The olive oil can make you feel kinda sorry. For years, it was the most popular theme among gourmets in this city, ahead of wine. There was nothing better to argue about than the origin of the oil and how it was made. Addresses and phone numbers of Italian olive growers and oil mills were harder to come by than coke in Munich’s fancy discos. And anyone who knew someone whose Schwipp sister-in-law happened to have a child in the same day-care center as the hip oil sommelier with a fine sense of smell didn’t have to worry about attentive listeners at the dinner table.
It’s completely different recently. Ever since there was another plague of hamsters in Munich, olive oil has mutated into Novavax among cooking oils almost overnight. It is left out in the supermarket – suddenly everyone only wants sunflower oil.
The boom is quite understandable: That oil di semi di girasolas the Lake Garda faction among the local oil connoisseurs call it, is very versatile: smell and taste are only something for the really sensitive noses and palates of true connoisseurs.
So it’s a little surprising that sunflower oil has been underestimated for so long and sold far too cheaply. Only taverns threatened with extinction, which honored the mixed side salad based on a post-war recipe, still knew the secret of the almost forgotten miracle cure, which is just as good in a vinaigrette with wine-spiced vinegar and sugar water as it is as a lubricant on the creaking hinge of a toilet seat.
Sunflower oil is finally getting the attention it deserves. It should only be a matter of time before the Munich delicatessens hold the first tastings and the corrugated bottles made of thin plastic find their way into the design museums of the world. Of course, all of this also has disadvantages. Because the precious material is becoming increasingly rare, prices are rising to such an extent that only Dax board members and YouTubers will soon be able to afford it. It is therefore high time to finally think about putting a brake on the price of sunflower oil.