EmailBest Reviewed
Olive Oil
- Best supermarket olive oil Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil *Est. $9
- Premium olive oil Columela Extra Virgin Olive Oil *Est. $16
- Best budget olive oil Whole Foods 365 Extra Virgin Olive Oil *Est. $5
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Premium olive oil
- Strong olive flavor
- Not too expensive for a gourmet olive oil
- Reviews are heavily positive, but one tester called Columela "bitter and peppery"
We found the best olive-oil reviews at Cook's Illustrated, which rated Columela first among ten olive oils in 2006 and 2008 (you need a subscription to read those reviews). We found a good brief description of Columela on TheNibble.com and some praise for the product on the message board Chowhound.com. Like any online community, people can post their qualified and unqualified opinions on Chowhound, but most of the contributors take food very seriously and are unafraid to disagree if a newcomer isn't knowledgeable.
Columela is an extra-virgin olive oil from Spain, a blend of oils from Picual, Hojiblanca, Ocal and Arbequin olives. Reviews describe it as "bold" or "robust" or "strong" or "complex" but generally not unpleasant. In reviews it usually beats other commonly available, mid-priced olive oils. One evaluator said it tasted like "a fresh-pressed olive." Another, however, called the Columela "bitter and peppery." The aroma gets praise. Cook's Illustrated notes that it kind of threw Columela into the supermarket-oil report as a bit of a ringer "available in better supermarkets" but pointed out that it was actually about $4 per liter cheaper than the highest-ranked true supermarket product, Lucini Italia. Certainly there are plenty of more expensive olive oils that aren't blends like Columela. If you want something cheaper, Colavita (*est. $9 for 16.9 ounces) and Whole Foods 365 (*est. $5 for 17.9 ounces) get good reviews and are easier to find.
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Our Sources
1. Cook's Illustrated MagazineDetails/Subscribe
Cook's Illustrated's reviewers taste 11 extra-virgin olive oils readily available at supermarkets and discuss the sometimes slippery standards for quality. They choose two favorites and briefly discuss how they measure up against premium brands.
Review: Supermarket Olive Oils, Editors of Cook's Illustrated, July 2008
2. Cook's Illustrated MagazineDetails/Subscribe
Cook's Illustrated editors taste 10 olive oils in this review, an update of an earlier report.
Review: Are Italian Olive Oils That Good -- Update, Editors of Cook's Illustrated, Nov. 2006
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette used six tasters who sipped Spanish olive oils from small cups like wine tasters, although they did not rank the oils. One didn't like Columela ("Bitter and peppery. I don't like this."), one said it was "complex," the third said It was "vegetal and nutty."
Review: A tasting of Spanish extra-virgin oils, Marlene Parrish, Nov. 5, 2006
The Nibble seems unbiased enough, although it says some of the samples were provided by olive-oil companies. Still, these oils aren't ranked -- rather they are described, so influence isn't much of a factor. Columela has a " 'Green' aroma that's on the strong side. Strong but flat olive taste."
Review: The Great Extra Virgin Olive Oil Project, Stephanie Zonis, Not Dated
Chowhound.com posters tend to be serious about food and opinionated, and they'll generally correct the uninformed. Columela olive oil gets some positive mention here.
Review: Inexpensive, But Good, Olive Oil, Contributors to Chowhound.com, Not Dated
