Virgin Olive Oil

[terry]

NPR has an article about Virgin Olive Oil, "Your Olive Oil May Not Be The Virgin It Claims."

According to the article, UC Davis has a bunch of trees that they overlook. UC Davis has its own, "CSI: Olive Oil." They discovered through scientific methods that two thirds of the virgin olive oil on the market is not.

Read the article to find out more:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128702706

I only cook with olive oil. If the olive oil I bought was mixed with soybean or sesame oil, I wouldn't be too happy. Soybean oil is terrible.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Do you think this is worth buying some?  or is the EVOO in cans available at the market probably just as good ?


http://www.lartedellolivo.com/

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[KoPP]

Do you think this is worth buying some?  or is the EVOO in cans available at the market probably just as good ?


http://www.lartedellolivo.com/

....

I'd say that it depends on what you're going to do with it. That's kinda high for EVOO unless it's a designer label. Since you're not going to use it for frying/cooking, if you were inclined to get it, get the small one and have yourself a taste test. Too bad Savor isn't around - January could have told to (and sold you) some great stuff.

[MadBob]

So you mean that my fav Consortio Roasted Red Pepper Olive Oil could be a sham?

[LizR]

The mention of olive oil in the Costco thread reminded me of the last Splendid table broadcast. I can barely make myself listen to that show, which comes on just as I am arriving at work on Saturdays, but I did happen to hear a little of her interview with Tom Mueller, who has a book out about olive oil. It was interesting; he recommended some specific brands, including Corto which he said is available at Costco. He got some cred for me by dissing Whole Foods 365 oil.

Anyone tried the Corto? I'm looking for some olive oil that is really green and has that slight burning/numbing in your throat.

http://www.splendidtable.org/episode/500

[LizR]

Ah, the dangers of the intertubes and Amazon. I now have a bottle of Castillo de Canena Arbequina and a bottle of California Olive Ranch oil heading my way.

[LizR]

California Olive Ranch oil has arrived and it is delicious. And a relative deal too - including shipping I paid less than $12 for 16oz.

[LizR]

The Castillo de Canena arrived today, and while it is indeed delicious, I think I almost prefer the Cali brand. Time will tell.

Speaking of the California Olive Ranch oil, I happened to find it on iHerb, which is a site I'd never heard of. It was around $11, including delivery. As part of the order, they have an incentive of a discount code you can share with new customers. It is $10 off and I'm willing to share, so folks could get a reallly good bottle of oil for less than $2, delivered. PM me if you are interested. Full disclosure - there is some kind of "reward" points that I think I would accrue for referring to the site, but I am honestly not interested in that aspect as I am unlikely to buy anything from the site but olive oil. Just offering to share the olive oil love with y'all.

[Lorenzo]

So my wife and I had a little informal taste-off among three Costco EVOOs:

1) Ottavio brand Spanish -- this is Costco's least expensive EVOO and what we have been using as an everyday workhorse
2) Kirkland brand Italian
3) Kirkland Toscano 2012 Harvest

Having used the Costco Spanish oil for the bulk of our needs, we were curious how we thought the other two Costco oils compared, especially the vintage Tuscan oil that we hadn't tried before and hoped might knock our socks off.  I guess we're not familiar with Tuscan oil like this, because the bitterness really took us by surprise.  I understand from what I've read that some people consider the bitterness a desirable flavor.  We really didn't care for it as much as the other two oils.  We couldn't detect any other flavor difference--none of the "fruitiness" that olive oil connoisseurs talk about and that I vaguely remember tasting in Italy.  Nope, other than the bitterness the vintage Tuscan and generic Italian tasted pretty similar to us and appeared pretty much the same shade of pale green on a white plate.  The Spanish oil was almost as nice a shade of green--just ever so slightly more yellow than the two Italian oils.  The Spanish oil had a noticeably milder flavor, which is probably why we like it in cooked dishes.

Now I feel like I want to taste what EVOO aficionados consider to be a really great one.

LizR, having tried some recommended ones, what's your take on it?

[Jmolinari]

It's funny how people perceive tastes differently.
I've also tried, over time, your #1 and #2, and both of them have the same off flavor i find in almost all cheaper EVOOs. It's faintly plasticy, stale, metallic. Hard to describe. I would prefer to be able to use these for cooking as they cost 1/2 what the Tuscan one does, but every time i buy them i hate them.

#3 to me has a very delicious, floral, mellow flavor with some bitterness.

[Lorenzo]

It's funny how people perceive tastes differently.
. . .

I guess that says it all.  I do recall having what I thought was fantastic olive oil in Italy--almost fruity--but it occurs to me that maybe my taste buds have lost their edge in the decade or so since I've been there.  Hey, I guess if my palate is losing its edge, I should consider it a blessing, since I'll be satisfied with the cheap stuff

I've heard--possibly from the NPR interview LizR mentioned or something similar--that Tuscan oil commands a high price for the same reason as much French wine: it's got brand power.  So while I'm sure it's good oil, I'm not so sure there aren't others that are just as good that cost less (though I suspect Costco's stuff is a good deal regardless).  I will be happy to continue exploring EVOOs.  We use a lot of the stuff.

[Jmolinari]

There are TONS of great Italian oils. Umbrian is particularly spicy and pungent, sicillian is buttery.....

[LizR]

To me, the better ones have a definite vegetal character that is hard to describe. Sort of fruity, sort of grassy, but that doesn't really capture it well, and every one is different. After you swallow, there is a spiciness/almost numbness in the back of your throat. I could see where that might not be pleasant for everyone but it usually is only prominent when you are tasting it straight.

We have some sort of Kirkland- I think it is organic - that we find perfectly acceptable for everyday use. Peachtree Costco didn't have the Tuscan one last time we were there.

Jason - have you had the Corto?

Lorenzo - I recommend the California Olive Ranch everyday oil I mentioned below.

[Jmolinari]

I've never had the corto as far as i know.
I've had the costco EVOO in twin jugs, the spanish one in a single jug and the tuscan one from costco. I thought that was it.
MAybe the Corto isn't available at all costcos in the country?

Looking at a picture of the Corto i definitely haven't seen that at Costco

[Lorenzo]

On LizR's recommendation, we got a half liter of California Olive Ranch oil (they were out of the larger bottle).  Under $4 with coupon, plus $4 for shipping.  We like it a LOT.  It doesn't have the bitter bite of the Costco 2012 Tuscan.  This will serve as our "fancy" oil for a while, though at that price it could just as well be our everyday oil.  But we have a lot of Costco oil to use up first.