Best brand extra virgin olive oil???

fruttibiscotti

So at the grocery store we are bombarded with so many brands of extra virgin olive oil. Does anyone have the scoop on the best brand to buy - as in best quality from nutrition perspective? And of course I'm talking about the brand that any common Joe can buy, and not the froufrou expensive stuff in dainty tiny containers.

GingerLolita

There's little to no difference nutritionally. I use an expensive Italian one cold and I cook with the O-Live brand olive oil. I also like O & Co. for flavored oils, but it's not too cheap either.

k8eekins

So at the grocery store we are bombarded with so many brands of extra virgin olive oil. Does anyone have the scoop on the best brand to buy - as in best quality from nutrition perspective? And of course I'm talking about the brand that any common Joe can buy, and not the froufrou expensive stuff in dainty tiny containers.

http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=55

Generally a reasonably priced product across the board.

The price-conscious options are:

(i) Spectrum Naturals - Olive Oil Oil Extra Virgin/Unref, 33.8 oz liquid $14.44
(ii) Spectrum: Olive Oil, Og2, Unref, X Vrg, 25.4 OZ $16.40

ETA: Bolden EVOO ^

Barbellgirl

Read this and similar articles before deciding.

http://lifehacker.com/the-most-and-least-fake-extra-virgin-olive-oil-brands-1460894373

jofjltncb6

http://www.kasandrinos.com/

Really good stuff. Proprietor is a good guy too.

fruttibiscotti

Thanks guys! I heard about rampant olive oil scandals and the use of diluents in the separation process (instead of just mechanical process) as well as using cheaper vegetable oils as a filler, so I really didn't know which product to buy with any certainty. I have often purchased Colavita, and I was shocked to see the study provided by Barbellgirl which showed it failed comparative lab tests! I notice that Colavita oil gets solid when I refrigerate it (a trick I learned somewhere long ago, apparently "real" EVOO is supposed to congeal at low temperatures). I think I will dig deeper into that study to see which tests they conducted and how valid they are to qualify quality. If anyone else has more info, I would appreciate it.

jofjltncb6

Thanks guys! I heard about rampant olive oil scandals and the use of diluents in the separation process (instead of just mechanical process) as well as using cheaper vegetable oils as a filler, so I really didn't know which product to buy with any certainty. I have often purchased Colavita, and I was shocked to see the study provided by Barbellgirl which showed it failed comparative lab tests! I notice that Colavita oil gets solid when I refrigerate it (a trick I learned somewhere long ago, apparently "real" EVOO is supposed to congeal at low temperatures). I think I will dig deeper into that study to see which tests they conducted and how valid they are to qualify quality. If anyone else has more info, I would appreciate it.

I'm pretty sure the refrigerator trick is bogus. I don't have links to it right now though.

TheSlorax

Thanks guys! I heard about rampant olive oil scandals and the use of diluents in the separation process (instead of just mechanical process) as well as using cheaper vegetable oils as a filler, so I really didn't know which product to buy with any certainty. I have often purchased Colavita, and I was shocked to see the study provided by Barbellgirl which showed it failed comparative lab tests! I notice that Colavita oil gets solid when I refrigerate it (a trick I learned somewhere long ago, apparently "real" EVOO is supposed to congeal at low temperatures). I think I will dig deeper into that study to see which tests they conducted and how valid they are to qualify quality. If anyone else has more info, I would appreciate it.

I'm pretty sure the refrigerator trick is bogus. I don't have links to it right now though.

http://dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=14404


If you're going for price alone I don't know if you can beat trader joe's, I got a huge bottle for $6.50 the other day. I think Costco is reasonably priced by volume as well. I can't speak to the quality or whether they have superior health benefits to other EVOOs, but I have used both and can't complain about either.

fruttibiscotti

Thanks Hayley516!

Barbellgirl

Trader Joe's and Costco are both safe bets. I was pretty disappointed in Colavita as well, I have half a bottle still in my pantry. After the news stories hit in 2010, it's quite possible some of them cleaned up their act but the average consumer wouldn't be able to tell. I recently bought the California olive ranch brand and it has the COOC seal. Also look for a harvest date and a best buy date. You usually want to use the oil within two years of the harvest date.

777Gemma888

So at the grocery store we are bombarded with so many brands of extra virgin olive oil. Does anyone have the scoop on the best brand to buy - as in best quality from nutrition perspective? And of course I'm talking about the brand that any common Joe can buy, and not the froufrou expensive stuff in dainty tiny containers.

Nothing beats the freshly pressed Olive Oil from Lebanon ~ but you kinda need to know someone who will be going there to bring some back for you. Much like their edible olives ~ OMG!!