I have come to believe that nearly all imported olive oils, especially from Italy, are not pure olive oil but are cut with other cheaper oils. I started buying 100% California olive oils but they have gotten so expensive that I have given up and buy whatever is on sale.
@@Scott_Atlantabertolli rich taste is actually really good for the price. I keep some on hand for recipes that use a lot of oil. It’s very different from the basic bertolli
Testing store brands would benefit many consumers. Knowing when you can opt for the cheapest option without sacrificing quality is a great way to save some money.
When I was still living and working in Italy I knew a couple that had a small olive orchard. They said that when they would take the olives in for pressing, even though they knew the press owner, they would find an excuse to hang around so they could keep an eye on things because EVERY mill cuts with inferior quality oils. Go with your palate for condiment oil, and lowest price for cooking.
@@BernardProfitendieu probably to be able to claim to get a high yield for the growers, or steal some of the pure oo for themselves and cut the product
I buy the California olive ranch 100 % California olive oil Directly from the manufacturer and it’s within nine months of harvest day usually. They offer free shipping and a lot of coupons, so it actually ends up being a lot cheaper to buy in bulk there.
My prayers and wishes finally came to existence. I was hoping for this moment of truth regarding the best olive oils to purchase and which one/ones can I trust. For many years. I thank both of you ladies very much. I feel very good about how it was laid out. Ms. Queen
I'm not surprised that Julia didn't recognize the 100% California Olive Oil 2022. California had the worst wildfires 2020-2022. It affected a lot of grape and olive crops as well as the ongoing drought that didn't break until 2023.
The California bottle I bought in October was picked in 2023. That said, it's rather bland. Sadly, in a moment of weakness today, I bought Colavita. Tastes like nothing compared to the California.
California olives are awful, compared to any and all olive producing countries around the Mediterranean. California olives might stop tasting like a cheap, diluted knockoff if they let the trees mature another 300-500 years.
@chaosking911 While that’s a clever-sounding quip, it doesn’t make sense. The market for olive oil 300 to 500 years ago, was a fraction of what it is today. European olive producers have had to regularly plant new trees to keep up with demand. Trees are most productive when they’re 30 to 40 years old and trails off once they reach 100. Besides, there’s nothing that says a 300-year-old tree produces better-tasting olives than a 30-year-old tree. That’s nonsensical. About 15 years ago, The New Yorker did a story on the highly corrupt olive oil trade. All that multi-sourced olive oil is shipped around the world as a commodity, often mixed and diluted with non-EVOO or worse. I prefer buying California EVOO because there is a much higher likelihood that it is what the label says. The stuff with five countries of origin-who knows where it’s been or what’s been added to it.
Quite educational. Thank you. We've bought the Tunisian Terra Delyssa over the years and never have had a problem. Once the Fall and end of year holidays are nearing we try and find the tinned Terra Delyssa because over the holidays it's rare it sees the end of January. The rest of the year the liter bottle is our go to. This taste test reminded of how wines are tested, some years/vintages are better than other years. It makes sense that olive oil too can go through same seasonal fluctuations.
You guys turned me onto California Olive Ranch years ago. I order the Millers Blend with 3 different Olive types. 100% California olives. It's my favorite!!
It's funny. I looked for this video because my Bertoli is rancid and reeks of crayons. The dates on it are this year and best by mid next year. So I guess olive oil is a bit random.
I think the results can be wildly different too depending on how long the individual bottle sat on the shelf and what temperature it has been stored at.
I can't take California Ranch olive oil. It reminds me of the '90's when we were trying to improve our health with shots of wheatgrass. It makes the hairs inside my nose curl. I really enjoyed your method of warming the testing glasses in your hands before sampling and your explanation of harvest dates versus sell by dates. I was shocked that you didn't delve into the worldwide problem of counterfeit olive oil, especially when an oil is sourced from various countries. It gives unscrupulous olive oil producers the opportunity to cut their extra virgin oil with lesser oils such as substandard olive oils or even other oils such as sunflower oil. To hedge your bets, it has been advised to buy olive oils sourced from only ONE country.
The Terra Delyssa smooth olive oil I have isn't organic (not the same as Olive Oil #5), but has a smooth flavor, and is cold pressed and it has a harvest date that is recent. I like it, so far.
So glad to hear that. I sent some to my brother, along with huge heritage tomatoes, mozzarella, a basil plant and some very delicious balsamic vinegar as a birthday present. It’s his favorite appetizer, and since I couldn’t be there I sent him instructions. :))
I prefer organic Spanish olive oil with the harvest date and have been buying Nuñez de Prado for years. It’s pricier than the grocery store brands but the taste is so much better.
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that both have worked for ATK for years, with Julia going back to the late 90's and thus know each other fairly well.
So taste will depend on the harvest date, the blend, whether the blend has changed without you knowing since the last time you bought it, and whether the company is trying to "up its game." Basically it's a crapshoot every time you buy a bottle.
Thanks ladies! Supermarket brands are what most of the people i know use. Food is so expensive, it helps to have info to help choose the best the price and availability in our area.
I LOVE the peppery burn, myself. I have a friend who has an olive oil business (olives grown on their land). It's spectacular--complex, and with that peppery burn finish.
Yeah, especially for the all california variety. I buy the blended medium as that's what my store carries. Wished they sold the stronger, richer variant of that oil as it's reasonably priced.
@@aiai-j7i I’ve tried different ones and just haven’t found a really good one but I usually just use on my salad and I’ll use a little for my meats! I don’t think I’ll be using this one again
I'm so surprised by the brands but really enjoyed the video. California Olive Ranch EVOO is my everyday go-to. I also usually keep a single source oil on hand for drizzling & dressings. Oddly enough, my recent take-what-they-have EVOO was Bertolli and it was perfectly suitable.
I like how Julia started singing the Sesame Street pinball song when counting the number of counties that have oils blended into Pompeian. 😀. Clearly she’s having a good time
Great test. I usually buy the California Olive brand. Be careful when buying this though because they have two different oils available. One (the cheaper one) is made from olive sourced from different parts of the world and their premium line is made from 100% California grown olives. What's shocking to me though is how expensive this brand has gotten. The last time I checked, their prices have almost doubled. I think I'll try the Bertolli brand to see how I like it.
Polyphenols are what make olive oil so nutritious. Closest to harvest date is best it will help you get through the winter months. The longer you have it, the weaker it gets but it also goes along with our seasonal cooking as it’s lighter in the summer when we are eating salads etc
You guys should add Costco's Kirkland line into these tests. So many people shop at Costco. I would venture to guess that Kirkland extra virgin olive oil outsells many if not all of these brands by a wide margin.
Lisa's got you covered. There's an article on the ATK website where she tested the Kirkland brand extra-virgin olive oil. The signature 100% Italian EVOO got positive responses from the tasters. It is recommended BUT only if you can go through a two-liter bottle within a reasonable time, otherwise it'll go rancid.
I was fortunate to live in Italy for 10+ years. I good friend recommended Carapelli Olive Oil, and it was my choice for 8+ years. I still buy it here in DFW after leaving Italy. Yum!!! 😋😋😋
So I have a bottle of "Terra Delyssa" in my pantry. After this I checked it out using their method. Soft and fruity scent, no strong back taste, certainly no chemical taste at all, overall quite fresh. My bottle has both picked date as well as use by date. Picked date was early Jan 2024, so about 10 months old right now and use by early 2026. I have to wonder what the dates were on their bottle. [edit] You can barely see the date - looks like very late Mar 2024. Makes me wonder if being a bit later in the season changed the flavor!
I generally like Terra Delyssa, but I will admit, it is inconsistent in flavour. Sometimes it's absolutely delicious, other times it's pretty meh, but as one of the cheapest oils available, I'm willing to risk it.
As a Tunisian who harvests their own olives and make my own olive oil, I can confirm that the best olive oil is actually the one that's made from the earliest harvest in the season. Even January is a bit too late haha.. We actually just started harvesting this year's crop last week! Also the temperature at which the oil is extracted from the olives is very important. Usually the colder the better quality but also the less quantity you get. That's why it's not very common to find the ones that are cold-pressed in supermarkets.
I also have a bottle in my cupboard, 2 bottle pack purchased at Costco, and it definitely does not have a chemical taste, just like wine, I can never pick out these other tastes people talk about..... Good thing about Costco, if you hit on a bad bottle, you can get a refund, no questions asked.
00:19:39 Lucini was the a favourite, (robust, for stronger tasting foods) 00:20:06 Carapelli and Bertolli 00:20:19The rest tasted the same, it will depend on the harvest date and price I love the one we buy is one of the bottom ones. Thats how you know that the cheap ones really do taste cheap
I hope you do another taste with the same brands but different dates. I think they might come out different. I love and always use 100% California Oil. Melaney from SoCal
I also agree. The bottle of 100% California olive oil I bought two weeks ago was noticeably less flavorful than the one I bought in June. I’m in the Bay Area and we had heatwaves in July and earlier this month.
My first bottle of Terra Delyssa was delicious, peppery yet fruity, and well-balanced. Bought with reservations off of Amazon, but was pleasantly surprised. Eagerly bought a second bottle once that was gone, but at a grocery store. Zero flavor. Might have been a factor of age and exposure to light, but it may as well have been grapeseed oil. Re: Colavita, I haven't had it in years, but they have a lot of varieties from many different countries, and the one sampled here wouldn't represent them all. Thank you for doing this, and if there's a follow-up, please mention how to look out for counterfeit oils, as some of these brands have been brought into question.
Am tunisian, Our olive oil should be the most expensive & the best quality among all others, but for gaining international markets that brand is selling for cheap
@@JCVD87 I would have happily paid more for the bottle that was fresh, flavorful and well protected. Your country produces beautiful products, and I agree with your statement.
Perfect timing. I was at that grocery store over the weekend and decided to wait on purchasing olive oil until I researched how to find a good one. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I have really learned a lot from this episode! ~4 brands featured here I have actually been seeing at my local supermarkets consistently for years. Now I have more confidence and awareness of my taste in olive oil!
Julia doing the Sesame Street counting song with the Pompeian countries of origin, but then realizing she was doing it and stopping, and then realizing it actually ended with 12 and wishing she’d kept going, was adorable and weirdly relatable 🤣
I finished a bottle of Lucini earlier this year in 2024. I also thought it was very harsh and decided I would not buy Lucini again. One thing I learned here is that past experiences may not repeat in a brand's current bottle.
After the publicized problems with olive oil adulteration I started buying the California Olive Ranch brand (loved it) but in the past couple years with the prices people stopped buying as much and the dates have gotten pretty old as you mentioned. I stopped buying a year ago and I check every month but the dates aren't getting better and they moved it to the top shelf under the lights. It was my favorite.
I think they should do this test again with like fan favorite/social media brands like Grazza, TJ's, partana, brightland etc. I'd really be interested to know how they taste and if they're worth the hype/$. I've had Grazza and I wasn't impressed but could've had a bad batch or something because California Olive Ranch def used to be our household favorite.
Did Graza gr viral on TikTok or something? I work for a cat-centric pet sitting company, which involves going into people's homes to take care of their cats. I've been seeing the Graza olive oil is so many client's homes for a while now. I got it once, and thought it was fine. I feel like the packaging of having it in a squeeze bottle makes it more "unique". I wasn't going to buy another bottle of Graza olive oil again, but the grocery store I go to had this special sale where if you got a bottle of the Graza olive oil, you'd get a can refill of the Graza olive oil for FREE. So it was 2 for 1 price, as the can was the same oz as the bottle. I'm sure that "chaos packaging" that's becoming a trend makes Graza even more popular/appealing when you can buy olive oil in a can. The company must be making bank off of virality to be able to allow grocery stores to do a sale like that.
Always on an extremely tight budget, even before the inflation spike of the last few years, I used to watch stores like Marshalls, TJMaxx, and Cost Plus for a shapely little bottle of olive oil labelled "Monte Pollino", because I had tried it once and found it to be quite, QUITE to my taste for all purposes -- brushing on bread, skillet frying, key salad dressing ingredient, basting on chicken breasts, and even baking. Finding it was hit-and-miss, though, and I was always a little worried that one day I'd be down to the last tablespoon in a bottle and I wouldn't be able to find another Monte Pollino anywhere. One day on a stroll through Trader Joe's, a shapely little bottle of olive oil caught my eye. Could it be one of TJ's famous re-brandings? I decided to give it a try, and whether or not it's the same olive oil, Trader Giotto's Sicilian accomplishes that same all-purpose goal for me. Not too strong, not too weak, hint of buttery-ness, lovely ripe golden color. Of course, with TJ's business model, now I walk nervously by the olive oil section in the store when I go there, and pause to make sure the Sicilian is still there for sale, even if it isn't on the current shopping list. (As a Trader Joe's customer going all the way back to when all of their stores were only in California, I have seen pretty much all of my favorite items disappear, including the Gingeroo cookies that were absolutely legendary at work, and some magical zinc and propolis chewable lozenges that seemed to bring peace and quiet to my out-of-control crazy immune system for the first time in my life.) I live walking distance from a very-well-stocked Mediterranean / Middle Eastern market with a boggling selection of olive oils, so I always have a lot of options for when I want something a little stronger, a little greener, a little darker, or even unfiltered (yum) -- but there is ALWAYS a bottle of either Monte Pollino or Trader Giotto's Sicilian on the oil-and-vinegar shelf in the cabinet in my little kitchen. And that's my review, October 2024. 😊
They did, last year. ATK compared Graza Drizzle, Brightland Awake and Kosteria Original with their favorite mild, medium and robust premium olive oils (i.e. not ones from this test).
i think you missed 2 of them. the Costco standard evoo in the plastic bottle (single country source, Italy), and the Costco California single source glass bottle.
I am seeing from this that I can't assume Best By means anything at all. I also thought that keeping OO in the fridge would help preserve it, so I wish they had discussed that. I often open a large bottle, decant into my stove-side pouring bottle and put the rest in the fridge to help preserve it, but now I think I should just buy smaller bottle more frequently and not get the larger sizes. Such good info!
Sorry about buying all the fresher bottles of California Olive Ranch. I had to confit all my Gilroy garlic, lol. All joking aside, that 2022 vintage you tried represents the last of our dry years. Try it again with an early 2024 bottle. You’ll notice the difference, as I did. A bottle I purchased last month was lifeless compared to one I bought in May. We had a pretty good winter 2023-24, but our summer was very dry with heat waves in July and again just two weeks ago.
The absolute first thing I look for is it 100% cold pressed, not first cold pressed, or not listed at all, which means it's chemically extracted. I don't want anymore dangerous chemicals in my food. I don't care if you liked the taste better if it contains non-food it's junk. I was able to see 3 labels that said cold pressed, no matter where you put them on the list that's the 3 I would buy.
I like the Bertolli as a daily oil. Used to get California Olive but a couple of years ago, they changed from all-California to a mix of different countries - taste changed and not for the better. Think I’ll try Carapelli next time.
Very interesting. I’ve bought the Terra Delyssa twice and it has been brilliant. I lived in the Middle East for a long time so I appreciate very good olive oil. It’s interesting that it’s not consistent. I’m worried about getting it next time. Bertolli’s has always been a consistent product for me though. More of a cooking oil.
I'm in SoCal so I just checked my bottle from the California Olive Ranch. It has a harvest date of November 2023. So there are fresher bottles out there.
I've been using Carapelli for years now but I was hoping to fine a single country of origin olive oil. I do like that they put the best buy date a year out from the made by date.
A little pushback: Italy does produce a lot of its own oil. I live in Italy, have my own olive trees and make my own oil. People here generally avoid blended oils from other places.
Agree! That and looking for the harvest date were my biggest take aways! And ... I think I need to start cooking with avocado oil and use EVOO for non-cooking purposes.
I got a bunch of CA Olive Ranch olive oil at Sam's Club last month and it was all the most recent harvest (2023). Maybe they had a deal on it to move out the inventory before this year's harvest. It seems fresh to me.
Iliada Extra Virgin from Crete or the first press from Iliada is incredible. Much better than over flavored California oil and the Tunisian oil which is not good. I've been using Iliada and (sometimes) other Cretan oils in my cooking and solids for the last 18 years and have searched them out because other oils mess up the taste of my food.
TIL my "glass bottle supremacy" has been leading me astray! These tastings are so helpful to consumers. There's nothing worse than spending money on something only to learn you don't like how it tastes! Thanks ATK! (Fyi, I think a lot of people would appreciate including some national store brands like Costco.)
Good timing for this! I have to get a new bottle. Where I live a larger bottle of the CA olive ranch is like $40 or more. I’ll definitely check harvest dates
She said she wouldn’t buy the olive because she thought it was bad and finds out it’s the olive oil she buys , These taste test are subjective. You have to taste it yourself.
Now I'd like to hear which brands are actually 100% olive oil like they claim to be.
But such a positive review of Pompeian and Bertolli. 🤡🤡
More like which are actually 100% extra virgin olive oil.
Look for those that are DOP certified. Is the easiest and safest
I have come to believe that nearly all imported olive oils, especially from Italy, are not pure olive oil but are cut with other cheaper oils. I started buying 100% California olive oils but they have gotten so expensive that I have given up and buy whatever is on sale.
@@Scott_Atlantabertolli rich taste is actually really good for the price. I keep some on hand for recipes that use a lot of oil. It’s very different from the basic bertolli
Testing store brands would benefit many consumers. Knowing when you can opt for the cheapest option without sacrificing quality is a great way to save some money.
My favorite store brand extra virgin olive oils are ShopRite and Trader Joe’s :😊
@@RealJZ1 I found Trader Joe's to be extremely harsh.
I agree. The bitterness in the one I tried bordered on tasting metallic-wrong kind of bite. I can chew aluminum foil if I want that hit.
When I was still living and working in Italy I knew a couple that had a small olive orchard. They said that when they would take the olives in for pressing, even though they knew the press owner, they would find an excuse to hang around so they could keep an eye on things because EVERY mill cuts with inferior quality oils.
Go with your palate for condiment oil, and lowest price for cooking.
what's a mill's motivation to cut when they're processing someone else's product? doesn't make sense to me
@@BernardProfitendieu probably to be able to claim to get a high yield for the growers, or steal some of the pure oo for themselves and cut the product
I buy the California olive ranch 100 % California olive oil Directly from the manufacturer and it’s within nine months of harvest day usually. They offer free shipping and a lot of coupons, so it actually ends up being a lot cheaper to buy in bulk there.
Thanks for the info. I didn’t know this.
My prayers and wishes finally came to existence. I was hoping for this moment of truth regarding the best olive oils to purchase and which one/ones can I trust. For many years.
I thank both of you ladies very much. I feel very good about how it was laid out.
Ms. Queen
And you're supporting an American business. They really do have some excellent olive oils.
useful to know, thanks.
what do you consider "in bulk"? are you buying commercial volumes?
I'm not surprised that Julia didn't recognize the 100% California Olive Oil 2022. California had the worst wildfires 2020-2022. It affected a lot of grape and olive crops as well as the ongoing drought that didn't break until 2023.
That makes perfect sense. Too bad that they didn't think of that.
The California bottle I bought in October was picked in 2023. That said, it's rather bland. Sadly, in a moment of weakness today, I bought Colavita. Tastes like nothing compared to the California.
California olives are awful, compared to any and all olive producing countries around the Mediterranean.
California olives might stop tasting like a cheap, diluted knockoff if they let the trees mature another 300-500 years.
@chaosking911 While that’s a clever-sounding quip, it doesn’t make sense. The market for olive oil 300 to 500 years ago, was a fraction of what it is today. European olive producers have had to regularly plant new trees to keep up with demand. Trees are most productive when they’re 30 to 40 years old and trails off once they reach 100. Besides, there’s nothing that says a 300-year-old tree produces better-tasting olives than a 30-year-old tree. That’s nonsensical. About 15 years ago, The New Yorker did a story on the highly corrupt olive oil trade. All that multi-sourced olive oil is shipped around the world as a commodity, often mixed and diluted with non-EVOO or worse. I prefer buying California EVOO because there is a much higher likelihood that it is what the label says. The stuff with five countries of origin-who knows where it’s been or what’s been added to it.
Quite educational. Thank you. We've bought the Tunisian Terra Delyssa over the years and never have had a problem. Once the Fall and end of year holidays are nearing we try and find the tinned Terra Delyssa because over the holidays it's rare it sees the end of January. The rest of the year the liter bottle is our go to.
This taste test reminded of how wines are tested, some years/vintages are better than other years. It makes sense that olive oil too can go through same seasonal fluctuations.
I really liked this format of taste testing. Well Done!
Love seeing Lisa and Julia together on this show--I feel like an olive oil expert after watching this!
You guys turned me onto California Olive Ranch years ago. I order the Millers Blend with 3 different Olive types. 100% California olives. It's my favorite!!
I'm glad to learn that Bertolli did well in the taste test. That's what I have in the pantry.
It's funny. I looked for this video because my Bertoli is rancid and reeks of crayons. The dates on it are this year and best by mid next year.
So I guess olive oil is a bit random.
I feel like you can run this taste test every year and the results will be wildly different given how blended they all are
Wow! Feels are both scientific and modern!!
Yup. Exactly. It's a cultivated taste. Pun intended. Unavoidable, really.
I think the results can be wildly different too depending on how long the individual bottle sat on the shelf and what temperature it has been stored at.
I can't take California Ranch olive oil. It reminds me of the '90's when we were trying to improve our health with shots of wheatgrass. It makes the hairs inside my nose curl. I really enjoyed your method of warming the testing glasses in your hands before sampling and your explanation of harvest dates versus sell by dates. I was shocked that you didn't delve into the worldwide problem of counterfeit olive oil, especially when an oil is sourced from various countries. It gives unscrupulous olive oil producers the opportunity to cut their extra virgin oil with lesser oils such as substandard olive oils or even other oils such as sunflower oil. To hedge your bets, it has been advised to buy olive oils sourced from only ONE country.
The Terra Delyssa smooth olive oil I have isn't organic (not the same as Olive Oil #5), but has a smooth flavor, and is cold pressed and it has a harvest date that is recent. I like it, so far.
The regular version is a little peppery from the back of my throat and smells a little crayon-y, but it's better than nothing.
My Terra Delyssa bottle is organic, Jan 2024 harvest date. Tastes and smells great.
So glad to hear that. I sent some to my brother, along with huge heritage tomatoes, mozzarella, a basil plant and some very delicious balsamic vinegar as a birthday present. It’s his favorite appetizer, and since I couldn’t be there I sent him instructions. :))
I prefer organic Spanish olive oil with the harvest date and have been buying Nuñez de Prado for years. It’s pricier than the grocery store brands but the taste is so much better.
Loved the interaction between Julia & Lisa :)
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that both have worked for ATK for years, with Julia going back to the late 90's and thus know each other fairly well.
So taste will depend on the harvest date, the blend, whether the blend has changed without you knowing since the last time you bought it, and whether the company is trying to "up its game." Basically it's a crapshoot every time you buy a bottle.
Thanks ladies! Supermarket brands are what most of the people i know use. Food is so expensive, it helps to have info to help choose the best the price and availability in our area.
I stayed at a farm in Tuscany and brought their olive oil home. It was amazing.
Share the website just incase we want to order.
I LOVE the peppery burn, myself. I have a friend who has an olive oil business (olives grown on their land). It's spectacular--complex, and with that peppery burn finish.
I was happy with the California olive ranch but the price went from 18$ to 28$ now
Yeah, especially for the all california variety. I buy the blended medium as that's what my store carries. Wished they sold the stronger, richer variant of that oil as it's reasonably priced.
Thank you, Joe
Why would you buy that brand?? It is just marketing; it's not good quality.
@@aiai-j7i I’ve tried different ones and just haven’t found a really good one but I usually just use on my salad and I’ll use a little for my meats! I don’t think I’ll be using this one again
Eggs went from 75 cents $4.50...everything is outrageous
I'm so surprised by the brands but really enjoyed the video. California Olive Ranch EVOO is my everyday go-to. I also usually keep a single source oil on hand for drizzling & dressings. Oddly enough, my recent take-what-they-have EVOO was Bertolli and it was perfectly suitable.
I like how Julia started singing the Sesame Street pinball song when counting the number of counties that have oils blended into Pompeian. 😀. Clearly she’s having a good time
The Pointer Sisters are the singers of that!! Fact! Almost as good as the Singing Orange!😊😊😊
I noticed that too. I almost started singing it but then I'd have to rewind the video a little. lol
Tell me your older by not telling me you are… it was great and amusing recognizing this.
Great test. I usually buy the California Olive brand. Be careful when buying this though because they have two different oils available. One (the cheaper one) is made from olive sourced from different parts of the world and their premium line is made from 100% California grown olives. What's shocking to me though is how expensive this brand has gotten. The last time I checked, their prices have almost doubled. I think I'll try the Bertolli brand to see how I like it.
The 100% California grown one is the one they tasted.
The California Olive Ranch 100%CA EVOO I opened in my house this week was harvested Oct-Dec2023 & is good!
Polyphenols are what make olive oil so nutritious. Closest to harvest date is best it will help you get through the winter months. The longer you have it, the weaker it gets but it also goes along with our seasonal cooking as it’s lighter in the summer when we are eating salads etc
You guys should add Costco's Kirkland line into these tests. So many people shop at Costco. I would venture to guess that Kirkland extra virgin olive oil outsells many if not all of these brands by a wide margin.
My thoughts exactly. Leaving the Kirkland brand EVO out of this taste test is an unfortunate omission.
Didn't ATK do a previous testing in which Costco EV organic came out number 1?
@@oneworldawakening Kirkland brand tested 100% pure olive oil.
Lisa's got you covered. There's an article on the ATK website where she tested the Kirkland brand extra-virgin olive oil. The signature 100% Italian EVOO got positive responses from the tasters. It is recommended BUT only if you can go through a two-liter bottle within a reasonable time, otherwise it'll go rancid.
@@halfthefiber Thanks for the info!
I was fortunate to live in Italy for 10+ years. I good friend recommended Carapelli Olive Oil, and it was my choice for 8+ years. I still buy it here in DFW after leaving Italy. Yum!!! 😋😋😋
I love Carapelli. Albertsons often has it on sale
I've been using Bertolli for years. I may not be very knowledgeable as to what to expect but I do know what I like.
So I have a bottle of "Terra Delyssa" in my pantry. After this I checked it out using their method. Soft and fruity scent, no strong back taste, certainly no chemical taste at all, overall quite fresh. My bottle has both picked date as well as use by date. Picked date was early Jan 2024, so about 10 months old right now and use by early 2026.
I have to wonder what the dates were on their bottle. [edit] You can barely see the date - looks like very late Mar 2024. Makes me wonder if being a bit later in the season changed the flavor!
I generally like Terra Delyssa, but I will admit, it is inconsistent in flavour. Sometimes it's absolutely delicious, other times it's pretty meh, but as one of the cheapest oils available, I'm willing to risk it.
As a Tunisian who harvests their own olives and make my own olive oil, I can confirm that the best olive oil is actually the one that's made from the earliest harvest in the season. Even January is a bit too late haha.. We actually just started harvesting this year's crop last week!
Also the temperature at which the oil is extracted from the olives is very important. Usually the colder the better quality but also the less quantity you get. That's why it's not very common to find the ones that are cold-pressed in supermarkets.
@@greenk89 Thank you for confirming what I suspected. Peace to you!
I also have a bottle in my cupboard, 2 bottle pack purchased at Costco, and it definitely does not have a chemical taste, just like wine, I can never pick out these other tastes people talk about..... Good thing about Costco, if you hit on a bad bottle, you can get a refund, no questions asked.
It’s good on salads but too thin to cook with
00:19:39 Lucini was the a favourite, (robust, for stronger tasting foods)
00:20:06 Carapelli and Bertolli
00:20:19The rest tasted the same, it will depend on the harvest date and price
I love the one we buy is one of the bottom ones. Thats how you know that the cheap ones really do taste cheap
I hope you do another taste with the same brands but different dates. I think they might come out different. I love and always use 100% California Oil. Melaney from SoCal
I also agree. The bottle of 100% California olive oil I bought two weeks ago was noticeably less flavorful than the one I bought in June. I’m in the Bay Area and we had heatwaves in July and earlier this month.
My first bottle of Terra Delyssa was delicious, peppery yet fruity, and well-balanced. Bought with reservations off of Amazon, but was pleasantly surprised. Eagerly bought a second bottle once that was gone, but at a grocery store. Zero flavor. Might have been a factor of age and exposure to light, but it may as well have been grapeseed oil.
Re: Colavita, I haven't had it in years, but they have a lot of varieties from many different countries, and the one sampled here wouldn't represent them all.
Thank you for doing this, and if there's a follow-up, please mention how to look out for counterfeit oils, as some of these brands have been brought into question.
Am tunisian, Our olive oil should be the most expensive & the best quality among all others, but for gaining international markets that brand is selling for cheap
@@JCVD87 I would have happily paid more for the bottle that was fresh, flavorful and well protected. Your country produces beautiful products, and I agree with your statement.
I really love this! I now know what to buy here in the Philippines. Thank you so much.
This was super fun and informative! Julia and Lisa have the same back and forth that Julia and Bridgette do! Loved this and I learned something!❤❤❤
Good review. Thanks for mentioning harvest date and that blending is not bad. Man, I need to start taste testing.
Just checked my bottle of California Olive Ranch olive oil and it was harvested in late 2023, i.e. a year more recently than the batch reviewed here.
Mine, too. December 2023.
Thank you for doing this taste test. It’s always difficult to decide what to get!
I found this very informative, and entertaining!
Perfect timing. I was at that grocery store over the weekend and decided to wait on purchasing olive oil until I researched how to find a good one. Thank you!
I found that "Colavita" sold in bigger metal containers (2-3 liters) looks and tastes greener than that sold in glass bottles.
Very timely! I need to replenish my olive oil - it doesn’t have to be gourmet, just something good enough.
Thank you so much! I have really learned a lot from this episode! ~4 brands featured here I have actually been seeing at my local supermarkets consistently for years. Now I have more confidence and awareness of my taste in olive oil!
Julia doing the Sesame Street counting song with the Pompeian countries of origin, but then realizing she was doing it and stopping, and then realizing it actually ended with 12 and wishing she’d kept going, was adorable and weirdly relatable 🤣
I usually buy California olive ranch for EVOO and Bertolli for regular olive oil
I've tried number 9 & 10 and they are my top 3. Number 10 has been my number one for a few years. I love the butteriness of it. Great with bread.
I finished a bottle of Lucini earlier this year in 2024. I also thought it was very harsh and decided I would not buy Lucini again. One thing I learned here is that past experiences may not repeat in a brand's current bottle.
After the publicized problems with olive oil adulteration I started buying the California Olive Ranch brand (loved it) but in the past couple years with the prices people stopped buying as much and the dates have gotten pretty old as you mentioned. I stopped buying a year ago and I check every month but the dates aren't getting better and they moved it to the top shelf under the lights. It was my favorite.
Very interesting! I learned a lot and I already use one of the best, Bertoli.. Yay!
The 2024 crop used for Kirkland Signature (Costco) was also horrid - bitter, burning, tasteless. I only used it for frying and never fresh eating.
PS--I'm a guy who always loves watching Lisa, such a joy to still have her on the channel.
Do it again sometime and use Colavita Premium Italian (instead of Premium Selection). There's a huge difference between the two.
I really like this video format! More! More!
I love that this will actually change Julia's buying habits with olive oil
Maybe not?? I'm still going to buying my California Ranch 100% olive oil, Melaney from SoCal
Pls do this with BALSAMIC VINEGAR! There r so many diff ones!!❤❤❤❤❤
Decent balsamic vinegars start at around $50 for a small bottle, and go up from there. They are rarely found in average grocery stores.
And WITH delicious bread
Fantastic video. I learned a fair bit with this one. Thanks ATK.
The Lucini oil is my favorite as well. I use it mostly on salads.
Hahahahaha!! 😂😂 this was great, and you two were delightful to watch. “Was it this one I choked on?” 😂 I really enjoyed this, and learned a lot.
I think they should do this test again with like fan favorite/social media brands like Grazza, TJ's, partana, brightland etc. I'd really be interested to know how they taste and if they're worth the hype/$. I've had Grazza and I wasn't impressed but could've had a bad batch or something because California Olive Ranch def used to be our household favorite.
Did Graza gr viral on TikTok or something? I work for a cat-centric pet sitting company, which involves going into people's homes to take care of their cats. I've been seeing the Graza olive oil is so many client's homes for a while now. I got it once, and thought it was fine. I feel like the packaging of having it in a squeeze bottle makes it more "unique". I wasn't going to buy another bottle of Graza olive oil again, but the grocery store I go to had this special sale where if you got a bottle of the Graza olive oil, you'd get a can refill of the Graza olive oil for FREE. So it was 2 for 1 price, as the can was the same oz as the bottle. I'm sure that "chaos packaging" that's becoming a trend makes Graza even more popular/appealing when you can buy olive oil in a can. The company must be making bank off of virality to be able to allow grocery stores to do a sale like that.
Always on an extremely tight budget, even before the inflation spike of the last few years, I used to watch stores like Marshalls, TJMaxx, and Cost Plus for a shapely little bottle of olive oil labelled "Monte Pollino", because I had tried it once and found it to be quite, QUITE to my taste for all purposes -- brushing on bread, skillet frying, key salad dressing ingredient, basting on chicken breasts, and even baking. Finding it was hit-and-miss, though, and I was always a little worried that one day I'd be down to the last tablespoon in a bottle and I wouldn't be able to find another Monte Pollino anywhere.
One day on a stroll through Trader Joe's, a shapely little bottle of olive oil caught my eye. Could it be one of TJ's famous re-brandings? I decided to give it a try, and whether or not it's the same olive oil, Trader Giotto's Sicilian accomplishes that same all-purpose goal for me. Not too strong, not too weak, hint of buttery-ness, lovely ripe golden color.
Of course, with TJ's business model, now I walk nervously by the olive oil section in the store when I go there, and pause to make sure the Sicilian is still there for sale, even if it isn't on the current shopping list. (As a Trader Joe's customer going all the way back to when all of their stores were only in California, I have seen pretty much all of my favorite items disappear, including the Gingeroo cookies that were absolutely legendary at work, and some magical zinc and propolis chewable lozenges that seemed to bring peace and quiet to my out-of-control crazy immune system for the first time in my life.)
I live walking distance from a very-well-stocked Mediterranean / Middle Eastern market with a boggling selection of olive oils, so I always have a lot of options for when I want something a little stronger, a little greener, a little darker, or even unfiltered (yum) -- but there is ALWAYS a bottle of either Monte Pollino or Trader Giotto's Sicilian on the oil-and-vinegar shelf in the cabinet in my little kitchen.
And that's my review, October 2024. 😊
Grazza is a marketing company. It’s fine evoo, but nothing worth the price
also the coscto evoos
They did, last year. ATK compared Graza Drizzle, Brightland Awake and Kosteria Original with their favorite mild, medium and robust premium olive oils (i.e. not ones from this test).
Tyfs. I always wanted to know how to taste olive oil.💙😎
It's nice to see you guys doing this tasting!!!
...so I don't need to. I can't drink oil no matter what kind it is.
i think you missed 2 of them. the Costco standard evoo in the plastic bottle (single country source, Italy), and the Costco California single source glass bottle.
I've used Filippo Berio olive oil for many years now, and I've never found anything I like better.
Carapelli had been the best for my kitchen and dishes for about a decade. I’ve tried a lot of brands and it’s my fave.
I am seeing from this that I can't assume Best By means anything at all. I also thought that keeping OO in the fridge would help preserve it, so I wish they had discussed that. I often open a large bottle, decant into my stove-side pouring bottle and put the rest in the fridge to help preserve it, but now I think I should just buy smaller bottle more frequently and not get the larger sizes. Such good info!
I switched from California growers to Terra Delyssa when I couldn't get recent harvest dates. I have found it to be really good. 😊
excellent and helpful review, you guys are both very entertaining and knowledgable :)
I didn't taste OO until I was in my 20's.I'm not a big fan of the darker oils but I love balsamic vinegar mixed up with the OO for bread dipping.
My go to olive oil is the Cobram Estate Robust EVOO from Australia. It's grassy good.
Yes, love that grassy flavor.
I love the Pompeian “Robust” version. I also find I prefer oils from Spain/Portugal/Argentina over Italy/Greece/California.
Point well taken. It’s about each palate. It’s about different people will prefer DIFFERENT olive oil.
Sorry about buying all the fresher bottles of California Olive Ranch. I had to confit all my Gilroy garlic, lol. All joking aside, that 2022 vintage you tried represents the last of our dry years. Try it again with an early 2024 bottle. You’ll notice the difference, as I did. A bottle I purchased last month was lifeless compared to one I bought in May. We had a pretty good winter 2023-24, but our summer was very dry with heat waves in July and again just two weeks ago.
Thank you for having this tasting❤❤❤
Pompeii has been my least favorite although it is the most affordable but I’m glad to hear they’re making it better.
8:46 I wasn't expecting Julia to drop the 1977 Sesame Street counting song. Anyone else recognize it?
The absolute first thing I look for is it 100% cold pressed, not first cold pressed, or not listed at all, which means it's chemically extracted. I don't want anymore dangerous chemicals in my food. I don't care if you liked the taste better if it contains non-food it's junk. I was able to see 3 labels that said cold pressed, no matter where you put them on the list that's the 3 I would buy.
I like the Bertolli as a daily oil. Used to get California Olive but a couple of years ago, they changed from all-California to a mix of different countries - taste changed and not for the better. Think I’ll try Carapelli next time.
@@jasonbrodess5242 yikes!!!!
California Olive has two varieties. One is the blended oil from various countries and the other is 100% California olives.
Very interesting. I’ve bought the Terra Delyssa twice and it has been brilliant. I lived in the Middle East for a long time so I appreciate very good olive oil. It’s interesting that it’s not consistent. I’m worried about getting it next time. Bertolli’s has always been a consistent product for me though. More of a cooking oil.
Would be helpful to comment on olive oils shipped and stored in plastic instead of glass or can.
I'm in SoCal so I just checked my bottle from the California Olive Ranch. It has a harvest date of November 2023. So there are fresher bottles out there.
I've been using Carapelli for years now but I was hoping to fine a single country of origin olive oil. I do like that they put the best buy date a year out from the made by date.
Loved this! Yes been a Cali buy, but will check out the top two! For eating, salads,.... a friends family has a tree in Greece.....
Maybe you could do California olive oils such as Pasolivo, Sciabica, California Olive Ranch, etc.
A little pushback: Italy does produce a lot of its own oil. I live in Italy, have my own olive trees and make my own oil. People here generally avoid blended oils from other places.
If it's just one or two people in a household, it seems the better way to go with smaller bottles!
Agree! That and looking for the harvest date were my biggest take aways! And ... I think I need to start cooking with avocado oil and use EVOO for non-cooking purposes.
I got a bunch of CA Olive Ranch olive oil at Sam's Club last month and it was all the most recent harvest (2023). Maybe they had a deal on it to move out the inventory before this year's harvest. It seems fresh to me.
Love these, love y'all, thank you, very helpful indeed.
This was super helpful! Seems to me that the harvest date is the most important factor.
Dang I have Felipo in the pantry now. But I have to pick based on what I can afford. This was very interesting.
Never actually ever looked at the date. Will start now.
Yay Bertolli!! That is my go to olive oil. 👍
I watched a comparison of oils for taste and purity and Bertolli was not 100% olive oil. Kirkland was 100% pure.
Iliada Extra Virgin from Crete or the first press from Iliada is incredible. Much better than over flavored California oil and the Tunisian oil which is not good. I've been using Iliada and (sometimes) other Cretan oils in my cooking and solids for the last 18 years and have searched them out because other oils mess up the taste of my food.
What a helpful segment! Thank you ATK!
TIL my "glass bottle supremacy" has been leading me astray! These tastings are so helpful to consumers. There's nothing worse than spending money on something only to learn you don't like how it tastes! Thanks ATK!
(Fyi, I think a lot of people would appreciate including some national store brands like Costco.)
Kirkland ❤
I feel they did an inadequate job on this
I agree Kirkland Olive Oil!!👻🎃👹
How about the olive oil in the trader's joe? I used them and have no complaints. 😊their products are fairly good. 😉
Partanna Rustic THE BEST!!!!!!!!! Get it! Try it!!!
Can you do one of these for sesame oils?
I just used the Carapelli oil when making ATK's Pork Roast with 40 cloves of garlic for lunch yesterday. Very good flavor.
And saffron,all over.
I've been using Lucini for years. Love it!
Good timing for this! I have to get a new bottle. Where I live a larger bottle of the CA olive ranch is like $40 or more. I’ll definitely check harvest dates
Just checked the harvest date on the COR 100% CA that I got on Saturday and it’s Oct-Dec 2023.
She said she wouldn’t buy the olive because she thought it was bad and finds out it’s the olive oil she buys , These taste test are subjective. You have to taste it yourself.