Arrrghhh!! 50 different olive oils! How do I choose?

[Doc]

Buy the cheapest by-volume extra-virgin from Italy.

Always check the back of the label to confirm that it is, in fact, entirely from Italy and mentions the name of the farm that produced it.

You must read the back of the label to verify this since American bottlers usually put "Italian" in big bold print on the front of their labels even if only 5% of the oil in the bottle actually comes from Italy.

Only extra-virgin olive oil from Italy has to adhere to any real standards. Olive oil from other countries is likely a mix of oils and could be adulterated with any number of unlisted additives. (I learned this the hard way when I had a nasty reaction to an "extra-virgin olive oil" that was probably cut with hazelnut oil oil and machine-grade mineral oil.)

Actually, you can't even be sure that Italian olive oil is unadulterated, but it's a better bet than any other olive oil.

...

Cheapest because it's stupid to squander money.

[Racer X]

Winston wrote:
Kirkland Signature has some pretty good stuff. We had a bottle of their champagne over the holidays. Not bad for the price, although probably not my first choice in that price range - about $20 when we got it. I'd go domestic for less.


- W

I love their olive oil, and their balsamic vinegar.

[richorlin]

Trader Joe's: $5.99 liter, extra virgin: $7.99 liter
Here's olive oil info from Joe:
http://www.traderjoes.com/attachments/olive_oil.pdf

[testcase]

5W30....

[Black]

Doc wrote:
Buy the cheapest by-volume extra-virgin from Italy.

Always check the back of the label to confirm that it is, in fact, entirely from Italy and mentions the name of the farm that produced it.

You must read the back of the label to verify this since American bottlers usually put "Italian" in big bold print on the front of their labels even if only 5% of the oil in the bottle actually comes from Italy.

Only extra-virgin olive oil from Italy has to adhere to any real standards. Olive oil from other countries is likely a mix of oils and could be adulterated with any number of unlisted additives. (I learned this the hard way when I had a nasty reaction to an "extra-virgin olive oil" that was probably cut with hazelnut oil oil and machine-grade mineral oil.)

Actually, you can't even be sure that Italian olive oil is unadulterated, but it's a better bet than any other olive oil.

...

Cheapest because it's stupid to squander money.

This is the money response-- surprised nobody else mentioned this.
You want extra-virgin oil which states very specifically that it was produced in Italy, not packed in Italy or shipped from Italy, for the reasons doc stated.

[Kiva]

america's test kitchen likes regular for cooking...they like the Davinci best, followed by colovita...

[Fritz]

if your talking about one for mainly cooking ........
the Berio stuff that is sold in many stores is excellent for the $.
I think a 3 ltr at CostCo is around $18.

We use that as our "everyday" EVOO, cooking, salad dressing etc.
The TJs and Colvita mentioned above are no slouches nuther.
Then we have a snobby bottle for bread or if we're cooking something very light, IE fish.
That stuff is around $18/ltr. More than that and we don't think it matters.

I would strongly disagree about the use of Italian OO only.
The Spaniards, Australians and even Californians make some mighty nice OO.
Here in NY, at a local "chain" called Fairway, they sell their own bulk bottled choices that cover the major producers. They're all around $15-20 ltr, not the everyday price range for sre, and they are all quite good.

Like wine, there are plenty good ones for decent prices.
We've been drinking Spanish this week, none are over $20 in the store.

[DP]

I'd have to look it up but I read that Greek EVOO made with kalamata olives has the highest amount of beneficial ingredients for health. We buy that stuff.

[Gutenberg]

I like Pompeian. It actually tastes like olive oil and it's cheap.

[A-Polly]

Gutenberg wrote:
I like Pompeian. It actually tastes like olive oil and it's cheap.

:agree:
My favorite "supermarket" oil.