive oil ina plastic squeeze bottle?
If that's what you want, sure.Yeah. No, the whole plastic thing
is for long term storage. Westore olive oil in stainless steel
tanks and plastic is not anideal long term storage. But for
(29:24):
the short term, those arealmost all PET bottles, both the
rigid ones and the squeezyones. And PET is perfectly fine for
a consumer package. It's. It'sjust not going to be in that bottle
too long. And you know, as achef that, you know, chefs for years
(29:46):
have been taking up putting itin a squeeze bottle and using it
because it's convenient.
Right, of course.
And that's important. Oliveoil should be convenient. That's
one of the reasons why we tellpeople, don't put it in the refrigerator.
You don't want to have to waitto use it. You want it to be available
so you can use it all the timeat every meal.
I buy my olive oil from CostcoLarge Extra Virgin, the best one.
(30:09):
It is in plastic, but it isdark and the turnaround is very quick.
This is my regular fryingsauteing olive oil. Am I doing the
right thing here?
You certainly are. Say youlive alone buying that large, you
know, product, the extravirgin that you like at Costco or
someplace. I don't thinkthere's anything wrong with doing
that. But what I wouldrecommend for a person there is to
(30:32):
carefully decant it intoabsolutely clean glass bottles and
close, you know, seal them upand put those in the refrigerator.
Because you're going to takeit out one at a time. It never goes
back in. But that way, ifyou've bought enough to last you
for four months, it's betterthat it be in a container with no
(30:55):
headspace, because oxygen is,is an enemy. Right? And that's one
of the reasons why I love bagand packaging. Bag in box packaging
is the best because the bagcollapses and therefore you don't
have that oxygen exposure.Light, air, heat, time, those are
the things that get you witholive oil. So you want to keep it
(31:18):
away from light, want to keepit away from air. And that's why
they always say, be sure toseal the bottle and so on.
That's crazy, because when yousay bag in box, I think of the cheap
wines that you buy out there.But for olive oil, it totally makes
sense.
It is. I know. And this is,this has been an obstacle to the
adoption of bag in boxpackaging because for everyone, it's
(31:40):
the. It's the box wine, it'sthe cheap stuff and so on. That's
the association. There arebrands that have rejected that thinking
and have done absolutelygorgeous bag in box packaging. In
fact, one of them, you can seeit at the Extra Virgin alliance booth,
that there is a product therethat comes in a bag and box and nobody
(32:03):
would look at that and say,oh, that's a cheap product. It's
a beauty. It is absolutely gorgeous.
Are the Italians using bag in box?
Oddly, I would say less than.This is a brand from South Africa,
actually, that has this one. Iknow brands in Portugal, Spain, some
Italian brands also. It's sortof everywhere. But being adopted
(32:26):
slowly because there's fear ofthe, you know, of consumers having
that perception you're talkingabout. And this is. It's like you
might have been thinking ofasking about first cold press because
that's something that peopleput on labels and yet it means, really
means nothing because.
Wait, wait, wait. First coldpress means nothing with olive oil.
(32:49):
Oh, now absolutely meansnothing. Because in order to be extra
virgin grade, it has to be thefirst press and it has to be done.
In fact, it's not even reallyA press. It's a centrifuge and it
has to be done under lowtemperatures. So it's a throwback
(33:13):
to the old days.
Quickly, tell me how olive oilis made, because are you taking raw
olives and then squeezingthem? Tell me how it's made.
What you do is, first off,you. The olives have to be fresh.
They cannot sit. You get themoff the Tree and within 24 hours
they gotta go into the mill.The first thing you do is you, you
know, they get cleaned. Butyou grind them with the seed. Seed
(33:36):
and all, you grind them up.And that can be done in a number
of different ways. But youcome out with something that is a
paste and it's kind of acoarse paste with chunks of pit.
And it's. See, you know, it'sgot the seed, it's got. It's got
pulp, everything in it. Thatthen goes into something that's called
a malaxer. And that is thebeginning of the separation process
(34:01):
where it slowly, very slowlychurns and the oil begins to separate
there. But more importantly,there's a lot of biochemical activity
that takes place because thephenols in an olive are. A lot of
them are in the water part ofthe olive. So those start to get
(34:23):
transferred into the oil andso on. So there's a whole bunch of
chemistry that goes on in thisthing. And then it goes into a centrifuge.
And in the old days it wentinto mats which got pressed, right,
which is where the pressbusiness comes from. But you spin
it and that separates out tooil, water and solids. And then it
(34:43):
goes in through another spinto clean it. And you have virgin
olive oil. And if you had goodolives, you have extra virgin olive
oil.
Let's say you have a highquality, super expensive, high quality,
fruity, a little pepperiness.What should I taste that olive oil
with?
I think probably the bestthing would be the hot potato test.
(35:03):
What?
Because heat is important,right? You want those aromas, those
volatiles. Heat will releasethem, right? So hot is good. So take
that potato, you know, open itup and then put your fabulous olive
oil in there. I'm also. I likea little salt in there. And then
you're going to be justenveloped by the aroma of this olive
(35:28):
oil is going to come up andthen. Sounds great.
What is the Extra Virgin Alliance?
The Extra Virgin alliance isthe specialty section of the North
American Olive OilAssociation. And we, Our focus is
to build appreciation forextra virgin olive oil. And we do
(35:48):
this through telling thestories of the Products and the people
behind them.
Is there A stamp? An EVA stamp?
Yes, there is. We have the AVAseal and it's EVA S E A L avaseal.org
yeah.
And you can't just buy intoit. I mean, you really have to go
through.
Oh, there's a whole process.Yeah. And these oils also meet very
(36:12):
stringent criteria ofchemistry and sensory evaluation
and packaging requirements,and so, you know, some best practices.
So any product that has theAVA seal has met a series, you know,
a set of criteria.
All right, we're gonna do itquickly here. We're gonna play a
little game called Would you'ddrizzle it? Tell me if you drizzle
(36:34):
olive oil on any of thefollowing. You ready?
Okay, I'm ready.
All right. Vanilla ice cream?
Absolutely.
Oh, wow. Coffee?
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Really putit in coffee. Sure.
Okay. Watermelon?
Yes.
How about breakfast? Oatmeal?
Oh, yeah, all the time.
Sure. Okay.
Absolutely.
Hot chocolate?
(36:54):
You could. Yeah, you could.
My kids wouldn't really. Idon't think if I put olive oil in
their hot chocolate, theywould just throw it in my face.
Really?
For sure.
You gotta work on those kids.
Yeah, I do. Pancakes?
Sure.
Okay.
Sure. You could do that.
Yeah. My kids, again, wouldprobably slaughter me. Finally. Peanut
(37:14):
butter and jelly, huh?
Now, that one, I would maybetry it once. I don't know. It's a
little hard for me tovisualize, but. Yeah, why not?
Yeah, why not?
You know, instead ofmayonnaise on sandwiches, I use olive
oil all the time. I don'tthink I've put mayo on a sandwich
in years.
(37:35):
You know, Alexander Duvarin ofthe Extra Virgin alliance, thank
you so much for being on theshow. I'll probably find you lurking
in my local supermarket soon.
Absolutely.
So I really appreciate it.What is the website to go to to find
out more about the AVA. TheExtra Virgin Alliance.
AVA seal.org okay, Evaseal.org that's us.
(37:57):
Fantastic. Thanks so much forbeing on the show. And folks, thanks
for tuning in to AlwaysHangry. Don't forget to join us next
week when I'll be sitting downwith feel good foodies Yumna Jawad
for another fun conversationyou won't want to miss. And if you
haven't already, be sure tosubscribe to Always Hangry wherever
you get your podcasts. Orvisit alwayshangrodcast.com for episodes,
updates, and much more. I'mGeorge Duran. Until next time, stay
(38:20):
hungry.
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