Olive oil again

What are some olive oils people like and what are the noteworthy characteristics? I love olive oil to drizzle, to cook, in salads, to dip. My everyday oil is the100% California from California Olive Ranch. I like its soft flavor, but I buy it because all of there other profiles come in plastic but it comes in glass. For dipping I’d like something more intense, more peppery. Anyone got any they like? I used to get Lungarotti, but it’s been a good while.

2 Likes

I bought a bottle of Safi brand extra virgin olive oil/cold extraction at a local Middle Eastern grocery store. To me it smells and tastes rich and olivey with a hint of grassiness. It comes in a glass container which is important to me. It is very reasonably priced at $9.99 a liter. I’ve been using it for sauteeing, salad dressings, sauces, etc.

When I’m feeling flush, I buy a bottle of Laudemio. It smells so good I want to drink it. It especially shines in this olive oil/orange cake recipe.

3 Likes

I just bought a box of California Olive Ranch. Decided to try it. I’d come to the end of my box of Corto. I put a smaller quantity in a spouted bottle by the stove. Gets used up way before it gets rancid-y.

1 Like

We also use COR 100% for everyday. I’m on the lookout for a vibrant drizzle oil and read good things about Primi’s Imports. I’m not sure if they use glass bottles. They’re not local to me, though (they’re in Long Island City NY). Hoping to find something in Greater Boston but I just haven’t had the time to research.

1 Like

For most uses, I just use the supermarket own brand (which comes in a plastic bottle). But I also always try and have a bottle of Zaytoun. It’s an organic Palestinian oil which is not consistently available here due to the blockade - but I buy it when I see it.

2 Likes

The pour bottle of COR by my stove, next to the peanut oil. The can of tomatoes is not holding tomatoes. It is where we hide the Luxardo cherries, a tradition that began when my son lived here. He would eat an entire jar as a snack.

4 Likes

Mine are in “THE CRYPT” aka the back of the refrigerator. i do have them on a lazy Susan rotating shelf-like thing that i long ago figured would be useful to place on refrigerator shelves.

i have 2 pour bottles. the second holds Corto’s La Padella high-heat sauté oil mix.

My salt pig is a salt box labeled SALT. :eyes:

pepper grinders stand guard over all.

2 Likes

Tell me more about this part.

I love going to those olive oil and vinegar stores, but there are fewer here in my area now.

1 Like

My containers for buying liquids and the like are, in descending order, bring your own, glass, metal, and plastic. Of course many metal containers have a plastic lining. I just read too many articles about the plastic from our food containers ending up in either our bodies or landfills. If glass ends up not getting recycled and, therefore, tossed into a landfill, it is more inert. Of course plastic cannot be totally avoided. I am not sure why COR puts their other oils in plastic.

1 Like

I love this unfiltered Olive Oil from a store in my local Italian Market for salad dressings, dipping, etc. Oil - Claudio Olive Oil - Claudio Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil (34 oz) - 83712-02550 (claudiofood.com) They ship. Also for a lighter oil to dress spring and summer vegetable I always have a can of this on hand from Zingerman’s Alziari Olive Oil for sale. Buy online at Zingerman’s Mail Order. Gourmet Gifts. Food Gifts. (zingermans.com)

2 Likes

I see. So it is more from a health perspective. Just curious. Because some other people believe in a taste profile… Thanks.

I notice the taste in water. I confess that for anything stronger than water, I have not usually noticed it, but I have not been trying to discern it. It definitely changes carbonated beverages, but I think it is more that the carbonation is sharper in cans than in plastic bottles and that changes the way sweetness is perceived. It ruins booze. Those plastic miniatures can get nasty.

1 Like

Plastic bottles lose carbonation through the plastic. I never keep a stash of plastic bottled sodas/mixers if I can help it. Pandemic? I took what I could get. Glass bottles are always the most aesthetically satisfying, of course. But sodas in cans keep fizzy longer before opening than sodas in plastic bottles.

2 Likes

I got sick of all the tateless crap in the stores. Now we import our own from Greece. I have a friend there.

1 Like

I bought a Sodastream with glass bottles. It’s great.

2 Likes

my must have finishing oil has been this Provencal product – since my local grocer started carrying it a few years ago. great balance. artichoke and lawn, with some mild pepper at the end. incredibly versatile. i think i saw it at Sur la table fairly recently.

3 Likes

I have a Sodastream that uses glass bottles, too. Mine is several years old; I have lots of spare bottles and caps.

1 Like

Can you get glass bottles for generic SodaStream setups? I couldn’t tell from the link.

The glass bottles cannot be used with the machines that use plastic bottles.

The model that uses glass bottles is more expensive. It was worth the extra cost to me as I try as much as possible to avoid plastic.

3 Likes