Your favorite olive oil?

[beaujolais]

Your favorite olive oil? Flavored olive oil? (Or what not to buy?)

I'm trying to learn to love it as it's so good for you.

Thanks so much.

 

[kenny]

I buy the cheapest real 100% OO I can find.
So far that is Costco's Kirkland Signature Pure Olive Oil.
It comes in 3-litre bottles, and you have to buy two of them connected together.
I decant it into a nice smaller bottle.

It's not virgin or extra virgin but it tastes fine enough to me to not spend more for better taste.
I'm getting all the health benefits of pure OO at a relatively low cost, and I feel Kirkland is a reputable brand.
OO is the only oil that's ever in our house.

Costco also sells economical large sizes of virgin, extra virgin, and extra extra virgin OOs if you prefer that.

 

[beaujolais]

Oh, I heard that one was really good.

So glad you are back, dear friend. I've learned lots from you, you are inspiring and also a blast. (You have many fans here, btw.)

 

[recordaras]

I've had good luck with Trader Joe's olive oils. We usually buy their slightly pricier Californian one for salads and dips etc. (it was rated one of the best in a blind test by Consumer Reports) and the one with the pouring spout for heat cooking.
We also used to buy the Whole Foods 365 brand oil, but got an off bottle once and switched to TJs.

 

[klewis]

I'm no expert but I'm not a fan of olive oils that have been infused with other flavours. We usually have a bottle of premium quality olive oil for some dishes - I love them with a grassy and/or peppery taste. For general use we used to buy large containers of less expensive oils for cooking but recently a survey was conducted on leading supermarket brands of these virgin and extra virgin oils and found them all to be rancid! Now we use Rice Bran oil for everyday use.

 

[ame]

I think the one they say to get is the Kirkland Organic one.

I buy mine from Costco too.

 

[kenny]

Thanks Sonomacounty.
It's nice to be back.
Lots of good people here.

 

[marymm]

My fave is Trader Joe's Trader Giotti Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

 

[manderz]

Thanks Sonomacounty.
It's nice to be back.
Lots of good people here.

I'm excited to see you've returned, as well. I was quite disappointed to think I wouldn't get to see any more of your amazing photography skills. That, and your wonderful contributions to the rest of the forums. But mostly your fancy pictures

 

[Gypsy]

I have found that I dislike Italian olive oils.

We have several places around here that do olive oil tastings. And I am consistently picking olive oils from Spain, Chile and Portugal. And I have a preference for grassy and peppery ones (but I keep a couple small bottle of those for just bread dipping only).

We have a Portuguese market that has the BEST DEALS on Portuguese ones and that's what I buy.

I go to World Market and get very affordable Spanish Olive Oils (they differ in brands) when I can't get to the Portuguese market.

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

I loveee Olive 41's garlic olive oil and the crushed red pepper infused olive oil from Capri, Italy we got last year during our trip.

 

[movie zombie]

I do not buy olive oil that is packaged in plastic containers.
I prefer Spanish olive oil and trader joe's has a decent one in glass.

 

[kenny]

I do not buy olive oil that is packaged in plastic containers.

Is it only OO, or do you buy no products in plastic containers?
If so isn't that difficult?
If not, why just OO?
Not criticizing, just curious.

I certainly prefer glass, but at only $4.65 for a full liter I'll settle for plastic.

 

[gregchang35]

We are extremely lucky with our OO.

One of our clients used to manage an OO farm and has access to some OO. It medalled in The Perth Royal Show a few years back. It is exported to Italy and Japan, where they mix it with their OO and sell it back to our domestic market! LOL.

So, we buy it in 2L glass bottles.

Very lucky, we are.

 

[ksinger]

Plain old grocery store non-fancy pure OO for general cooking (higher smoke point), and also for general cooking, a garlic infused olive oil from a local olive oil/vinegar shop. I am out of any really good EVO at present.

 

[dk168]

Whatever that is on offer at the supermarket where I normally do my weekly shop, only buy extra virgin, and if I need something lighter say in a salad dressing, I would mix extra virgin olive oil with Mazola corn oil.

DK

 

[movie zombie]

Kenny, I tend to avoid all plastic containers but have not achieved 100% compliance yet.
anything fatty/oily absorbs chemicals easier.
I am leaving organic Straus Greek Yogurt which I love because of plastic container packaging for St Benoit which is more expensive but in a glass jar. thankfully, I also love the St Benoit and was already alternating between the two.

 

[kenny]

Movie Zombie, I like to be careful too.
I like to pay attention to what the public accepts from manufacturers but may later be discovered to be unhealthy, like asbestos, teflon etc.
Things like cancer, autism and allergies are increasing … and nobody knows why.
It may be something as innocuous and ubiquitous as the plastics in our pantries.

I think I may transfer many of my food staples from plastic to glass.
Thanks for mentioning this.

 

[movie zombie]

you are welcome, Kenny.

 

[Ninna]

I do prefer glass bottles over larger/plastic bottles, we simply do not go through that much oil and flavor/ freshness degrades over 14 months even when sealed and kept in the dark.
I support domestic olive oils.
My favorite brand is California Olive Ranch. My favorites: 'Arbequina' [Catalonian olive] fruity with a hint of artichoke and 'Everyday' [Arbosana/Koroneiki olive] smooth almost floral. It’s also called Green apple due to its label. Both are certified and always on sale in major markets [$6-8/ 24oz].

I also like Lonestar Star [Texan Arbequina/Mission Spanish olives] It's fruity with a distinct black olive taste.
We only buy it in September when the local oil is greener/bitter, available at TJ [$21/ 24oz].
New favorites:
Extra Virgin California Estate Olive Oil [Ascolana olive] $6
Tehama County [same fruit] $21.
Kirkland ORGANIC is surprisingly a wonderful olive oil too.

 

[baby monster]

I look for either US, Portuguese or Greek olive oil. There have been multiple articles about adulterated Italian olive oil so I avoid it. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/24/opinion/food-chains-extra-virgin-suicide.html

Also, I don't cook with olive oil. It has a low smoke point which some nutritionists say leads olive oil to turn carcinogenic when heated. I usually cook with grapeseed or coconut oil.

 

[kenny]

Yes, never heat any cooking oil to the point it smokes.
It becomes toxic.
If you see smoke turn off heat, avoid breathing smoke, turn exhaust fan on, throw away the oil, clean the pan and start over.

Still, I made the conscious decision to use only OO for everything, even stir fry and grilling.
I use a lower, non-smoking, temperature than recommended and obtainable with other oils.

The food may not come out with the 'proper' texture, but I accept that.
I decided this compromise was worth consuming only the healthiest oil.
YMMV.

 

[Natylad]

We produce extra virgin organic olive oil from our own olive trees in Greece. It's pure gold...But because we don't use any pesticides, the production is small, approximately 300 kilos per year. It is nevertheless enough for our family needs and some good friends!!!

 

[partgypsy]

We produce extra virgin organic olive oil from our own olive trees in Greece. It's pure gold...But because we don't use any pesticides, the production is small, approximately 300 kilos per year. It is nevertheless enough for our family needs and some good friends!!!

So Nice!
For a treat I ordered for myself some Kolymvari. But normally I just get whatever the virgin olive oil available in the stores and keep it in a dark place.
My Dad always buys them in the metal cans, and transfers some to a smaller bottle with a pour, so it protects it against the light, but they don't sell it like that here in NC.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Timely thread! I was at Williams Sonoma yesterday and almost their brand.....I wished I could have sampled it first....I buy Organic, but not faithful to "brand". Spectrum if it is on sale...

cheers--Sharon

 

[MichelleCarmen]

We buy Trader Joe's organic extra virgin. It's a good price and it tastes good. I'm not picky but prefer organic and I don't like to pay a lot.

 

[Hospatogi]

I love supporting smaller local businesses even though it is a bit more expensive. There is a small family run company called Ferrari Olive Oil company. They have the best Tuscan herb infused olive oil. They also have a white peach vinegar that is great on ice cream or pancakes! They visit our local farmers market in Los Angeles but have their own store in Studio City. You can order online or if you are ever in the area it's def worth a trip to their store!

 

[luv2sparkle]

We buy all of our olive oil from a CA company called WE Olive. All of their oils are from local farms. My favorites are their Garlic, Lemon and Naval Orange oils. I also LOVE their balsalmics. They are amazing, I could drink them. Raspberry/basil and chocolate are my favs right now. A little bit pricey but worth every penny.

If you are up SLO way on a Saturday, stop in early at Hush Harbor bakery and get 1 (or 10, but call ahead for multiples) of their sourdough bread. They are in Atascadero. Then either stop at the company We Olive in Atascadero, or We Olive in SLO. You will be in heaven.

 

[Hospatogi]

We buy all of our olive oil from a CA company called WE Olive. All of their oils are from local farms. My favorites are their Garlic, Lemon and Naval Orange oils. I also LOVE their balsalmics. They are amazing, I could drink them. Raspberry/basil and chocolate are my favs right now. A little bit pricey but worth every penny.

If you are up SLO way on a Saturday, stop in early at Hush Harbor bakery and get 1 (or 10, but call ahead for multiples) of their sourdough bread. They are in Atascadero. Then either stop at the company We Olive in Atascadero, or We Olive in SLO. You will be in heaven.

Next time we plan a trip to San Francisco I am def going to stop here..I love sourdough bread!!!

 

[luv2sparkle]

Hospatogi, you will have a new favorite place! They only make the sourdough on Saturday but all of their bread is equally delicious! A wonderful family owns and runs it and everything they make is delicious. The sandwiches are big enough to split. So so good. I have been known to drive for 4 hours to get there to buy bread. We usually call early in the week and order 10 loaves and bring them home to share with the kids. A little bowl of olive oil and balsalmic and a loaf of their bread is divine. Plan to be there early if you don't order ahead because they always sell completely out.