What's your goto olive oil?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I just went to order another can of Partanna EVOO on Amazon. 101 ounces in 2023 was $50. Today it's $69. I have tried many others but enjoyed Partanna as an all around great oil, whether dressing or cooking with it, or an occasional spoonful.

What do you like?

[maxnine11]

Not another oil thread !!

[craigster59]

$20.99 for a 2 liter bottle...

[Tobra]

Patient with olive trees gives me olive oil

[masraum]

"Good" olive oil will "burn" your throat when you swallow it.

As OO ages, the quality drops, so the fresher, the better. If you get OO from Europe and it took forever to get here and sat on a store shelf forever, but you managed to get some from California or somewhere more local, there's a good chance that the local stuff will be better. I assume that flavor potentially is independent or at least not fully 1:1 dependent on age and quality.

And there's a HUGE counterfeit OO market. They have found stuff being sold as EVOO that's actually vegetable oil with some green coloring and flavoring, but little to no actual OO.

The burning sensation from extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a positive sign of a high-quality, fresh oil, caused by the natural compound oleocanthal which stimulates a specific throat receptor. This pungency indicates the oil is rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties, similar to ibuprofen. The sensation is felt at the back of the throat because the specific flavor-sensing molecule, TRPA1, is located there.
What Causes the Burn?

Oleocanthal:

This is a naturally occurring phenolic compound found in high-quality EVOO.
TRPA1 Receptor:

The oleocanthal molecules attach to a specific sensor molecule, TRPA1, which is found in the throat but not the mouth.
Anti-inflammatory Properties:

This compound is similar in its anti-inflammatory action to ibuprofen, making the burn a marker of beneficial health properties.

What Does This Mean for the Olive Oil Quality?

A Good Sign: A strong, peppery, or stinging sensation is actually a positive indicator.

Freshness & Purity: It shows the olive oil is fresh, pure, and not adulterated with other oils.
Antioxidant Content: It means the oil is packed with natural antioxidants and beneficial polyphenols.

How to Recognize a High-Quality EVOO
To test your EVOO for these qualities, you can try the "5-second trick":

Pour: Put a small amount of oil into a shot glass or small bowl.
Swirl & Sniff: Swirl and sniff the oil like you would a wine to appreciate its aroma.
Sip: Take a small sip and hold it in your mouth, then draw air across your tongue to send the oil to the back of your throat.

If it produces a peppery, pungent, or tingling sensation, you likely have a fresh, high-quality, and antioxidant-rich EVOO

[gregpark]

Olive oil turns rancid relatively quickly. Kirkland is actually pretty good but I can't use that much before it goes bad. Smaller bottles of extra virgin California or Italian is what I do and keep it cool. I've read it can be frozen but that seems like a hassle and I'm not going there

[vash]

I try to get this when I can. Covid changed the process.

It’s local. Part of our junior college, etc. very good



If not, I’ll buy the stuff from California Olive Ranch.


But that big jug from Costco is good for most things. I’ve cooked with it. I start there with my marinara sauce.

[Scott Douglas]

[MikeSid]

I have consistently used both the Partanna EVOO and the Kirkland Organic EVOO as "daily driver" olive oils for at least the last 8 years. To my taste, both are very good, and I'd be hard pressed (no pun) to tell the difference between the two.

If you like Partanna, you owe it to yourself (and the small producers of the world) to try:

https://zagarellooliveoil.com/

It is family owned and produced in Partanna and, of course, available on Amazon.

Don't overlook Greek Olive Oil either. Some of the oils from Crete are exceptionally pure.

Also, while I dislike the marketing angle and the mass produced ubiquity of the stuff, the Graza oils are actually pretty good.

[faverymi]

I use 3 different olive oils

Cooking
Frying/searing
Dressing/dipping

Different boiling points and totally different profiles

[greglepore]

The Kirkland Spanish EVVO is pretty tasty.

[fanaudical]

I use the Kirkland olive oil for everything except seasoning cast iron (canola for that).

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Looks like a trip to Costco is in order.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by gregpark

Olive oil turns rancid relatively quickly. Kirkland is actually pretty good but I can't use that much before it goes bad. Smaller bottles of extra virgin California or Italian is what I do and keep it cool. I've read it can be frozen but that seems like a hassle and I'm not going there

Googling opens debate on this and definitely depends on how you keep it. I bought the can above in December 2023 making it about 20-21 months old since being opened. I have a small green bottle with shot pourer on the counter, can stays in the fridge. Poured a shot last night, I can't say it was the same as the day I opened the can, but it was very tasty, had two shots for good measure.

I looked at wine vacuum pumps years ago but just keeping oil in the fridge seems to be fine.

[p911dad]

We go through a big can of Partanna in about a year, keep refilling a bottle next to the stove. We cook a lot at home vs. going out.

[LWJ]

It certainly does degrade with time. Anyone have a metric for this? We are in the Costco camp, except for when cousin Gina gifts us with oil from her trees. That stuff is spicy!

I read somewhere that the antioxidant power of olive oil greatly diminishes with time. I suspect the stuff we have in the US isn't nearly as good as what people local to olive trees get.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by LWJ

It certainly does degrade with time. Anyone have a metric for this? We are in the Costco camp, except for when cousin Gina gifts us with oil from her trees. That stuff is spicy!

I read somewhere that the antioxidant power of olive oil greatly diminishes with time. I suspect the stuff we have in the US isn't nearly as good as what people local to olive trees get.

Exactly, when you drink good olive oil, it should burn your throat. Over time the healthful chemicals that do that degrade. I have read articles in the past that say that most of the time EVOO from the EU is done by the time it gets to the US (and that's assuming it's not counterfeit). So US made or better yet, local EVOO is likely a much better product.

[RNajarian]

Being from a Middle Eastern background Olive Oil is a staple . . .

The best I’ve ever had . . .

https://www.latinajadelgourmet.com/en/product/magnum-oro-bailen/

But don’t let the euro price tags fool you . . .

It is also occasionally available at Costco

https://www.tastingtable.com/1693885/costco-high-end-oro-bailen-olive-oil-bargain/

. . . however availability is limited . . .

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by masraum

Exactly, when you drink good olive oil, it should burn your throat. Over time the healthful chemicals that do that degrade. I have read articles in the past that say that most of the time EVOO from the EU is done by the time it gets to the US (and that's assuming it's not counterfeit). So US made or better yet, local EVOO is likely a much better product.

I guess it's a good thing then that my nearly 2 year old Partanna still does. But for me it's about taste more than anything.

I'm skeptical of European OO losing its health benefits by the time it gets here because inventory has to move, it can't sit forever.

But one study found in a quick google search confirms significant degradation after 1 year: The decrease in the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil during storage is conditioned by the initial phenolic profile

Abstract
Phenols are responsible for the only health claim of virgin olive oil (VOO) recognized by the European Commission EU 432/2012 and the European Food Safety Authority. In this research, we studied the decrease in the phenolic content of 160 extra VOOs (EVOOs) after 12 months storage in darkness at 20 °C. Phenolic concentration was decreased 42.0 ± 24.3% after this period and this reduction strongly depended on the initial phenolic profile. Hence, EVOOs with predominance in oleacein and oleocanthal experienced a larger decrease in phenolic content than oils enriched in other phenols. Complementarily, hydroxytyrosol and oleocanthalic acid increased significantly in aged EVOOs, which allowed their discrimination from recently produced EVOOs. These changes are explained by degradation of main secoiridoids during storage due to their antioxidant properties. Hydroxytyrosol and oleocanthalic acid can be considered markers of olive oil ageing, although they can also provide information about quality or stability.

[masraum]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/29/olive-oil-fraud-mislabelling-cases-record-high-eu

The EU had a record number of potential olive oil fraud and mislabelling cases in the first quarter of this year as inflationary pressures fuelled an increase in the hidden market for the kitchen staple.

The cost of olive oil has more than doubled since 2018 with production hit by extreme weather caused by the climate crisis and other factors.

As the price has spiked, so has the number of “cross-border EU notifications”, which include mislabelling, potential fraud, and safety cases involving contaminated oils.

In the first quarter of 2018, just 15 such cases were recorded by the EU. That rose to a record 50 cases in the first three months of this year, more than a threefold increase, according to data released to the Guardian under freedom of information laws.

However, these cases are only those to have been detected and reported by member states to the EU directorate general for health. The figure omits domestic cases and the true scale of the fraud is probably much higher.

The incident reports included oils contaminated with unauthorised substances such as pesticides, mineral oils and one case where glass fragments were discovered.

There were also many cases where extra virgin olive oil was judged to be adulterated, for example by mixing it with poorer or cheaper quality oils, cases where virgin olive oil was labelled as extra virgin (a more premium unrefined oil with a lower acidity), and several cases of misleading or false origin labelling.

In February, in a typical example, Germany reported a case from Israel of “lampante oil”, a quality considered not suitable for human consumption without further refining, being marketed as “extra virgin olive oil”. Some oils crossed several borders, with Germany reporting a case of “misleading mislabelling of olive oil from Syria, via the Netherlands” in March.

Of the 182 olive oil fraud and non-compliance notifications sent to the EU since the start of 2023, 54 related to products from Italy, 41 from Spain and 39 from Greece.

The EU introduced new rules on conformity checks of marketing standards for olive oil, as well as methods for analysing it, in July 2022.

A European Commission spokesperson said the higher number of notifications in the system did not indicate an exacerbated risk for consumers. They said: “The yearly higher reported number of notifications are proof of better exchanges of member states’ competent authorities and their vigilance towards fraud in the agrifood chain.

“The commission has zero tolerance for fraud. With a view of providing consumers with good-quality olive oil in the EU, the commission organises annual workshops and fosters collaboration between EU countries to ensure that these checks are correctly implemented and ensures the exchange of relevant information for those working on olive oil.”

Chris Elliott, a professor of food safety at Queen’s University Belfast, said that while the consequences of ingesting contaminated olive oil could be serious, it was very unlikely to appear on the shelves of big supermarkets. He said: “Most people who cheat are likely to do it in areas where there isn’t any monitoring or surveillance. Small businesses or food services are more vulnerable to fraud.”
Liquid gold

Global heating has led to a fall in olive oil production levels in recent years. Crops in Spain, which produced more than half the world’s olive oil in 2018-19, have been hit by drought and heatwaves of more than 40C (104F).

Provisional figures from the International Olive Council (IOC) show global production levels are expected to fall to 2.4m tonnes in 2023-24, down 27% from 2018-19 and lower than the 2.6m tonnes in projected consumption levels.

As a result, prices have shot up. One hundred kilos of extra virgin olive oil from Jaén in Spain cost €787 in November last year, up from €262.50 five years earlier, making olive oil a more attractive market for fraudsters.

Elliott said climate-driven inflation was often behind rising levels of fraud: “Whenever we see fluctuations in prices of a commodity it’s always a clear sign of increased fraud in the next few months, as it provides an opportunity for people to cheat.

“Olive oil is one example. There has also been massive increases in things like chocolate where cocoa production is a massive issue; because of climate change there will be big increases in things like coffee. The more processed a food is, the more likely there will be fraud.”