Olive Oil (syrup, fat, eat, great)

[Cdarocks]

For those wondering what olive oils to buy, here is a list published last year at Home | Truth in Olive Oil.


Tom’s Supermarket Picks (in alphabetical order):

• California Olive Ranch – good fresh extra virgin olive oil, mainly from the arbequina and arbosana cultivars, grown in super high density groves in northern California. Available at a wide range of stores throughout the US (see the store locator). Note that their Limited Reserve is the highest-quality oil, unfiltered and from olives picked during the first 2 weeks of harvest (reviewed here). "Everyday" is the company's best-seller, with a flexible flavor profile. Arbequina, Arbosana, and Miller’s Blend oils, part of the company's "gold medal series," have actually won more medals in olive oil competitions than COR's other oils, thanks to their distinct flavor profiles.
• Cobram Estate – extra virgin olive oil from a range of cultivars, grown in Australia with the medium high density agronomic model, which has won olive oil competitions including best of show at the 2011 Los Angeles County Fair. Available here:
  • USA:
    • Cost Plus World Markets nationally
    • Raley's and Save Mart in northern California
    • Fairway in New York
    • QFC and Haggen in Seattle
    • King Soopers in Denver
  • Canada:
    • IGA stores in Vancouver
• Corto Olive – good, fresh super-high-density arbequina oil available at Costco (occasionally), HEB, Zabar's under the Zabar's label, Kroger as a specialty label called “Private Selection.” I profile Dino Cortopassi, founder of the company, in Extra Virginity.
• Costco Kirkland Toscano – Kirkland is the Costco store brand. I’ve been disappointed by Kirkland Organic EVO (not to mention the “extra virgins” in multi-liter plastic jugs), but the Toscano signature oil is the real deal.
• Lucini – a wide range of fine oils, led by the top-of-the-line Limited Reserve Premium Select oil. I quibble with the clear glass bottles, which impair the shelf life, but as long as the oil is fresh it’s first-rate, and is widely available across North America. See the store locator. Lucini Premium Select is their finest oil, made on a a single estate near Bolgheri, in the Maremma region of Tuscany. Their Estate Select oil is made from olives grown in various estates in central Italy; since it's sourced from a wider group of farmers, it costs less.
• Oleoestepa – just entering the US retail market, this Spanish cooperative produces excellent oils at competitive prices. Keep an eye out for their oils arriving in shelves near you soon!
• O-Live – available at stores across Canada, and in selected US stores (including HEB in Texas). See the store locator (which sources tell me isn’t always 100% reliable).
• Ottavio and Omaggio – in terms of value for money, I don’t know better oils than Ottavio and Omaggio: a fine balance of fruit, pungency, bitterness that will appeal to a wide audience, at rock-bottom prices. Ottavio is available at HEB and Central Market, and Omaggio is available at Sam’s Club. (Note: Valco Enterprises, producer of Ottavio, and Axiom Enterprises, producer of Omaggio, both support Truth in Olive Oil. Read here for what this means.)
• Trader Joe’s – 3 out of the 6 extra virgin oils I tasted in August, 2013 were the real deal. One of these, the Premium 100% Greek Kalamata, was very fresh, spicy, complex at an extremely competitive price (1 liter for $8.99). The California Estate Olive Oil was also a good choice, while the Premium Extra Virgin was decent and defect-free, if a bit uninspiring. The 3 other Trader Joe’s “extra virgins” I tasted were defective. (See here for details.)
• Whole Foods California 365 – The Whole Foods store brand from California is good-quality extra virgin olive oil at a great price. In my experience, the other members of the 365 lineup are poor – an odd situation from a company like Whole Foods that preaches quality über alles.

For myself, I buy the Ottavio (not from Sam's though) and the Kirkland Toscana. The first I use for regular cooking and the Toscana is for dressings and dipping. I like this list because these are accessible to most everyone.

[no kudzu]

Some of this I didn't know (expiration date?) and I've been cooking with olive oil for decades.

The Best Ways to Choose, Store, and Use Olive Oil

[Hedgehog_Mom]

It never lasts long enough to expire here...I buy the gallon from Sam's and use it in about 6 months.

[rural chick]

I love olive oil and only one time got some from a store which was putrid. It was awful smelling when I opened it and I assumed it was rancid. The store wouldn't take it back as the customer service person said it smelled like first press olive oil to her (that sounded like a pre-recorded answer to me). It smell like dog manure to me. I asked her if she used olive oil and she said no. Whoa!

Thanks for posting this information.

[Clemencia53]

I only buy oil produced in the states. There was a scandal a few years back about olive oil producers just cobbling up all kinds of oil and bottled as pure olive oil.

Letter from Italy: Slippery Business : The New Yorker

[biggunsmallbrains]

As many know, olive oil, especially extra virgin tastes great and is very good for you. But you may want to think again before reaching for that "extra virgin Italian olive oil." Here is a short and fun article about how consumers buying Italian olive oil are often, at best, getting some other olive oil and at worst getting something that is not even olive oil, let alone extra virgin olive oil:

http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?locati...1766&regi_id=0

I have relatives that retired to Seville Spain that told me that many of the olives that are grown around that area are sent to Italy for repackaging just so they can be called "Italian olive oil." I guess Italian olive oil has more panache than Spanish olive oil to most consumers. Of course, when you dig a little deeper you see thing are often not what they seem. Personally, I like my Trader Joe's extra virgin California olive oil as much as any I've had from anywhere.

[Dport7674]

This 'news' story has been making the rounds since at least 2005, maybe earlier.

[fibonacci]

Old news. The US still does not belong to the IOC, which is the main world regulator of olive oil. The US did adopt tougher standards, but still doesn't follow what the rest of the world does, and as a result, everyone still dumps their cheap crap on the US (nuch harder for the USDA to inspect foreign produced food products).

US consumers may be better off spending their money on extra virgin olive oil that originates from California and is USDA certified (CA EVOO can be excellent). I almost always buy CA EVOO, or buy foreign EVOO that an Italian friend helps me buy.


Other labels to look for include DOP (designation of origin), North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA), California Olive Oil Council (COOC), and Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA), that all signify more stringent standards of quality. If you don't see any of those designations, you're likely getting ripped off big time. It's confusing as a consumer, I just always just try to remember to look for the USDA seal.

[Woof]

For those looking for a tested olive oil, I've read that Costco's Kirkland Organic rates very highly among big commercial brands.

[CaptainNJ]

oh yeah, its good for you?