Quality Olive Oil?

[mengwong]

Does avocado oil even have much taste to it? Maybe it’s just my tongue but last I checked it was both very neutral and very pricey.

 

[M1k3]

Does avocado oil even have much taste to it? Maybe it’s just my tongue but last I checked it was both very neutral and very pricey.

Very neutral with a very mild avocado flavor. At least the stuff my wife buys does.

 

[Logan]

Howdy KKF,

What are your recommendations for good quality olive oils? I'm mostly interested here in finishing vs. cooking. Dressings, drizzling over pasta, bread, etc.

I recently bought a fairly large amount of the Bariani white label. One the webite I was pretty sure that the new 2022 fall harvest white label was said to have 840 mg/L of polyphenols but the site changed it to 612mg/L. Still pretty high and it was the only EVOO that has made me cough and is very fresh. I looked for quite awhile to find a reasonably priced EVOO with high polyphenol actual count, actually tested. I get a strong impression that decent inexpensive EVOOs like Bertolli and Filippo Berio where you can actually experience some clear burning in the throat are are between like 100 and 300 mg/L. I myself have really tasted only one EVOO that tasted great and that was a Picual from a OO store in Half Moon Bay a few years back. Now a different Picual popped up in a search that is stated to have 785mg/L polyphenols at a super reasonable price. Much less expensive than the Bariani but probably not as fresh. Up till this new find the Bariani was the EVOO with the best cost /polyphenol ratio. I'm probably good for 6 months of so but I will be checking this oil out in the future. Most EVOO that boast a high polyphenol count that actually did the measurments are very to outrageously expensive .

Olivar SANTAMARIA Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olivar SANTAMARIA Extra Virgin Olive Oil first cold-pressed with exceptional flavor robust and a high polyphenol count. This oil is for cooking or finishing.

zonafoodmarket.com

 

[Michi]

Ethan just did a video on olive oil.

 

[MarcelNL]

La Vialla does some nice research on Polyphenols, they even sell a polyphenol extract from the water separated after pressing

 

[Logan]

La Vialla does some nice research on Polyphenols, they even sell a polyphenol extract from the water separated after pre" of the polyphenols

La Vialla does some nice research on Polyphenols, they even sell a polyphenol extract from the water separated after pressing

Oleocanthal, said to be "arguably the most important polyphenol' is oil soluble so is not found in the water extract. The leaf has many if not all of the other polyphenols and I think the major water soluble ones so IMO a water extract of the olives themselves sounds like marketing hype. Oleocanthal is what burns the back of the throat. I was told that there is a different type of burning in the throat if leaves were pressed with the oil.

 

[Corradobrit1]

This is my favorite, biodynamic, stone pressed, unfiltered.
Their wines are great too! Their pasta also...well pretty much everything they make is authentic and GOOD!

View attachment 166293

Just got my 2 bottles of Fattoria La Vialla 2022 vintage olive oil. Great stuff. So peppery it made me sneeze. Tried some with the Balsamic Invecchiato IGP vinegar. The oil was top shelf. As for the Balsamic I prefer the flavour and consistency of my old fav from Villa Manodori. But its decent considering the price.

 

[Beerzebub]

Some good local olive oil Ancient Roman style (?)

 

[btbyrd]

I'd love to try some offerings sourced from Grove and Vine, but the stuff they've got right now is like $100 per liter. They do a drop every harvest of 5L bag-in-box for $135, which is still more than I'm used to spending on oil but that would keep me greasy for most of the year. Meh. I mostly buy 3L tins of Zoe Spanish olive oil to cook with and I'll pick up a specialty bottle or two from Zingermans during their olive oil sale.

 

[MarcelNL]

100 bucks per liter is gross, there is a lot of pharmaceutical pricing ongoing in olive oil and I've tried a few but always return to La Vialla as it's good and value for money. Best I ever had was Sicilian olive oil from old trees that were in the chef's family for centuries.

 

[Beerzebub]

Has anyone tried Bag In Box for retaining freshness?

Got myself a 4 liter bag in the box, Spanish, harvested in December 2022. Love the concept for keeping it fresh, and it's economical too.

 

[mengwong]

Awesome, appreciate the follow-up! And that Fix & Fogg peanut butter is the best, isn’t it.

 

[MarcelNL]

just out of curiosity; are there olives planted and thriving in New Zealand?

 

[calostro5]

I use always EVOO, but I live in a town where this oil is made.

 

[Beerzebub]

Awesome, appreciate the follow-up! And that Fix & Fogg peanut butter is the best, isn’t it.

Appreciate the heads up on this packaging option! Yep, I do like Fix & Fogg, and it's based here in Wellington.

just out of curiosity; are there olives planted and thriving in New Zealand?

Yep, there's good olive oil made here, there's one I use regularly as a finishing/dipping oil but it costs more than imports; also the harvest is in June or so, so I'll wait until the next one is available before re-upping on that.

 

[MarcelNL]

Now THAT is something interesting.....it never dawned upon me that we could have fresh harvest EVOO TWICE a year

 

[woyuskinny]

I highly recommend oliveoillovers.com, because they pretty much do all the legwork to ensure everything is current year's harvest, and shipping (to them) and storage has been scrutinized. Only used a few times, but I tend to pick up a few bottles of robust/mild fancy stuff, and a 3-5L can for cooking. To be honest, the can stuff is very good. I just ordered a bunch of nuevo futures, due in early December. Planning on using that as xmas gifts this year.

 

[Jville]

I highly recommend oliveoillovers.com, because they pretty much do all the legwork to ensure everything is current year's harvest, and shipping (to them) and storage has been scrutinized. Only used a few times, but I tend to pick up a few bottles of robust/mild fancy stuff, and a 3-5L can for cooking. To be honest, the can stuff is very good. I just ordered a bunch of nuevo futures, due in early December. Planning on using that as xmas gifts this year.

I pmed you my address. Merry Christmas

 

[Luxusborg]

I use this for frying.

 

[MarcelNL]

I have it in the LaFerrari's engine

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I have it in the LaFerrari's engine

I don't know what's in the Bentley. I let Jeeves handle those matters.

 

[gentiscid]

This is a very good one!

 

[MarcelNL]

The problem is, life is too short to find all the great EVO's, there are so many...
Best I had so far was from Sicily, centuries old orchard of the chef I did a workshop with. Organic, unfiltered...grassy peppery, greasy, light and complex

 

[chiffonodd]

Graza is nice and the squeeze bottles are very convenient (you can load your own with any brand, of course, but it's nice to have it come that way). Sizzle for cooking, Drizzle for finishing.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Graza is nice and the squeeze bottles are very convenient (you can load your own with any brand, of course, but it's nice to have it come that way). Sizzle for cooking, Drizzle for finishing.

I've been wondering about these! Starting to see it pop up with the foodie influencers and didn't know if it was just a good marketing budget. I'll freely admit the bottle is a selling point for me

 

[chiffonodd]

I've been wondering about these! Starting to see it pop up with the foodie influencers and didn't know if it was just a good marketing budget. I'll freely admit the bottle is a selling point for me

I've been using Graza for a few months now. I can't say it's better or worse than other good quality olive oils. For example, I really like Cobram Estate California Select, and I've also had really good experiences with Sciabica's Marsala California. But the Graza squeeze bottle is a huge plus.

Just last night I was roasting some chicken thighs on a sheet pan. Pull it out after a few minutes, scatter some broccolini around the pan, drizzle with the Graza bottle, season with some diamond crystal, back in the oven to roast the brocollini and finish the chicken. Boom, so easy. It's a great deal.

 

[woyuskinny]

Italian biodiesel