In summer as in winter, in cooking or on toast, as a salad dressing or on fish, olive oil is both healthy and nutritious. You still have to choose the best extra virgin olive oil brands.
For many lovers of good cuisine, as for others, fat is life. For cooking meat or fish, to season a good salad, or to enhance the flavors of a good pasta dish, olive oil is unanimous. Among all its counterparts, it is probably the least caloric while benefiting from numerous benefits. However, the market is full of brands and references, with often notable differences in quality from a taste and nutritional point of view. To make it easier for you, here is a selection of the best extra virgin olive oil brands and olive oils to choose from.
Also, read our other guides on the best natural coconut oils, argan oils, castor oils, essential oil brands, and the best sunscreens on the market.
Extra virgin, virgin, and current
Virgin olive oil is made from the juice of the olive. By putting the olive in a press that smashes and removes its juice, it is produced mechanically. If the oil is not obtained through this artisanal process, then it cannot be considered virgin.
There are three types of virgin olive oil:
Extra virgin olive oil (superior quality).
Virgin olive oil (medium quality).
current virgin olive oil (inferior quality).
Extra virgin is the highest quality of virgin olive oil; it is healthier and also tastes better. It is also the most expensive, although the price difference is not very large. The quality of olive oil depends on the quality of the olive and the speed of the elaboration process.
Ranking: The best extra virgin olive oils on the market
To get started, we offer a list of what are considered the best olive oils on the market. We know that there are other ways to acquire oil, but in our list, we have wanted to add the products that you can try and find more easily, with excellent value for money, even according to the reviews released by the buyers.
Pompeian Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This is currently the best-selling extra-virgin olive oil brand on the market. This olive oil is gentle, versatile, and affordable, making it one of the best overall options to add to your shopping list. It has a clean, simple flavor, with fruity and oaky notes, so it will enhance the flavor of whatever you’re cooking without overpowering it.
It’s great for dipping or drizzling over a salad, but the flavors come out even more during cooking. It has great flavor on its own but reaches greater heights when used in cooking.
Pros
- Non-GMO verified
- Gluten-free
- Allergen-free
- BPA-free bottle
- Certified by the NAOOA
- Wide variety and availability
- Affordable and pocket-friendly
Cons
- Substandard Lid
- Complaints of chemical addition
- Plastic bottles instead of glass
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California Olive Ranch
California Olive Ranch’s extra virgin olive oil contains freshly pressed Californian olives bottled within hours of picking, and it has won a string of awards for its quality.
In addition, the label proudly states how the oil comes from the first cold press of the olives.
Furthermore, this oil is one to trust as it has certification from the California Olive Oil Council (COOC), which has one of the strictest requirements in the world.
Pros
- Smooth with a minimal peppery kick
- Widely available and high-quality
- It comes in different blends
Cons
- Only has a 6-month shelf life
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Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Are you looking for an olive oil that you can use to make sauces and condiments, as a fat for cooking, enjoy on bread, or drizzle over your dishes? This Filippo Berio extra-virgin olive oil will be perfect for you. Indeed, it has an excellent balance of flavors while maintaining a taste that is as rich as it is delicate. It is very pure; it comes from the juice of cold-pressed olives after having been meticulously selected. This is a perfect product for daily use, especially since it is offered at a really affordable price considering its quality.
Pros
- Great versatility for daily use
- It comes from carefully selected, high-quality olives
- Very balanced flavors
- A very discreet perfume
Cons
- Packaging in plastic bottles
- The cap does not close properly
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Terra Delyssa First Cold Pressed Organic
This high-quality olive oil has its roots in ancestral methods dating back to Queen Elyssa of Carthage, present-day Tunisia. Sporting a golden green hue and with fruity aromas nuanced by a hint of pepper, it adapts to all types of cooking and seasonings. Furthermore, all the olives used are organic and transformed via a 100% mechanical process. For total transparency, a QR code on the bottle allows you to follow the manufacturing process.
Pros
- A brand with a millennial experience
- 100% organic and vegan olive oil
- The very good quality/price ratio
- A recognizable and practical bottle
- Fruity aromas with peppery notes
Cons
- A pronounced bitterness when tasted cold
- The texture is a little too fluid
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Kosterina Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin
It is a cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil produced in Greece from olives of the Koroneiki variety. The area is in the heart of the Peloponnese, one of the best regions in Greece for the production of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
It is appreciated for its delicate and fragrant notes and is ideal for a balanced Mediterranean diet.
The olives are pressed on the same day as harvesting, and the result is an extra virgin oil naturally low in acidity, with a green-gold color, fruity, delicate, and with slightly bitter and spicy notes.
Pros
- Cold pressed
- From high-polyphenol olives
Cons
- Additional shipping costs
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De Cecco Extra Virgin Olive Oil
De Cecco extra virgin olive oil, sold in 1-liter bottles, is obtained by pressing olives from EU crops using mechanical means. In addition, it has a full and balanced flavor, making it ideal for every palate.
The reviews confirm that it is an oil with a really amazing taste, therefore not too intense but not even light, and good for both raw and fried. Although it is not a valuable oil, what convinces most users is the convenience of the price.
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What is olive oil?
Olive oil is a vegetable oil we use in the kitchen. Its use dates back thousands of years, and the name is due to olives, a raw material used to obtain this typically Mediterranean product. The three main producers in the world are Italy, Spain, and Greece.
To extract the oil, the olives must mature for about eight months. After harvesting, which takes place at the end of autumn, the olives are pressed to obtain the juice. From here begins the production process, which will significantly affect the quality of the oil.
Olive oil and sunflower oil: which is better?
One of the recurrent debates concerns the comparison between olive oil and sunflower oil. Without wishing to discredit sunflower oil, olive oil is far better in terms of production and its characteristics. For this reason, it is better to focus on olive oil, possibly extra virgin.
How do you read the olive oil label?
Unfortunately, consumers often do not read the labels of the products they buy. The label contains very important and very useful information. For this, we explain to you how to read the label of a bottle of olive oil:
Recommended use. Some labels contain information about the use that we recommend for the oil in question, for example, with which foods to use it.
Variety of olives. We have seen the main varieties of olives that we use, and the taste of the oil changes according to the variety of usage. So, we recommend that you consider this when you buy a product.
Collection. It provides information about the year of harvesting of the olives used to produce the oil.
Cold extraction. If this wording is present on the label, it means that the oil has been extracted at a temperature lower than 27 degrees Celsius. In this case, the taste will be better and the properties will remain unchanged.
Denomination of origin. There are virgin or extra-virgin olive oils that have a designation of origin. These oils are more valuable.
Degree: information on the degree of acidity of the oil.
Type of oil. Probably the most important information. Because it explains what kind of oil is contained in the bottle. As we have said several times, extra virgin olive oil is preferable.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of olive oil?
Olive oil is present in almost all homes. We use it for cooking and also for other uses, such as dressing a salad.
Purchase criteria
We are almost at the end of this guide, but we want to reiterate some important concepts. We buy and use olive oil frequently, so it is important to choose it well. Do not miss the information we have prepared for you with the most important purchase criteria.
Type of oil
We have seen that there are different types of olive oil on the market, and not all of them have the same benefits. For this reason, we advise you to always buy extra virgin or virgin olive oils. They are the ones that bring more benefits and those that give the food a better taste.
Variety
When buying olive oil, consider the variety and recommended uses. The ideal would be to have different varieties at home to be able to use the right oil every time. What is essential is to consume the oil in a reasonable amount of time, because after a while, it loses some of its properties.
Bottle size
You need to buy the right amount of olive oil to suit your needs. It doesn’t make much sense to save money by buying a 5-liter carboy if you can’t consume the whole product in a reasonable time. Furthermore, the minimum bottle size should be half a liter to ensure quality is maintained.
Acidity
Acidity measures the concentration of free fatty acids in the oil. This is a quality parameter for virgin olive oils. The highest-quality virgin oils have lower acidity. Virgin olive oil has an acidity of 2% or less, while extra virgin olive oil must have an acidity of less than 0.8%.
Authenticity
We should only buy products with a guarantee of origin that respects what is declared on the label, even as regards the origin. Don’t forget that in the past, olive oil has been subject to fraud and sophistication.
Conclusions
Olive oil is a product with many properties that is essential in any kitchen. It prepares numerous recipes to which it gives a special flavor. When we choose olive oil, we must select the one best suited to the dish we will be cooking to obtain the best result.
There are different types of olive oil on the market, and not all of them have the same quality or the same health benefits. In this guide, we have explained to you how to choose which product to buy, and we have repeatedly stated to you that the best is extra virgin olive oil.
We hope that the information contained in this guide has been useful and interesting to you. Leave us a comment and share this article!