Beware of the False Olive Oil Prophets

Olive oil is an essential ingredient of cooking in the entire Med- and many times you will hear the experts suggesting that extra-virgin olive oil is the only one that should go on your plate.

So, what's the difference between normal and extra-virgin ? What is good when? And, how can you tell what is good and what is not in a supermarket?

First of all, olive oil should come from olives and only olives - we know that might sound obvious but in 1996 it was discovered that several olive oils included as much as 20% of hazelnut oil in their 'olive oil'. Now this practice is controlled much more but still it is worth checking the label ...it might mention that only some percentage of what is contained in the bottle is olive oil.

As far as normal and extra-virgin is concerned the issue is acidity. For extra-virgin it should be under 1% (more official definitions here and here. Do not be fooled by mentions of 'cold-pressed', 'hand-picked', etc. If you bought it at a supermarket chances are that it was collected by machines and went through an extensively mechanized process. Nothing wrong with that if the process is well designed and managed, just don't think that your olive oil was collected by cheery bunch of middle-aged Italians that where frolicking in the Tuscan hills like some advertisements may suggest.

More likely and here is the sticking point - even if your olive oil looks Italian it was almost surely collected in part in Greece, Spain or Tunisia and only packaged in Italy. Again nothing wrong with this other than the fact that it is probably more expensive because it exploits that notion that Italian oil is the best. Carlo has a very good story about this here.

Finally, as far as what to use when is concerned. Well, I would suggest that you treat olive oil like wine. According to region, manufacturing process, etc, the taste varies. Try different brands and see what you like. The most important thing is what oil you use on salads, and marinades (i.e the one that you eat 'raw' in a sense) rather than the one that goes in the pan – since that one gets cooked and as a result some of the initial taste is gone anyway.

So, as ever, shop around, check the labels, and do not have any romantic notions - we are talking about mass produced oil - and don't think that the extra money for an Italian oil is necessarily worth the effort.

Finally, whenever in Italy, Greece or anywhere where there is locally produced oil by small companies take the chance to visit and try it - you will discover a whole new world...