Best Olive Oil You've Ever Had

Over the years I've had the good fortune of enjoying some exceptional olive oils, although over the past few years I've not been able to easily afford the finest oils as in the past. However, I recently came across a dish that I want to make for a couple of friends - it's a simple pasta dish and I can see that by using the finest ingredients the results will be fantastic.

I have sources for an exceptional Parmigiano-Reggiano, superb spaghetti, top quality balsamic, and amazing tomatoes, and heavenly herbs. I even have a source for some outstanding olive oils, but before spending the outrageous sum required I'd like to see what else may be out there. So, regardless of price, what is the best olive oil you've ever had?

There are quite a few excellent, and even superb, Provençal oils. Coincidentally, I am waiting for another batch to arrrive at one of the places I buy oil.

The last French oil I had was Moulins de la Brague, which is a blend of sunflower oil and E.V olive oil infused with dried red peppers, bay leaves, rosemary and other herbs. It's medium hot and a bit spicy, with a great depth of flavor. The bottle comes with the herbs and spices inside, and makes a lovely presentation.

The WF I generally frequent doesn't have such a nice olive oil setup - just a nice, but not great, selection on a few shelves. There's a new WF that opened within the last year to which I've been meaning to return. Maybe they have a greater, more interesting selection. It's the biggest WF I've ever visited, and has many more items and higher quality items than the others I've seen.

Thanks for the tip.

TJ's has some "good value" oils. I've tried the Kalamata oil, or one of them - I recall that they carry two brands. The one I had was OK, although there is another of TJ's oils that I prefer.

I recall reading something about the Solivera oils a few months ago - maybe at the La Tienda site or at The Spanish Table. I made a mental note to call TST's Berkeley store to see if they carry it. One thing I don't like is that, in certain sizes, the oil is packed in plastic bottles. Sheesh! Glass bottles are also available, but it just galls me that olive oil - especially a special oil - would be packaged that way.

Not familiar with Senorio de Vizcantar - will look into it. Thanks!

The oil sounds like it's something I'd want to try. Looks like we both paid Papa a visit yesterday :)

Thanks for the suggestion. Bariani is good stuff :lips:. Been using it for years. I usually buy it at the Saturday Berkeley Farmers' Market, in part because the price is better there than in many of the local stores, and because I can usually choose from early or late harvest, but mostly because I get to chat with Santa Bariani. She is "old country" Italian ...

Bariani is a very good, maybe even excellent, oil. Better than anything that's found at the Trader Joe's stores that I frequent, and reasonably priced for the quality of the product. One nice thing about Bariani is that the harvest and bottling dates are printed on the label.

AFAIK, They will ship anywhere in the US, and you can ask them for the freshest oil they have. They'll tell you. But, depending on your style preference, the freshest oil may not have the flavor profile you like. They have a young, grassy, peppery oil and a smoother oil pressed from older olives. That's why I like to buy at the farmers' market when Santa or one of the other Barianis are in the booth - especially Santa - as they offer tastings and answer questions.

Coincidentally, I picked up a liter just this morning - one of the local produce markets had it on sale for about the price of a half liter. It was bottled in late June of this year.

Edit: There are quite a few excellent California olive oils that can be purchased on line. Many of these are quite fresh. A couple of times we visited a producer, saw the olives being pressed, and were able to buy some of the same oil that had been pressed just a short time earlier.

Your link to the COOC is very handy. Here's a link showing more than 400 olive oil producers in the US, with most of them in California. Perhaps it, too, will be helpful. California Olive Oil Producers

A couple of articles that I found interesting:

The Olive Oil Scandal -
Bariani Olive Oil Feature

No, but I'll look into their product(s)

Too old! Here's an address for an olive oil club that I know of from which you can purchase very fresh oils: Tasteful Selections

And take a look at Nancy Loseke's site: Fresh Press

If you click on the links I provided you'll get a vey clear understanding of the problem with many olive oils - by the time they reach the consumer they are old, sometimes very old. Olive oil loses flavor and potency with age. You want an oil that's bottled close to the crush date and on your shelf as close to the bottling date as possible.

Compounding the problem, many, if not most, oils don't indicate when the olives were crushed or bottled leaving the consumer in the dark.

Our crush is in the late fall. It doesn't matter where the trees are grown, the fruit can only be harvested once a year, after it's developed and reached the desired stage of ripeness. I know of no trees that bear fruit continuously - certainly not olive trees.

The point I was making is to get the oil to the market and into the hands of the consumer as quickly as possible. Most commercial olive oil is old by the time the consumer gets it. While within a year is acceptable, sooner is even better, but that's not always possible considering travel distances, distribution channels, and other constraints. However, living in Greece, near the olive groves, means that it's easier to get fresh Greek oil. By the time that oil reaches California, it's often a lot older. Here in California the oil I can get from our California trees is going to be fresher than what customers in Greece will get.

Are your bottles light and air tight? How long does the distributor hold on to the oil before shipping it to California? How is the oil stored - under what conditions? How long does it take to get to its destination? What happens at that point - the same questions: How long and under what conditions is it stored? Does your distributor put it directly into the hands of the final consumer? Of course not. It goes to local distributors, it's stored in warehouses, it gets shipped to stores that may also store the product.

I'm not saying the oil is unacceptable, but the process and time from the initial bottling to the time it's used by the consumer can be of some detriment to the oil. There are some oils that I've seen on the shelves that are more than two years old based on the dates on the bottles.

In a word, No! Not for extra virgin olive oil. You're better buying properly bottled oil and storing it in a cool (50- to 57-degrees F.) dark place in unopened bottles. According to an article written about Bariani oil, "The oil keeps 18-24 months in good storage conditions (a cool and dark place) and the Barianis point out that 'our grandmother in Italy has had it for five years and it still tastes fresh.' "

It's my understanding that extra virgin olive oil does not do as well as regular olive oil in the cold confines of the refrigerator or freezer. I read that Harold McGee has written on the subject and I'm waiting to get clarification from him.

Just curious - what oil can you get in Chicago that's comparble in quality to Bariani and what does it cost?

Hi,

TJ's EVOO is usually a pretty good value. I don't recall if I had the First Lady - may have - but I did have The President (I think that's what it's called, but you know the one I mean). I'm just finishing up one of their Organic brands - they have two, this one's from Spain I liked it quite a bit - $7.00 for, I believe, 500ml (have to check the label). That's one I'll buy again and hope that it tastes about the same. There's a use-by date on the label - nice.

Edit: President's Choice!

I just can't bring myself to shop at Costco ... was inside twice when I went with friends - never bought anything though.

Not just Costco - any of the big-box and big corporate stores: Home Depot, Office Depot, Office Max, Sams Club, Walmart, Barnes & Noble - I won't go into the details of why on the forum. If you'd like to know, I'll be happy to send you a private message.