How to Tell if Your Olive Oil is Fake! Quick Kitchen Tip!

Chef Nicole Gaffney AKA Coley dishes up her latest Quick Kitchen Tip of the Week!

Olive oil adulteration (aka lesser quality oils being pawned off as the real thing) is a more common problem than you might think, especially in the United States.

UPDATE: This method is NOT a proven way to determine whether or not your olive oil is real or fake. In fact, I've come to realize this method is quite flawed. Stay tuned for a NEW video discussing some of the better methods for choosing good quality, REAL olive oils.

[rogerg]

I like that you are not promoting any particular brand unlike other olive oil "experts" on YouTube.

[jlynch]

And what if it congeals but has a liquid portion on the top?

[lancebaker]

I put Wal-Mart "Great Value" brand in the fridge. It separated, so it is real and also real cheap. This makes me wonder if all of you actually got the test backward – maybe separation means fake.

[yumgoggle]

Thanks for the tip! I will use that every time now.

[courtneymcfarland]

Cool tip! Though I wouldn't necessarily say "especially in the U.S.", because at least from what I've read on this subject the standards of US produced olive oils are much higher, especially in California, whereas imported olive oils are much more likely to be cut with other oils or more cheaply produced using fallen or rotten olives.

[elliewolfert]

Do you recommend a brand here in the USA? The best found was from Spain, directly from Spain, and it did coagulate in the fridge ( I keep my oils there) but it is long gone. Please recommend one you have tested. Thank you,

[JuanCastillo-cngo]

Many countries like Italy buy raw olives in bulk from Spain, which is by far the first producer in the world and where the best quality of olive oil is produced. Since Spain overproduces that much (as per EU regulations we cannot sell more above certain amounts) we need to export the unprocessed excess of production to other countries where it is bottled up and labeled as their own, hence the process for them turns into a question of benefit margin and not quality. Same happens with wine. On top of that Spain holds the largest extension of Bio-fields in the whole Europe, ensuring eco-friendly and bio cultives and harvesting. I truly recommend you to buy Spanish olive oil and Greek above other countries.

[paolomartini]

It may reveal one aspect of it but not a definite test. Some of the oil have wax in them and will solidify. There. A spectro analysis could be the best way to find out. A raw way of getting close to that is to shine a green laser in to it. Not super accurate but will get close. Through the oil will turn red then back green on the way out. This could still be due to the content of leafs and green olives in the mixture but that is not the end of the world. Also where the olives come from is not as scary as other oils being mixed in.

[TheOriginalMoc]

i recently just started using olive oil i picked up Filippo Berio extra virgin at my local supermarket, now on another youtube vid i heard that brand is fake but i done the fridge test and it turned solid just like you said, so is it real?

[lancebaker]

Now we can watch about 50 videos that have discovered this secret test. How come none of you can explain why it separates? Also, other than seeing the other 49 videos, how could you know that this would happen?

[robynannala]

I make some peppers with olive oil, and got one of the supposedly good brands and found that it did in fact congeal in the refrigerator, which the other brand I'd used for years did not (Bertolli). It wasn't a welcome change for the roasted peppers. I changed to Grape Seed Oil, and it doesn't congeal, so I thought that was a good option for people who don't like the oil to congeal in their refrigerator. Hoping the Grape Seed oil is okay and not adulterated as well.

[Tahara-Aichi]

I was told you have to put it in the freezer not the refrigerator

[burtonkephart]

Just tried this the other day with Flora olive oil and it was still liquid . It was from one country and dark glass bottle . So I’ll try another

[Radek]

That's so wrong. Refined olive oil can fully solidify, and extra virgin olive oil may stay liquid if it's winterized (it's a common process to prevent solidifying when it's sold in cold places)

[lalchowdhary]

if the refrigerator test comes out positive than we already brought it we cannot go n rtn back to grocery store.

[qbwydgw]

but that is not true unfortunately, look it out.

[livipup]

She keeps her oil in a clear bottle 😷 Not only is it bad to expose oils to light, but transferring it to a new bottle also exposes it to oxygen. Olive oil should never be in a clear bottle!

[williamchoi]

Well that’s interesting. Just about ALL oils turn solid in the fridge.

[monginhagat]

Hello sweety! I love you from Philippines 😉

[gforce]

How about telling us some brands that are pure so we don't waste a lot of time and money.