| Mackey's struck oil in Overland Park |
It's a sunny storefront at 7945 Santa Fe, owned by Jeanne Mackey. She says her mother never cooked with olive oil, but did use the historic liquid -- Homer called it "liquid gold" -- for curing earaches when Jeanne was a little girl.
Mackey's business focuses more on the culinary uses of extra-virgin olive oil, although her store does sell olive oil-based shampoos and conditioners, books with olive oil themes (The Healing Powers of Olive Oil is one of the featured paperbacks) and mixes, pan sauces, glazes and crackers. But the real reason to wander through the shop is to learn about and taste her array of oils and balsamic vinegars, including some startlingly fabulous flavors.
No question, but one can imagine all kinds of remarkable culinary possibilities -- including marinades, glazes and dipping sauces concocted from one of her seventeen featured oils or richly flavored vinegars like chocolate, black cherry and cinnamon pear. Mackey's husband built custom shelves to hold the array of Italian-made, stainless steel fustis -- airtight containers with spigots -- that Mackey uses to store her inventory. Customers can purchase the products in Mackey's signature glass bottles.
She plans to start offering classes. "I'm still learning more and more about olive oil myself," Mackey notes. And because olive oil has been extracted and used by civilizations for thousands of years, there's a lot to learn.
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It sounds extremely tasteful and healthy... Next time I'm in Santa Fe, I'm definitely passing by :)
I visited the Tasteful Olive last Saturday and was greeted by Jean and her husband, then given a taste tour of new flavors and information on how to cook and get healthy with olive oil. I purchased the coconut flavored vinegar, delicious! If you haven't stopped in, do so. You'll be impressed with the knowledge and friendly manner of the owners.
This sounds like a great addition to downtown Overland Park! Olive oil is not only healthier for us than most oils Americans normally use, its flavor range is incredible.
I am looking forward to visiting this store!
Thanks to the owners for wanting to help us learn about olive oil and for providing an exciting venue in which to do it.