In the absence of a list of the best extra virgin olive oils on the website …
There is not a straightforward link between taste and health benefits – although polyphenol antioxidants do have a flavour.
Furthermore these articles may help identify genuine extra virgin oils. If anyone has a subscription to Which? UK I would be interested in their taste test.
Articles linking quality, source, flavour, health benefits:
I have found this link useful: http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/food/oliveoil.aspx
Any information on the best olive oils in Australia?
Yes, pambiob,
I am an Aussie and we have the best olive in the world, proven in a survey all over the world, researched because of all the dodgy oils around now, apparently Italian is the worst doing naughty things to their olive oil under the guise of pure extra olive oil. And the name of the olive oil ? FANFARE !!!…..Cobram EVOO. I used to buy Italian as I just presumed it would be the best, but, here I am with the world’s best sitting on my own door step !
It is available everywhere, all the super markets have it and the price is reasonable.
Hope this helps pambiob,
jillyB
I have used an unfiltered extra virgin olive oil for some years now that I can either buy from Ocado, Waitrose or Sainsbury’s……. called Il Casolare it is cold pressed and unfiltered…… concerned now with all the ‘additives’ found in extra virgin olive oils which contaminate it………how can I find out how pure this product is?
I have used an unfiltered extra virgin olive oil for some years now that I can either buy from Ocado, Waitrose or Sainsbury’s……. called Il Casolare it is cold pressed and unfiltered…… concerned now with all the ‘additives’ found in extra virgin olive oils which contaminate it………how can I find out how pure this product is?
Which brands of olive oil and extra virgin olive oil can I trust? I live in the UK.
Hi I’m new here, reading the kindle version of the clever guts book, it says to come here for a list of which are the olive oils we can trust…but I can’t find anything on here, and it seems I’m not alone in the search…
Can anyone help? I’m in the UK and wanted to check the oils I’m using are not blended with canola etc.
If the info is on here somewhere, I’d sure appreciate directions to it…
Many thanks, Stiglet 🙂
Me too Stiglet. Can’t find anything useful as yrt
Singlet see the link to the Which testing
To all those people looking for the best olive oil:
the very best pure & unadulterated xvoo is Cobram in Australia….but unfortunately for all those in the UK or elsewhere
probably unattainable overseas. I used to buy Italian, presuming it would be the best….not no! It was right here in my own backyard.
jillB
Here an olive oil guide https://www.italyabroad.com/olive-oil-guide that should be able to answer some of the questions.
There are good and bad olive oils in every country and most of the time, cheap is bad.
Look at the label, read our guide and make sure of the provenance of the olives. In Europe we can have a Spanish, Greek or Italian olive oil made with olive from a different county and still write on the label “made in…”. Read carefully the label and it should say where the olive are coming from.
Hi Andy, are you meaning that the olive oils sold on this website are pure / best quality without being replaced with other oils? or am I misunderstanding
Thanks
Hi Ste92
I did not really understand your question. the oils on Italyabroad.com are all fantastic oils, and are all extra virgin olive oils from Italian olives, but there are thousands of other fantastic olive oils made in Italy, so in Spain or Greece, just read our guide and you will be able to see for yourself the difference between a bad and a good oil. You cant replace olive oil with other oils and you cant write extra virgin if it is not, this is fraud, what you can do and many supermarkets oils are is oils that have the “made in Italy” text big on the label, but have on the back in small characters “made from EU oils”.
Hope I answered your question.
Hi Andy, it might just be that I have been misunderstanding what I have read online.
I was under the impression that most EVO is run by mobsters to some degree especially in Italy and that about 80% of the oils they have done studies on ( theres a lot on the internet about it ) didn’t actually pass the miniminal standards / requirements to even be classed as olive oil due to them mixing and even replacing them with other unhealthy cheap oils. I thought this was the reason people were recommending australian and californian brands?
There is a good chance i have got this wrong lol!
Thanks in avdance
Stef92,
you have definitely got this wrong.. this would be a fraud and it could happen anywhere. Australian and Californian or even Spanish and Greek not only have different varieties of olives and therefore oils, but they are bigger producers and therefore tend to be cheaper, however, there are some brands which are very expensive.
The quality of the oil depends on: quality of the olive and variety, not all varieties can produce good oil, ripeness of the olives, conditions of the olives when they reach the mill, they should not be damaged, and pressed asap from the harvesting. The other difference is made by the mill, there are plenty of mills around but new technology allow producers to enter the olives and get the oil, benefits are that the oil stay protected from the oxygen, oxidation problems wont happen, and nitrogen is used for its conservation instead of oxygen again to protect the quality. Dark bottle is a must.
Understood thanks, I will try out some of the oils from the website you suggested!
Definitely take a look online about what I mentioned though as there is an awful lot about it online, my summary might have been off ofcourse. but take a look and let me know your thoughts when you get chance .
I will.. simply tell me what words should I use on google, and I will let you know my thoughts.
Cheers. I will try look for some links properly after work but if you type in anything like…
olive oil fraud, scam, fake olive oils, mobsters, mafia… etc anything with a combination of these should bring up some of the more well known articles I would think.
I have one quick link here but I think it’s referring more to ones that are not officially extra virgin ( maybe that’s what I am actually thinking of?) either way it’s worth reading just because it lists some pretty well known brands as not passing the tests, it lists ‘good’ ones too but they aren’t available in the UK where I am unfortunately.
https://www.realfoodforlife.com/which-olive-oil-to-buy-the-olive-oil-fraud/
I read the link you sent me. I personally would not trust the person, I wouldn’t, she is not saying anything new and all the brands she lists on the articles, the ones not approved, are all supermarket ones, at least for the Italian producers which I am familiar with and are very cheap oils. I always say how can you expect to pay for a litre of oil 3£ and then spend 25£ for the engine oil? it doesn’t look like she has tasted the oil but it looks like she is copying the label.
A couple of good points are the dark bottle, protect from light, and the price. It is also true that olive oil get frozen when cold, and it is a good sign, however, she says don’t buy light or blends and this is incorrect. Light olive oil in which sense? olive oil from cooler countries or area tend to be lighter, more delicate, so what does she mean? Blend, plenty of great olive oils are blend, blend of olives not oils, the article is not clear and only confusion. Yes it is true that there could be fraud but always think about the amount you are paying for it. 3/4/5 or even 6£ for a litre of olive oil, we cant expect anything great.
Artisan Olive Oil Company : A short guide to finding the best extra virgin olive oil in the UK and understanding the key drives of price and quality :
https://www.artisanoliveoilcompany.com/blog/how-to-buy-the-best-olive-oils-in-the-uk–b8.html
https://www.artisanoliveoilcompany.com
Not been active here in quite a while … ironically I am now a Which? subscriber.
Unfortunately their article on EVOO has been pulled. Best I can come up with is that M&S Toscano was the Which? Best Buy scoring 81%.
Ste92: Anyone can post anything online; copy and paste is rife in lazy blogland. Check your sources carefully, check the precise wording carefully, check the country or region carefully.
No legitimate research scientist will use the word “mobsters” nor blame “the mafia” without evidence. Read the actual study or the official press release, or a high quality news article NEVER EVER a fifth hand drama blog post written by real live muppets.
Italy =/= the European Union. Engine oil =/= extra virgin olive oil.