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See why.The Best Premium Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
High-end extra-virgin olive oils offer a world of flavor beyond grocery-store options. But if you want to trade up, where do you begin?
By Published Mar. 1, 2017. Appears in Cook's Illustrated November/December 2006, America's Test Kitchen TV Season 21: Rustic Italian Fare
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What You Need To Know
Extra-virgin olive oil, the lush, vibrant product of fresh olives, is premium by definition. At least, it should be. But as we reported in our story about supermarket olive oils, most of what you’ll find doesn’t deserve that prestigious label. The oils are either mislabeled as a higher grade; mishandled so that their bright, complex flavor turns rancid; or even fraudulently blended with other, cheaper oils and passed off as the real deal.
Only one of the oils we sampled in that tasting, from California Olive Ranch, was a cut above the rest—“rich” and “fruity,” with a “peppery aftertaste.” At $0.59 per ounce, it’s one of the pricier supermarket options but costs just a fraction of what you’ll spend on a bottle of premium extra-virgin. Which led us to ask: Since the good stuff sells for twice as much as or more than California Olive Ranch does, what are you getting for your money? We decided to find out.
Our supermarket olive oil tasting taught us that freshness is the most important consideration when buying extra-virgin olive oil, since it begins to degrade as soon as it’s pressed, and this depreciation happens even faster when the oil is exposed to air, heat, and light. So we narrowed down the countless number of producers worldwide by first zeroing in on premium oils produced in the Northern Hemisphere; that way, every product we chose would be roughly the same age. Then we carefully purchased oil from only the most recent harvest. The final lineup of 10 included oils priced from $0.94 to $2.13 per ounce (plus shipping) from France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Tunisia, Portugal, and the United States. All of the oils are sold online by reliable retailers; some are also available in gourmet shops or select supermarkets.
Our first step was to sample the oils plain, which made it immediately clear that these oils did indeed taste remarkably fresh. As we then tasted them tossed with butter lettuce and a little salt and finally drizzled over a bowl of warm cannellini beans (a typical application in parts of Italy), we marveled at how each oil seemed as distinct as a fingerprint, with flavors we’d never experienced with supermarket oils: “artichoke,” “apples,” “flowers,” “tomato stems,” “watercress,” and even “dark wood.” They didn’t just enliven the lettuce and beans; they elevated the vegetables’ flavors to something out of the ordinary.
By the Numbers
The oils tasted top-notch to us, but to be sure that they truly qualified as “extra-virgin,” we subjected them to chemical testing and a sensory screening. Olive oils are rated for quality through a two-part evaluation, according to standards set by the International Olive Council, the...
Everything We Tested
Recommended - Mild
“Ultrasmooth,” “mellow,” “summery,” and “subtle,” with “just a hint” of pepper and “afterburn.” Scent of “fresh grass cuttings.” “Full-bodied,” “rounded,” and “buttery.”
“Green, fresh scent” and “well-balanced,” “buttery and silky” flavor. “Good fruit intensity without too much bitterness and pungency.” “Love this mild, buttery, sunny-tasting oil. Assertive but not aggressive.”
Recommended - Medium
“Buttery,” “smooth,” “lemony and clean,” with “sweet” olive fruitiness, aroma like “tomato stems,” and a lightly “peppery” aftertaste. “Nicely balanced.” Received a thumbs-up from all tasters.
“Fruity and sweet”-smelling, with notes of “apricot and peach” but also reminiscent of “dark wood” with “bitter and peppery flavors” such as “watercress” or “arugula” that “build.” “Really plays well with beans.”
Recommended - Medium-Robust
“Smells like fresh-cut green grass” or “artichokes,” with a taste of “butter on the front, pepper on the back.” “Lively heat sneaks up on you,” particularly on a bowl of warm beans.
“Intensely fragrant” and “garden-y,” like a “bouquet of fresh flowers” or even a “hay loft” with a “spicy and savory” scent. “Rich and complex, with a bite at the end.” “Balanced,” “bright,” and “grassy and green with just enough bitterness.”
“Lush,” “rich and gently bitter,” “ripe,” “vegetal,” and “robustly spicy” with a “lingering” “peppery” aftertaste.
Recommended - Robust
“Superpeppery” with a “clean finish.” “Nasal,” “wasabi-like heat” is “so bold as to be rough around the edges.” “Mouth-coating body—the EVOO equivalent of fatty butter.” “Wow! Who knew beans plus good olive oil could be fabulous together?”
“Aroma” that’s “deceptively innocuous.” “Complex and bold.” Remarkable for its “bracing bitterness” and “peppery wallop.” “Slow burner” that “goes all the way up my nose.”
A powerhouse: “Front notes are fresh and butter-like, but the finish is pungent.” “Bold but bitter” and “gives a good kick at the end.”
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The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
Lisa McManus
Lisa is an executive editor for ATK Reviews, cohost of Gear Heads on YouTube, and gadget expert on TV's America's Test Kitchen.
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