Curry Powder

Overview:

Though blends can vary dramatically, curry powders come in two basic styles—mild or sweet (what we tasted here) and a hotter version called Madras. The former combines as many as 20 different ground spices, herbs, and seeds, the staples being turmeric (which accounts for the traditional ocher color), coriander, cumin, black and red pepper, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, cardamom, ginger, and fenugreek.

Tasters spooned spiced cauliflower, potatoes, chickpeas, and sweet green peas made with six brands of curry powder onto small mounds of basmati rice. The best batches of this aromatic vegetable stew were those boasting “vivid” yet “well-rounded” curry flavors that neither overwhelmed the vegetables nor shied away from the other signature fragrances: ginger, tomato paste, and fresh chiles. With their rich, round savor, two brands topped the list, with the winner edging out the “floral” flavors of the runner-up, with, as one taster put it, its “user-friendly balance” of “sweet” and “earthy” notes.

Meanwhile, the most widely available supermarket brand fell into the middle of the pack alongside as it suffered from overwhelming onion flavor. The most criticism was reserved for our two bottom brands. These blends, both described as “bland,” “one-dimensional,” and “thin,” paled before not only other brands but also against the dish’s competing flavors.

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Product Tested		Price*
Highly Recommended
	Columela Extra Virgin Olive Oil Our favorite premium extra-virgin olive oil from a previous tasting, Columela is composed of a blend of intense Picual, mild Hojiblanca, Ocal, and Arbequina olives. This oil took top honors for its fruity flavor and excellent balance. Tasters praised its big olive aroma, big olive taste with a buttery flavor that is sweet and full, with a peppery finish. One taster said: Its very green and freshlike a squeezed olive. Another simply wrote: Fantastic.	$19 for 17 oz
Recommended
	Lucini Italia Premium Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasters noted this oils flavor was much deeper than the other samples, describing it as fruity, with a slight peppery finish, buttery undertones, and a clean, green taste that was aromatic, with a good balance. It has the flavor that some good EVOOs have, said one admiring taster.	$19.99 for 500 ml ($39.98 per liter)
	Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil Virtually tied for second place, this oil was deemed round and buttery, with a light body and flavor that was briny and fruity, very fine and smooth, and almost herbal, with great balance. Good olive flavor. I could smell it and taste it, approved one taster. In a word, pleasant.	$17.99 for 750 ml ($23.98 per liter)
Recommended with Reservations
	Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil A clear step down from the top oils, tasters noted overall mild flavor and very little aroma, with only a hint of green olive and a hint of spiciness at the end. In pasta, it was initially not complex, but gradually bloomed in your mouth. Overall, it was worthy of a second bite.	$12.49 for 750 ml ($16.65 per liter)
	Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil While some tasters found this oil sweet and buttery with medium body and slight spice at the end, others complained that it had zero olive flavor and was so floral its almost like eating perfume; still others noted a bitter aftertaste. In pasta, it was extremely mild to the point of being boring.	$10.99 for 750 ml ($14.65 per liter)
	Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil Comments: The best comments tasters could muster were mild and neutral. Some liked it on pasta (though one called it Snoozeville), but complaints were myriad: metallic, soapy, briny, hints of dirt. Carped one taster, I cant imagine what is in here, but they have a nerve calling it EVOO.	$13.99 for 1 liter
	Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil Comments: While some tasters called this oil mild and smooth, others found it thin, greasy and not very interesting. I bet the cooking water had more olive flavor, speculated one taster; could be canolait is so bland, mused another. A few noted an objectionable aftertaste that was soapy, chemical or mentholthink	$9.99 for 473 ml ($21.12 per liter)
	Botticelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil While a few tasters liked this potent oil, others said they detected mushroom, rotten walnuts, a Band-Aid wrapped in a cherry blossom, and a quality that was downright medicinalTriaminic, anyone? Several deemed it overpowering and musky, with a rank, off-flavor. Tastes not like olives but like the armpits of olive laborers, shuddered one.	$10.99 for 1 liter
Not Recommended
	Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil Italy, Greece, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Cyprus, Morocco, and Syria Comments: Nothing remarkable herejust greasy, no flavor, summarized one taster. Where did the olive go? said another. This oil was judged to have a kind of rancid aftertaste that was reminiscent of not only soil, tree resin, and ammonia and grass, but even kitty litter smells and a set of sweaty hockey pads.	$10.99 for 750 ml ($14.65 per liter)
	DaVinci Extra Virgin Olive Oil Although this oil won top place in a previous tasting, because olive oil is an agricultural product, it can differ from year to year. This time, tasters found it washed out and muted, if nice, in a totally bland and unremarkable way. Tasted plain, objections ranged from insipid, with no real complexity to tastes like EVOO mixed with vegetable oil.	$17.99 for 1 liter
	Star Extra Virgin Olive Oil Origin: Spain, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia Comments: Boring and not very complex, this oil came across as plastic-y and industrial; some hint of olives, but it fades quickly. Tasters identified off-flavors that were unpleasant, dirty, like rubber and metal, with a sour aftertaste, or at least a bit funky, with a strange taste that was spicy, but in a motor oil kind of way. One simply wrote, Blech.	$11.99 for 750 ml ($15.99 per liter)