Olive Oil Reviews

Olive oil is a global business, in the most literal sense of the word: Italy, Spain and Greece are all major exporters of various olive oil brands to the U.S., as are various smaller countries in Europe and the Middle East. In the U.S., most premium olive oils are pressed in Californian groves, though few of them have wide national distribution. As a result, an enterprising consumer who's willing to go online can choose from among literally hundreds of olive oils, ranging in price from a few dollars to well over $100.

For this reason, it's a challenge to find comprehensive, comparative reviews of bottled olive oils. That's why we're especially grateful to Cook's Illustrated, which has published no less than three olive oil roundups over the last few years (though the results have been a bit contradictory, as we'll explain below). Also ranking high in our All Reviews chart is Good Housekeeping, which conducted a recent taste test of supermarket olive oil brands, and the Australian consumer magazine Choice, which has conducted two major comparative reviews of olive oil over the past four years (again, as with Cook's Illustrated, with sometimes contradictory results). We were also impressed by Consumer Reports, though its 2004 roundup of 18 brands has yet to be updated.

After these major reviews, sources become either less ambitious, or less transparent, about how they go about picking the best olive oil -- or they concentrate on such a small niche that the results aren't pertinent for mainstream buyers. Such is the case with Food & Wine's ambitious taste test of 65 artisanal olive oils from California, or a brief article by About.com's Guide to Greece Travel recommending three Greek (specifically, Cretan) olive oils. The Washington Post, The New York Times, Prevention and Men's Health all weigh in as well, but with less wide-ranging selections. Finally, we consulted the message boards at a popular foodie site, Chowhound.com, for grassroots opinions about the best olive oils.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil receives the most top picks, though (as explained in the Full Story) some sources have contradictory opinions. The vast majority of olive oils receive only one mention apiece, largely because there are so many brands available from so many different regions.