I started researching olive oil a number of years ago, found the truth in olive oil website (which now looks to be defunct) and purchased a number of oils they recommended. We ended up with two of their recommended as our go tos: trader joe’s kalamata and costco evoo.
Recently came upon this wirecutter article:
where they didn’t test Tjs but somewhere or other it received a terrible review and they sorta panned Kirkland brand. I recognize TJs and Costco are white lableling products and could be sourcing from different producers at any time.
We do like the graza and cobrum products mentioned in the nyt review. Wondering what everyone is using?
There are a few existing olive oil threads you might find of interest (search by title).
In the article, I was surprised (pleasantly) to see the exact Bertolli bottle I bought in India last week when we ran out. After some research (from a very limited selection compared to what we have access to in nyc) I ordered it, was shocked to see a recent date stamped on the bottle, and even more pleased when I tasted it.
I’ve used Kirkland and it was fine but I don’t go through that much fast enough, and it’s not much cheaper than Trader Joe’s selection, so I’m more likely to experiment with that (and am usually pleased by the choices).
Have used COR but don’t seek it out over closer options.
Surprised to see Lucini dinged – their specialty oils are really lovely, don’t know about the everyday one though.
On one of the older threads someone mentioned that the guy who used to select Fairway’s oils and cheeses (and balsamics, which were excellent and underpriced) had started his own import business, but I haven’t ordered from there yet, but Fairway used to have an excellent selection of both oo and balsamic before everything went sideways (pvt equity, expansion, bankruptcy, etc).
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
6
I use my normal supermarket’s own label product for everyday cooking and Zaytoun (an organic Palestinian oil) for “best” (supply is not guaranteed due to the blockade by the occupting forces).
PastaGrammar youtube channel tried some olive oils. I like California Olive Ranch, but they did not like it at all. That one is about 16 minutes into the video.
I’ll watch that when I get a chance. The extra virgin first press Carapelli I picked up at Sam’s didn’t impress us much. Very mild, not much character.
Is it awful that I looked at the label quickly and read that as Crapelli, and my inside voice over immediately went “Well, no wonder with a name like that…”
Fake or counterfeit olive oil is a thing, as well and blends with cheaper oils. I believe Costco tests origin, quality and if it’s 100% real. Wouldn’t e surprised if TJs did the same.
I want the health benefits too so I like to buy OO that is verified real, like Costco. I’m also partial to Calif Olive Ranch…on the premise most producing countries keep the best for locals or internal use, not export. That’s my take on COR.
Otherwise taste is subjective. I like COR a lot but the prices are getting crazy. Before the pandemic you get a chef’s bottle, 1.5L?, for $12 bucks at Costco. Now it’s 2.5 to 3x. Oh well.
TJ’s California OO is supposed to be good but haven’t tried it.
I think Graza was the only Spanish one in there. I’ve never had a weak Spanish olive oil. Though I love the play on words Graza uses, I’ve yet to try it. So often Spain and France are overlooked in the OO world, but those countries have sourced some of my favorites. Never had a crapper from either.
I was in a Woodman’s once and saw a cheap Italian one I thought I’d try just for frying eggs. Nonnina , or something(forgettable) like that. Holy garbage! Nowhere on the bottle did it say “pomace;” pretty sure it was. That was crapola.
I usually buy from the about olive oil certified list except…some of the brands have had scandals in the past, eliminating those leads me to purchase Costco Signature, Ca Olive oil ranch and Lucino Italia. I liked the oiginal CA Olive Ranch but now that they’ve moved into global blends, I don’t like all their evoo. so mostly it’s costco for me.
Spain produces most of the world’s olive oil. When we were in Madrid, our hotel concierge, whose kitchen was run by a Michelin-starred chef, handed us a bottle straight from the back when we asked if we could buy one. Six months later, we were genuinely sad to pour out the last drop. I tried to track it down here in the U.S., only to discover that the only store that carried it was Costco! By the time I checked, it had already sold out three months earlier.
On a side note, my daughter once interviewed at Graza but passed on the offer. That would have been fun!
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
15
Olive oil fraud is a well known problem across Europe and has been for some considerable time. It’s on the increase again. Unsurprisingly, the known ones in the last couple of years come from Italy, Spain & Greece.
The COR international blend is okay but agree the all CA COR is really nice. It’s also harder to find after the pandemic, and maybe bc the wild fires but not sure. In any case, yeah, Costco does verify. The stuff I’ve seen recently at Costco is from Tunisia and the price was excellent. Wouldn’t have bought if it wasn’t at Costco.
I posted it here but haven’t opened the bottle yet. It’s next in the queue.
I just participated in a tasting at Sciabica in Modesto CA (https://sunshineinabottle.com/) today, and learned a bit. Granted that the host is fifth generation Sciabica in the business so he has an agenda, but what hit home for me was his recommendation that you purchase olive oil that is 100% California grown. He called out California Olive Ranch for not being completely forthcoming on some of their products from a few years ago when California had a particularly bad olive crop, and COR brought in olives from elsewhere to keep products on shelves. Other than that, he didn’t name names, but emphasized that oils from Europe may have been extra virgin when bottled, but may have been sitting in a warehouse or on a boat for a long time before being shipped to the US, and their quality usually drops to the point where they can’t meet the extra virgin test any longer.
For us, one of the most significant important signs on any bottle is that it is written out as “first cold press” - if you start reading about what companies sometimes use to increase yield that is becoming one of our main criteria (obviously companies could in theory still lie and still use hexane etc. but …)
