Which olive oil is best

Yet it can be hard to know what you should be looking for when choosing one — not only because olive oils are made in a number of countries including Italy, France, and Spain but there are different techniques and flavour profiles depending on the kind of olive used, too.

Grammenos, who is Greek and produces his own olive oil, says that, just like wine , personal preferences will win out, and recommends trying different varieties where possible. However, there are certain things to always look out for. To cut through the many varieties of olive oil out there, we spoke to 11 experts , including chefs , buyers, and other food-industry professionals , to find out which olive oils they buy themselves.

Our panel told us their favourite options for drizzling on salads , dunking bread into, and finishing off cooked dishes , like risotto or lasagne. Read on for inexpensive options you can pick up in your local supermarket to pricier options that have a waiting list.

All of our chefs and experts admitted personal preferences when it came to their favourite olive oils, so there was very little consensus on one oil being better than the others. Though Pattison likes using it as a finishing oil, it was also recommended by Grammenos for its cooking qualities. Though there are a lot of high-end, highly giftable olive oils in our list, some inexpensive options also came recommended.

Our experts said cold-pressed olive oils made the best finishing oils, due to being richer in flavour and having a thicker consistency. Cold-pressing is also the process used to make extra virgin olive oil. For all tastings, editors were asked to sample the oils in a random order to avoid issues of palate fatigue. In our tireless quest to find the best extra-virgin olive oils, we scoured the internet for best-of lists and dug through the highest-rated oils on popular buying sites.

Whenever shopping for high-quality olive oils, choose oils from the current or previous year. The harvest date can be found on the label of most bottles if you look closely.

Here is a comprehensive list of all bottles we sampled along the way. Storing olive oil really amounts to keeping the oil dark and cool.

Exposure to heat, air, and light causes it to go bad quickly. Glass bottles can be very pretty, but they wreak havoc on the delicate liquid inside. Luckily, there are plenty of equally gorgeous ceramic and metal options to choose from. And it bears repeating: Use your olive oil with abandon because a good olive oil is not really meant to last more than a few months.

So douse it on your veggies, make delicious marinades with it, pair it with fresh lemon or a delicious vinegar for your salad dressing, and use it as a cooking oil whenever you can. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn a small affiliate commission. By Naomi Tomky. By Samantha Larson. Butter is great, but it's olive oil that really takes the…you know…. By David Tamarkin. By Janet Rausa Fuller. Merula Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Monini D. Select personalised ads.

Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. The 8 Best Olive Oils in Your best options for cooking, dipping, and buying in bulk. By Lindsay Boyers. Lindsay Boyers.

Lindsay Boyers is a freelance commerce writer for The Spruce Eats specializing in food, cooking, and nutrition. Our Top Picks. Best Overall:. Several different types of olives create a versatile oil that contains herbal, fruity, and grassy notes. Best Cold-Pressed:. Low temperatures and cold-pressing preserve both flavor and quality. Best for Dipping:. Enjoy a fresh, bright, and peppery taste with hints of almond, olive leaves, and freshly cut grass.

Best Organic:. A blend of Mediterranean olives are cold-pressed to create a smooth buttery flavor. Best for Cooking:. This is designed to complement any type of cooked dish. Best Flavored:. This set features four 8. Best Budget:. This robust, rich-tasting olive oil is ideal for cooking, dressing, and marinades. Best Bulk Buy:. In This Article Expand. Our Picks. What to Look for. Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

What We Don't Like A bit expensive. What We Don't Like Not ideal for cooking. How to Store Olive Oil Heat, light, and air all affect olive oil.

What We Don't Like Design of container could be improved. The 8 Best Coconut Oils of What We Don't Like Flavor might be too mild for some tastes. Everyday Extra Virgin Olive Oil. What We Don't Like May be too mild for some palates. View On Amazon. What We Like Light, fresh flavor Versatile.

What We Don't Like Some flavors not as strong as others. What We Don't Like Oil is a blend from many sources. What We Don't Like Gallon size comes in plastic packaging. The 7 Best Avocado Oils in The 10 Best Balsamic Vinegars in Article Sources.

The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Continue to 5 of 8 below. Your Privacy Rights.