Olive Oil Buying Tips

"People are so confused about what to look for and how to buy it but I think it's really simple. The highest quality extra virgin olive oil should come in a light-blocking container. It should be produced and bottled on the same estate, which should be clearly labeled and marked with the harvest date, not just an expiration date. I pretty much steer clear of bulk Italian olive oil at this point, as there is just so much corruption in the production and selling of it. Then it's sort of on to flavor. I happen to like the grassy piquant kick of Tuscan or Umbrian oil, but that's what I grew up on. There are other flavor profiles from other regions of Italy that are equally good, and someone from Puglia, say, probably prefers the flavor profile of their oil. There is nothing wrong with that. The most important things are that it is what it says it is and it's no more than two years old."

- Sara Jenkins


I cook everything in Olive oil and for "bulk-bargain", usually buy from those mega stores (Sam's/Costco). Today for the first time in over a decade, I checked the label - extra virgin olive oil from Italy, Greece, Spain and Tunisia. Bottled and packed in Italy. It's from all over the Mediterranean; leave alone from one single estate. Just an expiration date and no harvest date (kidding me?). Bottom-line, it doesn't satisfy any of criteria's but of-course I have to rationalize my years of idiocy. There is that good old anchoring effect for my rescue - it's still Olive oil, much better than other oil's, right? So much for ecological intelligence!!