3 Tips For Buying the Best Olive Oil

Olive oil, which is simply juice pressed from olives, tastes great when it’s fresh. The highest grade, called extra-virgin, is lively, bright, and full-bodied at its best, with flavors that range from peppery to buttery depending on the variety of olives used and how ripe they are when harvested. (In general, an earlier harvest yields greener, more peppery oil; a later harvest results in a mellower, more golden oil.) But like any other fresh fruit, olives are highly perishable, and their pristine, complex flavor degrades quickly, which makes producing—and handling—a top-notch oil time-sensitive, labor-intensive, and expensive. But the results couldn’t be more worth it. We use extra-virgin olive oil as a condiment on grilled meat, fish, vegetables, and pastas; a source of richness and body in soups and sauces; and a star player in vinaigrette.

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[SuperBlindKid]

Useful, thanks! I'm going to have so much nerdy fun at the supermarket :)

[alton]

Thank you for posting these short, but informative videos.
Apparently, they do not meet the needs and or expectations of some of those commenting.
But, they are welcome and I trust that they will continue to be made.

[msilverhammer]

You forgot to mention how one determines if the olive oil is really extra virgin olive oil, or just a counterfeit, falsely branded version of inferior olive oil.

[carlosbalaguer]

If you want good olive oil buy the Spanish one. From Córdoba or Jaén. My favorite ones are Oro Bailén, Bravoleum and Castillo de Canena, but there are some other really good ones out there. Also, check the olive variety and find the one you like the most. For me arbequina is the most balanced and picual has a perfect brightness to it. Also the wild olive tree oil is

[Lisa-lisa-lisa-lisa]

I live in the middle of Europe and I can chose between, Italien, Spanish or Greek olive oil. Do you have a preference?

[sheepdog]

I wish you would have gone one step further and told us who makes the real stuff. I've read many articles out there that say much of the EVO sold in the stores is fake.

[JoshShannontx]

You guys should do updated review and comparisons! I think it's been a while, but what about plug in pressure cookers vs stove top pressure cookers? Also if I'm going to get a counter top plug in pressure cooker which one do you guys think is best?

Edit: I also love the detail in the older review "which is best" videos. I've learned so much about properly using and handling cookware and utensils. Thanks for being a great YouTube channel!

[kellyb]

Don't go by best before date, which usually is 24-32 months after it has been bottled and up to 1-2 years after it has been pressed. It's not an indication of freshness. Go by harvest date which is in fall or winter for European or USA stock. Most bottles would be dated in the previous year.
Don't buy in clear containers, dark coloured containers protects against damaging lights. Buy from a single source country, not mixed with other countries.

[shet]

Can you so this again comparing grocery store olive oil and not the extra virgin kind. We don't know what is real and what really olive oil is good quality and tastes the best. We need to know do and don't of cooking with it! Most people don't use extra virgin, but want the healthier olive oil. Please and thanks!!!

[fundip]

why do you feel single country is best?

[jimmueller]

I have heard the United States is a dumping ground for crappy olive oil. Ok, I can accept that. But of the crappy olive oil available in the United States, which brand is the least crappy? I went to a local grocer chain that is considered one of the better outlets in the city and looked at their olive oil options. Not one met the minimum standards you provided. As a matter of fact, not one of the brands I looked at provided press dates and not one was a single country origin. I am even open to using a better vegetable, canola, sesame, or petroleum based oil if it’s a better option than a crappy olive oil. HELP!!!

[toddellner]

How about addressing the elephant in the bottle - the lack of any US standards for what constitutes olive oil, let alone pure, virgin, or extra virgin, the widespread adulteration of the product, sometimes to the point where none of it came from an olive tree, and ways of determining this?

[coolfix]

Don't cook with olive oil, use it for topping . for cooking use coconut oil, tallow, lard

[Colorblind]

1 Tip For Buying the Best Olive Oil Ask a Greek

[jarryjayo]

have to be a surelock homes in this day and age to buy a real olive oil.

[KingGroovy]

not a single mention of the controversy surrounding imported olive oil and its purity? Come one, Test Kitchen. Get it together

[kooyawn]

I bought your recommended domestic brand of extra virgin olive oil and it tasted like nothing. It was so disappointing.

[RCREVIEWS]

waste of time....put it in the freezer, if becomes solid...it is real, if not is fake!!!!

[StarhawkRanger]

So I guess it's not supposed to smell like turpentine?

[broccool]

Make sure you oo is sourced from a single country. I make sure mine is sourced from Costco.