Are you buying the right olive oil?

Olive oil is one of the more expensive ingredients we buy as home cooks, but there are so many different kinds. For example, What's the difference between Extra virgin, virgin, pure, and light? What about filtered vs unfiltered? What does first cold-pressed mean? With all these terms including some questionable marketing terms, how are we supposed to know which is the good stuff?

Today, we'll explain all of this including why from a culinary perspective it's kind of pointless to buy anything except extra virgin olive oil.

📚 Videos & Sources mentioned.

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USEFUL KITCHEN GEAR

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0:00 Episode Premise
0:26 How olive is made
1:00 4 types of olive oil
2:51 Why are free fatty acids important?
3:32 Common terms you'll see
4:30 What to look for on the bottle
6:06 Culinary roles of olive oil
7:54 Why anything but extra virgin is kind of pointless
8:45 Recommendation - Which olive oil should you buy
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MISC. DETAILS
Music: Provided by Epidemic Sound
Filmed on: Sony a6600 & Sony A6400 w/ Sony 30mm f3.5 & 18-105mm F4
Voice recorded on Shure MV7
Edited in: Premiere Pro

Affiliate Disclosure:

[jsauer]

I actually LEARN more about food, cooking and the intricacies around it from this channel than anywhere else. You got a talent for teaching, my guy.

[Giannis_Sarafis]

Thanks for sharing. I live in Greece, in Halkidiki, a place with thousands of hectares of olive trees, most of them being cultivated and processed traditionally. We only use extra virgin olive oil for cooking and sometimes unfiltered for salads. Those of us who don't have olive trees, we buy olive oil directly from the producers, which are usually neighbors!

[poison]

I'm From Spain, from an area full of Olive trees and also worked as tourism guide for an Organic Olive tree plantation. There are some things you should also know about the olives and the olive oil. The olives go from a vibrant green to black. The greener they are, or the earlier you get them, the more concentration of flavour and good cualities from the oil. Also, the greener they are, the less oil you can get from them. When they are black they have more oil, but also less quality. That's why people who are really into olive oil look for first press of the season. And also why the campaign extends for months, while the quality gets worse. Also, there is another type of oil. Here we call it "lampante", and it is the one whose caracteristics don't allow them to be used for human consumption. In fact, the name, lampante, is because it was used to light the lamps.
And just so you know, a big cuantity of the "italian olive oil" is actually spanish. We sell it in bulk, and they bottle it, so that's why it is labelled as italian, it is manuifactured, or bottled in Italy.
Also, there are quite a lot of frauds in the olive oil business; they say it is Extra Virgin, but it is or Virgin, or just olive oil with a little more of extra virgin to pass it as good cuality.
Also, don't buy unfiltered. In the process they also take out the water in the oil (that water comes from the olives). Unfiltered is watered and dirty olive oil, but you pay more and has a shorter shelf life.
As a personal tip; never buy an aolive oil that smells like oil. When you try the good stuff, you undertand it.

[greenlife]

back in Morocco when i was a young kid, I went with my father to some villages and bought green/purplish olives and it was pressed in front of us in a traditional way, we picked up the oil, and headed home, the whole neighborhood smells like fresh olives, best oil i ever had

[marcosmartinez]

Ethan as editor: how many shots you want in video filling the jars with olive oil?
Ethan: yes

[ZuyFean]

My favorite olive oil is actually of Greek production, from Crete. The brand is Agro Creta and it is sold in 5 liter cans (probably in smaller batches too). Highly recommended if you can get your hands on this one. I am from Poland, so it might be much more accessible here than in the US. This oil has a very nice, slightly bitter punch that you feel after yo swallow.

[mistertestsubject]

There's something to be said for taking advantage of olive oil's generally low smoke point for some things. Quickest way to fry eggs perfectly every time for me is to heat a bit of olive oil till it starts to smoke, drop the eggs in, kill the heat and put a lid on it. About 2 minutes and you're good. Coincidentally that's about how long my toaster takes. It's quick and easy enough that I can't mess it up when I'm straight out of bed and still groggy.

[shekharmoona]

My daughter brought some olive oils from Greece last week. I tried it straight from the bottle. It has a spicy after taste that hits you in the back of the throat. It was like a whiskey type feeling but not harsh at all.

[abbashammoud]

Thanks Ethan! I'm from Lebanon and we actually harvest olives from our back garden. We extract the oil from the olives in the most traditional way and almost all the time, it yields extra virgin olive oil that has a dark green color. We're actually expecting to harvest next month and I wish I could send you a bottle for you to try! Appreciate your videos!

[thehello]

As a former olive oil farmer from Italy I think this is one of the few videos online that get it right !!

[Sybaris_Rex]

Years ago I was mostly indifferent to using olive oil; It was okay. Then I went to Greece. I was blown away at both the quality and variety of of different oils and just how differently one oil can taste from the next. Times have changed and we have both a lot more US grown olive oil and a greater degree of imports but still, every time I go back to Greece, nothing beats an olive oil pressed last week by old Niko down the road.

[octapusxft]

I am so glad to live in one of the Olive oil countries (Greece). It seems that anything bellow Virgin olive oil is almost never bought by a household here.
There are even some seasonal versions of extra virgin olive oil that are even more special like extra virgin olive oil from unripe olives with even stronger flavors which feels almost like a juice. You can drink that one like fine wine

[victordesanderobledo]

My grandfather has about 20 olive trees in his backyard. We collect the olives in early December, and we get the best olive oil somebody can get.
Living in Spain has its downsides, but also has some upsides ;)

[dosgos]

I lived on an olive farm. One issue was someone between the farm and table mixing in non-olive oils. Some farmers told me mass-market brands might have up to roughly 20% cheap, non-olive oil. Popular tests were not able to detect below that threshold although that may have changed.

[xRyroxGHx]

I appreciate how Ethan cites his sources as if he were writing a scholarly essay. You can tell this guy has done his research and knows the science behind the cooking methods.

[thepunisher]

I’m 9months late here. I fry in Avocado Oil and use a similarly high quality first cold pressed EVOO for Italian cooking (sauces) and for dipping and dressings. The avocado oil is expensive so I don’t submerge my food in it, but more so for sautéed peppers and onions it works really well with the high smoke point. Interesting facts though, looking forward to more! Love the content overall man!

[craigmurdock]

What I love about Ethan's videos is the complete lack of pretension and the vibe that we are kind of learning together. It's simple, motivating and fun. Thanks!

[samisnotordinary]

OMG! It makes me so excited to see you use UC Davis as a source! I just started there this year and the olive oil section at the local co-op is INCREDIBLE! Watching this video really helps me appreciate that olive oil aisle a whole lot more, and now I feel like I can pick the perfect ones for me! Thank you!

[Dan]

I love how well researched and informed you are about your topics before making a video. We’re so lucky to have amazing content like yours available for free!

[leonidasg]

As a greek person who loves olive oil the best uses for it are: on feta cheese with oregano, on greek salad of course, when cooking vegetables in the over sprinkle them with olive oil and finally for all raw dressings that require it. However, one of its BEST uses is to cover one side of a bread slice, add FRESH oregano and toast it (do not burn it, make it nice and golden). This guys is one of the easiest and freaking tasty recipes you can make.