Olive Oil

Best supermarket olive oil

Regardless of these about-faces, we did find enough positive comments about Colavita -- a widely available, mainstream, supermarket brand -- to merit inclusion in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers. Cook's Illustrated praises this extra virgin olive oil for its "full-bodied and bold flavor," Men's Health likes its "dark-green color" and it's a particular favorite of olive-oil enthusiasts posting to Chowhound.com; one poster calls it "the best of the easily accessible brands." As stated above, Choice praised this olive oil in 2004, but later criticized it for "bitterness and a hint of rancidity" in its 2007 update.

If you're not comfortable with Colavita, a good, widely available alternative is Da Vinci Pure Olive Oil (*est. $7 for a 17-oz. bottle). In its 2005 roundup of plain (not extra virgin) olive oils, Cook's Illustrated put Da Vinci ahead of Colavita, calling it "the most like good extra-virgin olive oil," and Da Vinci also finishes on top of the magazine's 2005 roundup of extra virgin oils (partly for its "rich, deep and beautifully green" color), again beating out Colavita (which is described as "a little too harsh.") Because it's recommended by sources other than Cook's Illustrated, we chose to include Colavita Extra Virgin in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers, but it's clear that Da Vinci Extra Virgin or Pure Olive Oils are solid choices as well.

Most experts tout extra virgin olive oil for everyday use, as opposed to "pure" or non-extra virgin varieties. Extra virgin oil comes from the first press of olives and must not contain any chemicals; non-virgin olive oil can be chemically treated (called refining) to neutralize strong or off tastes. Olive oil labeled as "pure olive oil" consists of a blend of extra virgin and refined oils. Some experts say it's fine to use a blended oil for everyday sautéing or sauce-making, but since there's usually only a small price difference between extra virgin and pure olive oils, most recommend going with extra virgin.

Not everyone is willing to spend $10 (much less $30) for a 16- or 17-oz. bottle of olive oil, especially if it's being used for dishes that don't demand the finest oil in the store. Unfortunately, since the degree of reviewer interest in olive oils seems to be directly proportional to their price, reviews of budget olive oils are thin on the ground. For example, we were unable to find a single reliable review of Crisco Olive Oil (*est. $5 for a 16.9-oz. bottle), which was recently introduced.

In this case, fortunately, Good Housekeeping steps in with a good roundup. In her March 2007 article, writer Susan Westmoreland recommends Whole Foods 365 Extra Virgin (*est. $5 for a 17.9-oz. bottle): "The house brand of the Whole Foods Market chain has an intensely robust olive taste -- and a much lower price than most top-grade oils." However, she also points out that 365 is "almost astringently peppery," and is best used in foods that can stand up to its robust taste.

Visitors to the foodie site Chowhound.com (who also praise Colavita) concur with Good Housekeeping's opinion. One poster raves that Whole Foods 365 "tastes MUCH better than it costs," while another says that it "has a light, balanced flavor that works well raw in vinaigrettes and cooked in nearly everything else." Based on these two recommendations, we decided to include Whole Foods 365 Extra Virgin in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers as a good budget pick.

Another low-priced olive oil that has received some attention is Goya (*est. $5 for a 17-oz. bottle). Goya is a well-known brand name, especially in Hispanic communities, and its olive oil is exported from Spain. It's the top pick of one major consumer magazine in the U.S., which prefers cheaper olive oils to more expensive brands like Bertolli, Filippo Berio and Colavita, and also receives a warm mention from The Washington Post. Once again, though, Cook's Illustrated demurs; editors call Goya Extra Virgin "shockingly yellow," with a flavor "reminiscent of bitter lemons."

Premium olive oil

One reason it's so tough to identify the best supermarket-brand olive oil is that reviewers tend to concentrate on premium-priced oils, which are often sampled like fine wines at upscale tasting parties. This is a good thing in that there are lots of available opinions, but it complicates your decision in that there are so many different brands of imported and artisanal olive oils that it's nearly impossible to find a consensus pick. Yet another difficulty is that one reviewer's best-ever premium olive oil may be virtually impossible to find in stores, while another's may only be pressed (and available) at a tiny olive grove in northern California.

Faced with this conundrum, we decided to go with the opinion of Cook's Illustrated, on the premise that any magazine that regularly updates its roundups of olive oil must have a good idea what it's talking about. In its 2006 roundup of extra virgin olive oils from Italy, Spain, Greece and the U.S., Cook's gives top honors to a Spanish brand, Columela (*est. $16 for a 17-oz. bottle), citing its "fruity flavor and excellent balance." Columela finishes slightly ahead of a more expensive Spanish entry, Nunez de Prado (*est. $30 for a 16-oz. bottle), as well as the significantly cheaper Greek import Terra Medi (*est. $11 for a 17-oz. bottle).

As mentioned above, other imported olive oils have their champions as well. The top-ranked source in our All Reviews chart, Good Housekeeping, puts its money on the Italian import Monini (*est. $10 for a 17.9-oz. bottle), calling it "the perfect all-in-one oil, with a lightness that's also surprisingly rich and complex." It's true that Monini is significantly cheaper than Columela (and only slightly more expensive than Colavita), but this olive oil doesn't do as well by Cook's Illustrated, which likes its "peppery, bold and pungent" taste but also calls it "greasy" and "slightly inelegant."

We also found some recommendations for Greek olive oils, though lacking any description of the methodology behind these picks we weren't persuaded to include any in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers. About.com's Guide to Greece Travel recommends Tassos, but says it's only available online in three-liter containers (so it might go bad before you work your way through the tin); his second and third picks are Cretan olive oils as well. In its 2007 roundup, the Australian magazine Choice chooses P'NOE Breath of Life for the top spot, but this brand doesn't appear to be available in the U.S.

Several experts recommend buying olive oil from small producers. If you live in California, you'll have much more choice here than those in other states, since California hosts at least 200 small olive-oil producers. In an article by Charles Passy of The Wall Street Journal, Zingerman's olive oil club (*est. $195 for four months) is said to be a great gift for foodies, and a good way to try out small-production oils from around the world. The four-month club gets you a 1/2 liter bottle of premium olive oil per month, accompanied by a loaf of bread. The first shipment comes with a dipping plate.

Food critic David Rosengarten has his own Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club (*est. $60 per quarter for three 250 ml bottles, or $90 for 500 ml bottles). Oils are selected by an "olive oil sommelier" according to growing season, so members get the very freshest oil.

Important Features: Olive oil

Reviewers say the following about shopping for olive oil.

• If you can, buy extra virgin. By far the most popular kind of olive oil, "extra virgin" means the oil comes from the first pressing of the olives and includes no refined oil. "Pure" or plain olive oil is considered inferior in quality to extra virgin, and not that much cheaper.

• Buy in small quantities at first. If you're unsure whether a supermarket-brand olive oil is right for you, try buying a size smaller than the standard 17-ounce bottle. This is especially good advice if you're buying an expensive imported oil (provided the smaller sizes are available).

• Educate your palate. If you really want to investigate the infinite permutations of olive oil, consider signing up for an olive-oil tasting, which will tell you what to look for in a premium (or supermarket) oil. Then you'll be much better equipped to choose among the imported and artisanal brands. Hosting an olive-oil tasting at home has become a fun party idea.

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

# of picks	Olive Oil
5	Colavita Extra Virgin (*est. $9 for 16.9-oz. bottle)
2	Da Vinci Extra Virgin (*est. $7 for 17-oz. bottle)
2	Goya Extra Virgin (*est. $5 for 17-oz. bottle)
2	Whole Foods 365 Extra Virgin (*est. $5 for 17.9-oz. bottle)
1 each	Monini, Carapelli, Columela, Nunez de Prado Organic, Terra Medi, Goya, Lucini, California Olive Ranch, Sainsbury's, Filippo Berio, L'huille d'Olive, Olio Beato, Pornanino Farm, Pasolivo, Tassos, Cretalife Organic, Taste of Greece, Trader Joe's Australian, Bertolli Classico, Pompeian, Athena, Fairway, Master Choice, Zoe

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.

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