The Great Olive Oil Dilemma

Olives on the vine in Sicily

While in Sicily a few years ago, we visited an olive farm where, of course, we sampled the wares (directly from the giant stainless steel vats). The oil had the luscious flavor and delicious scent of just-harvested olives that you would expect from tasting at the source.

Our prized tin from Sicily

We bought a BIG tin at the ridiculously low price of 10 Euros and carted it home. We used it sparingly, knowing that when the tin was empty, we could not replace it. After awhile, the tin ran dry and our search began for a new "house" olive oil.

We hopped around from brand to brand (Lucini, California Olive Ranch, Kirkland, to name a few) and while they were all good, nothing really made us jump up and down with joy. Which brings me to today's post:

Are you as confused as I am over what constitutes a really good olive oil?

You may have heard about the "bombshell" olive oil study done by UC Davis in 2010. The study concluded that 69% of imported olive oils labeled extra virgin, were in fact, not extra virgin. WOW! Understandably, this sent shockwaves through the food industry, olive oil producers, and the public. The report, funded in part by California olive producers, raised all kinds of questions and since then many olive oil groups have upped the standards for producing and marketing olive oil. But as an average home cook who uses alot of olive oil, I still have doubts if what I'm buying is the real deal. In addition, I am overwhelmed by the gazillions of brands out there. And unless I am at a store or olive ranch where I can taste a drop or two of the production, I am buying blindly (and most likely, so are you). 

I still don't have an answer to my ongoing quest for an above-average everyday EVOO, but I did find this article from Serious Eats very interesting. If you have a favorite olive oil, please share. Eventually, this long winter will pass and it will be tomato season and I need to have my olive oil dilemma resolved by then.

Jersey tomatoes, fresh mozz, Georgia peaches, with basil and EVOO!