When looking for a really good olive oil, one that you want to taste, it can be confusing! Couple that with the numerous counterfeit bottles floating around out there and finding that perfect bottle can be quite the task.
My pal Chef Belinda with H-E-B Cooking Connection offers some sage advice for choosing wisely — making things easier for all of us! These aren’t the kind you cook with in mass, but drizzle…glaze…really savor the flavor.
The first thing you want to be sure to do is buy by taste. With that comes buying from a reputable source and in small quantities. Look on the bottle for the location of where the olives were grown…one location guarantees maximum freshness and peak flavor qualities of the olives used. Other items to check: the name of the olives used as well as the cultivator.
Chef Belinda stressed how key it is to locate the percentage of oleic acid. You want it low enough below the standard, meaning it contains enough of the oxidants and benefits of drinking a first cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.
Price does not always dictate quality…but with olive oils, sometimes they do. You can get more information on things of that nature in Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil.
It’s not just a catchy title…there’s great info to be shared on all of your stovetop contenders. In the meantime, save some time for the few we taste-tested:
1) Arbequina
- Extra Virgin (Central Market brand)
- Contains grass and hay
- A balance of fruitiness, pepperiness and bitterness
2) Lucini
- Origin is Italy
- Estate grown, hand-picked
- Big on pepper
3) Castillo de Piñar
- Origin is Spain
- Made with Picual olives
- Great with dessert…(Strawberries and sea salt on top of vanilla bean ice cream)
We found this amazing selection all right here at H-E-B! Chat with your local Cooking Connection representative today. For more delicious recipes and fun food and wine pairings, subscribe to my newsletter.
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