Can anyone tell me what is a good extra virgin oil to buy?

Question

I meant extra virgin olive oil

Answer 1

I like Colavita brand.  I go by color.  The darker green it is, the better (that way you know they don't dilute it with another oil).

Answer 2

Depends how much you want to spend.

The oil we import just won the "Sofi" award at the NY Fancy Food show last week.

"Fernando Pensato". It's a single estate oil made with 100% Perenzana Olives which are all picked by hand( no olives that fell are ever use and the tree's are never shaken).

This oil retails for for a whopping $19.99 per 1/4 liter( about 8 ounces). But it's boutique and it's mainly used by chefs( and many Michelin Chefs in Monaco and France). It's basically a hand made item. Stone-cold pressed.

But for an everyday extra Virgin you don't need to buy the most expensive.

Keep in mind that Sicilian oils have a grassy taste, Tuscan oils have a fruity taste with a peppery finish. Tuscans can be very expensive also.

Some store brands are very good IE 365 brand( Whole Foods).

I would avoid Colovita( overpriced and not that good) ( in that case I would opt for the Luccan oils( Bertolli or Berio( although they're not what they use to be).

Some good Greek  oils out there for a good price

ILLiada is exceptional for the price. Isle of Crete is another ( if you can find one of these, grab it).

I avoid Spanish because they use a different method then the Greek and Italian method ( although they are very popular IE Goya) they tend to be flat with no grip. That's because they ripen the olives before pressing( that gives them more oil per olive and less water).

The best oils are made with unripened olives.When that process is used the maker gets less oil per olive and more water, so it's much more costly, hence the higher price.

Confused yet?

If I had more info( where u live, how much did you want to spend etc etc) I could help more.

For the above poster.

NEVER judge an oil by color. Color means nothing.

An olive oil producer can make his oil greener simply by putting leaves( remember it's all chlorophyll) into the mix.

At all famous Olive Oil tasting events, they use dark cups( so that the color of the oil doesn't influence the taster).