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Olive oil, specifically extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), is having a moment. Despite premium prices, scores of new brands have emerged over the past couple of years, presenting more choice when shopping for the best olive oils.
Despite olive oil production recovering quite significantly since a string of poor harvests in 2022 and 2023, heatwaves and droughts continue to have an impact, making it an expensive commodity amid increasing demand. In the UK, virtually all olive oil is imported, which means that domestic prices are highly sensitive to reduced harvests in primary producing nations like Spain, Italy, and Greece.
Britons are becoming ever more interested in eating healthier foods too, and the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in EVOO instead of butter or other saturated fats, is increasingly popular. One of the major health benefits of olive oil is that it is very high in polyphenols, which are particularly abundant in high-quality EVOO. Polyphenols are associated with benefits like reducing inflammation and protecting the body from oxidative stress. Studies have also shown that high-phenolic EVOOs can have a positive effect on “bad” LDL cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Flavour is also becoming more of a priority when it comes to choosing the best olive oil. Much like wine, olive oil can vary hugely between flavour profiles, depending on the type of olive and its terroir, how early it was harvested, whether it is a single variety oil or a blend, and how fresh it was when it was packaged. Some people may prefer a grassy, herb-like EVOO with a peppery kick, while others are more partial to a fruitier, smoother profile. Either way, there are a plethora of new and existing EVOOs to choose from, so I put them to the test to find the best olive oil.
Read more: Best supermarket olive oils, taste-tested
The olive oils were sniffed, dipped and drizzled (Kate Ng/The Independent)
The best olive oils for 2026 are:
Best overall – Waitrose valli trapanesi PDO extra virgin olive oil: £13, Waitrose.com
Best budget buy – Exceptional by Asda Spanish picual extra virgin olive oil: £7, Asda.com
Best premium buy – Oliiv high-polyphenol organic EVOO spring ’26: £49, Oliiv.co
Read more: Best supermarket butters, taste-tested
Waitrose valli trapanesi PDO extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: olive oil overall
Why we love it
Bottle states year of harvest
Waitrose’s fruity, rounded valli trapanesi EVOO is the best olive oil I’ve tasted, thanks to its vibrant flavours. It will have you feeling like you’re holidaying in Sicily whenever you dip a hunk of bread into it or drizzle the green-tinged liquid over fresh tomatoes, basil and salt.
The EVOO is verdant, with notes of apple and even a hint of gooseberry, and a spicy kick to finish.
Expect verdant with a spicy finish (Kate Kg/The Independent)
The Trapani region boasts one of Italy’s most beautiful natural landscapes, full of sweeping coastlines and volcanic isles, as well as its famous olive groves where cerasuola, nocellara del belice and biancolilla olives are grown.
Its coveted Protected designation of origin (PDO) status guarantees the EVOO is grown, processed, and packaged within a specific geographical region. The bottle also states which year the olives were harvested, so it’s possible to determine how young and fresh the oil is, which has a significant impact on the flavour.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil blend
Buy now £13, Waitrose.com
Exceptional by Asda Spanish picual extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 4/5
Best: budget olive oil
Why we love it
Grassy, tomato-esque tasting notes
Works well for cooking and drizzling
Take note
Distinctive bitterness might not be to everyone’s taste
Asda’s Exceptional range features some surprising big-hitters, and this extra virgin olive oil made from 100 per cent Spanish picual olives is one of them. Picual olives are one of Spain’s most celebrated varieties, best known for their bold, robust flavour profile.
At £7 for 500ml, it’s the best budget olive oil I’ve tasted, especially considering it’s a high-quality single variety EVOO. It has grassy, tomato-esque tasting notes, with a bitter, spicy kick indicative of their high polyphenol content. The bitterness is quite distinctive but not overpowering, pairing well with bold ingredients like grilled red meat and aged cheeses such as Parmesan.
The bitterness is quite distinctive but not overpowering (Kate Ng/The Independent)
It comes in a dark green glass bottle to protect it from sunlight – this is very important as exposure to UV rays causes photo-oxidation, leading to the oil’s antioxidants degrading and causing it to go rancid.
Apart from drizzling it over salads and finished dishes, I’ve also enjoyed cooking with this Asda olive oil. This is because it has a high smoke point and a flavour that’s intense enough to make a huge difference in olive oil-forward dishes like aglio e olio and Spanish tortilla.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil blend
Buy now £7, Asda.com
Odysea Greek kalamata PDO extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: olive oil for dipping and drizzling
Why we love it
Contrary to belief, Kalamata refers to the mountainous region in Greece where the olives that go into this bottle of EVOO grew, not the olive variety. Here, koroneiki olives are cold-pressed within hours of being harvested using traditional methods, ensuring their nutritional value and flavour are preserved as much as possible.
Oils made from koroneiki olives have a distinct aroma of tomato vine, and I could identify it very easily in this EVOO. It also has notes of citrus, fragrant yet faint like lemon balm. Upon tasting, I determined it was a full-bodied oil with flavours of fresh herbs like parsley and dill, with a slow-building heat that ends with a peppery aftertaste. It’s particularly delicious on grilled white fish and chicken, as well as with roasted vegetables and pulse-heavy salads mixed with tangy feta and roasted vegetables.
This is a full-bodied olive oil (Kate Ng/The Independent)
This variety is known for being high in polyphenols and monosaturated fats, the latter of which has been found to help lower levels of “bad” cholesterol in the body.
It also holds Protected designation of origin (PDO) status, which guarantees that the product is entirely grown, processed, and packaged within a specific geographical region. In this case, Kalamata PDO signifies that this olive oil was cultivated, harvested, and processed exclusively in the Messinia region of the Peloponnese in southern Greece.
Key features:
Type: Cold extraction extra virgin olive oil
Country of origin: Greece
Buy now £9.95, Sainsburys.co.uk
Honest Toil extra virgin Greek olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: single-variety olive oil
Why we love it
Herbaceous and peppery flavours
Bottles are perfect for gifting
Honest Toil is a cult favourite among EVOO lovers for good reason – it is made purely from koroneiki olives, grown by a network of small-scale growers located in the southern peninsula of Peloponnese. The olives are crushed and cold-pressed within a few hours of harvesting to extract a raw, unfiltered olive oil that is slightly opaque due to sediment from the olive skins and pips. The gold-green oil is then bottled and packaged within two miles of the grove, ensuring the process is entirely local and sustainable.
This raw, unfiltered olive oil is slightly opaque due to sediment from the olive skins and pips (Kate Ng/The Independent)
The simple extraction method produces a fresh, lively EVOO that is simultaneously thick and unctuous in texture. It also means it has very low acidity, registering at only between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent on the acidity rating. To be legally classified as extra virgin, an olive oil must have a maximum free acidity of 0.8 per cent, as this indicates high-quality, cold-pressed olive juice made from fresh olives with zero sensory defects. Honest Toil’s EVOO has grassy, herbaceous and peppery flavours, with a slow-burning heat that wakes the palate.
I love the packaging for Honest Toil’s bottles and tins, which are beautifully designed by artists that founders Tom Woodgate and Juli Laki have collaborated with. The 500ml version comes in a very dark green bottle to protect it from sunlight (although you should still store it in a cool, dark cupboard), whilst larger quantities come in one to five litre tins and boxes. I love how they look in my own pantry, but they would also make for excellent, artisanal gifts.
Key features:
Type: Unfiltered extra virgin olive oil
Country of origin: Greece
Buy now £18.49, Selfridges.com
Karyatis Greek extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: Greek olive oil
Why we love it
Odysea has made a name as an excellent purveyor of Greek ingredients and foods since 1991, and its Karyatis EVOO has been a crowd-pleasing favourite for years. I love the bright, sunshine-yellow 1l tin, which brightens up my kitchen, plus it’s really budget-friendly at £9.95 for a litre. At that price, you wouldn’t feel bad about cooking and baking with this oil, which is exactly what Odysea wants customers to do – but it also would make for a really impressive gift that doesn’t break the bank.
I loved roasting and sauteeing vegetables with this EVOO (Kate Ng/The Independent)
The Karyatis olive oil is an all-rounder, delivering a grassy, tomatoey aroma and a freshness that doesn’t leave the oil feeling heavy on the tongue. It is smooth and buttery, with a slight bitterness reminiscent of fresh broccoli and cabbage. I loved roasting and sauteeing vegetables with the EVOO, as well as making omelettes and salad dressings. If you like baking with olive oil, Odysea recommends making chocolate halva cookies, which I’ll certainly be trying.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil
Country of origin: Greece
Buy now £9.95, Amazon.co.uk
Citizens of Soil the olive oil club
Rating: 5/5
Best: olive oil subscription
Why we love it
Handy subscriptions service
Gives you the chance to try different varieties
Take note
It’s an investment compared to buying single bottles
An olive oil subscription sounds like the height of middle class shenanigans, and we’re here to confirm it’s true – but it’s worth it. I’ve had a Citizens of Soil subscription for a while and it’s still the one that I swear by. If you don’t already have an olive oil pourer to refill, you can purchase a ceramic one made in Portugal alongside your first order of EVOO. It’s an elegant white pourer that looks sophisticated and pours cleanly.
Refills come in plastic pouches (Kate Ng/The Independent)
The subscription will then send you new EVOOs from various sources to try, either once a month or once every two months. You could be trying EVOO made with lianolia olives from Crete one month, and then nocellara EVOO from Sicily the next. The olive oils come in plastic pouches, something that the founders have said they are hoping to replace with a more sustainable alternative in time. You simply refill your ceramic pourer and enjoy the new olive oil any way you like.
The subscription costs £15 per 500ml pouch, which does make it a bit of an investment. Opting for a refill every two months does save some money, or you can pause your subscription whenever you need. I like the flexibility and think it’s worth the investment, as the variety and flavour discovery has improved many of my dishes.
Key features:
Type: Monthly subscription of extra virgin olive oil
Country of origin: Changes monthly
Buy now £15, Citizensofsoil.com
Brindisa arbequina extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: Spanish olive oil
Why we love it
Works well drizzled over sweet vegetables and even ice-cream
Take note
Low in polyphenols compared to others
Might not be punchy enough for some
Like Odysea, Brindisa has become a household name in the UK for bringing fine Spanish ingredients and Mediterranean goods for more than 35 years. The brand produces several types of its own olive oil, made from different olive varieties, but I liked this arbequina EVOO the best. Arbequina olives are mostly grown in Catalonia and are best known for producing a high yield of oil.
This has a more mellow flavour profile than other olive oils (Kate Ng/The Independent)
However, one thing to note is that these olives are relatively low in polyphenols compared to other cultivars. This means that it has a more mellow flavour profile, with less pepper and spice that may appeal to those who prefer a smoother olive oil experience with little to no kick. It is, in fact, almost sweet, which sounds a bit wrong in the context of olive oil, but is really pleasant to eat when paired with similarly sweet vegetables like tomatoes and asparagus.
I tried a drizzle of this olive oil over vanilla ice cream and found it to be quite a delectable combination, as the olive oil adds depth and interest to the sweet, creamy treat.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil
Buy now £21.16, Amazon.co.uk
Oliiv high-polyphenol organic EVOO spring ’26
Rating: 5/5
Best: premium olive oil
Why we love it
Smooth, herbaceous flavour
Take note
Punchy flavour when tasting neat
Oliiv is a newcomer on the EVOO scene and is adamant on educating people about its health benefits. Its EVOO is sourced from a single artisan producer in Puglia, Italy, and made from 100 per cent coratina olives.
It contains 600mg of polyphenols per kilogram of EVOO, a huge improvement on standard oils that typically contain only 50-150mg per kilogram. In terms of aroma and flavour, I was intrigued by the pleasant grassy and almond-like notes on the nose, then delighted by the smooth, herbaceous flavour of the oil.
It contains a huge amount of polyphenols (Kate Ng/The Independent)
Due to its high polyphenol content, it delivers a fair amount of spice when tasting neat, so much so that it made me cough. But when eaten, whether it’s used for dipping bread into, dressing a bright, zesty salad, or poured over a hearty bean stew, its fresh flavour comes through and the heat simply becomes part of the dish.
At £41.65 for 500ml, this is undoubtedly a premium product that comes at a premium price. There are other EVOOs on the market at friendlier prices, but I was impressed by the transparency and quality offered by Oliiv, and the product is genuinely delicious enough to eat every day.
Key features:
Type: Organic extra virgin olive oil
Buy now £49, Oliiv.co
Bona organic early harvest koroneiki extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: olive oil for peppery flavours
Why we love it
Comes with a handy wooden dispenser
Distinctively peppery flavour
Take note
Might be too acidic for some
Bona’s organic EVOO was the most interestingly packaged olive oil I tested. Bona was created by Fynn and George Bennell, the latter being the co-founder of another famous Spanish food brand, Belazu. The pair worked with partner Ailsa Cooke to bring bona to the table as an olive oil subscription that acts as an “olive oil on tap”. Essentially it utilises a vacuum sealed oil with a tap (much like bagged wine), held in a charming, simple wood dispense that can sit on any kitchen counter. All you have to do is squeeze the tap and golden liquid comes flowing out whenever you fancy.
The olives were grown using organic and regenerative farming methods (Kate Ng/The Independent)
The EVOO is made with koroneiki olives that are grown in Spain using organic and regenerative farming methods. The brand’s founders are committed to the health of the soil on their farm, practicing minimal soil disturbances and installing a sophisticated irrigation system for precise watering. I liked the simplicity of the subscription system, as you simply replace the bag inside the wooden dispenser every time a new one is delivered. You can choose a refill frequency that works for your household, and subscription prices range between £20 and £38.
Bono’s EVOO is high in polyphenols, with 600mg of polyphenols per kilogram of oil, which lends to its distinctively peppery, spicy flavours. I like how complex and buttery the oil is, although it may border on slightly too acidic for some. However, fans of an intense EVOO with a kick of heat will enjoy adding this to almost every meal, as it goes especially well with bread and cheese, dark meats like beef carpaccio or raw tuna, tomato-rich pasta dishes, and robust salads.
Key features:
Type: Organic extra virgin olive oil in a dispenser
Buy now £26, Bonafood.co.uk
Icono frantoio extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: olive oil for red meat and grilled foods
Why we love it
First Chilean olive oil on UK market
While Spain, Italy and Greece reign as the top olive oil producers, several other countries are also known for producing some really delicious varieties. This EVOO is made purely with frantoio olives grown in the Atacama Desert in Chile, a harsh environment that challenges the olive trees to produce their best, juiciest olives, and this really makes this oil stand out. It is the first Chilean EVOO on the UK market and a very welcome addition to my shelf.
A very smooth mouthfeel evolves into a spicy finish (Kate Ng/The Independent)
The resulting EVOO is herbaceous and grassy, with a hint of clear almond nuttiness that adds complexity to the palate. It takes the eater on a journey, beginning with a very smooth mouthfeel and ending with quite a robust spiciness on the finish, which is a lovely surprise.
I enjoyed discovering how different it was compared to many of the olive oils tested, as it has plenty of character. It is especially good when drizzled on cooked red meat dishes like steak or venison, where it holds its own, and also makes for a lovely addition to chunky soups and hearty salads.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil
Buy now £22, Theoliveboffin.com
Nourished Communities Oli Oli extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: cold-pressed olive oil
Why we love it
Fruity flavour, with floral-scented notes
Good value when you buy 5l tin
Take note
Best for drizzling rather than cooking
Given this olive oil is made from the same olives in the same region as Honest Toil, I expected it to have a really similar flavour profile but I was quite surprised to find a few differences. Oli Oli offered a notably fruitier, rounded flavour with floral scent notes. It was delicious with bread and cheese, as well as simple salad dressings and drizzled over fresh tomatoes, white fish, and hummus.
It was thoroughly enjoyed with bread and cheese (Kate Ng/The Independent)
Oli Oli, which is made by independent north London deli Nourished Communities, is made from early harvest koroneiki olives that have been cold-pressed. The olive oil has a rather sunny disposition, being bright and smooth, with a creamy mouthfeel. I found it to be rather unique and will be using it solely for drizzling and dipping rather than cooking, to be able to taste all the nuances of the oil. It also has a peppery undertone that indicates it’s high in polyphenols.
The oil is available in a 500ml glass bottle for £14.99, which is tall and slim, featuring a very friendly-looking animated olive on the label. But you can also purchase a huge five-litre tin of the stuff, which actually works out cheaper at £13 per litre. So if you plan to get through quite a large volume of olive oil this year, I’d recommend investing in the tin.
Key features:
Type: Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
Country of origin: Greece
Buy now £65, Nourishedcommunities.com
Trulli Ulivi extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 5/5
Best: Italian olive oil
Why we love it
Notes of artichoke and grass
Very high polyphenol content
Take note
Might be too bitter for some
Trulli Ulivi’s beautiful bottle of EVOO is a joy in any kitchen and dining table as it’s both elegant to look at and filled with delicious contents. Trulli Ulivi was founded by Australian couple Tony and Maureen Papas, who also brought the iconic coffee brand Allpress Espresso to the UK. The couple relocated to Puglia, where they restored a 17th century farmhouse called Masseria Borzone and began cultivating olive groves to produce artisanal olive oil.
This was the greenest of all the oils I tested (Kate Ng/The Independent)
The resulting EVOO is made from the ogliarola variety of olives, an ancient cultivar native to Puglia. The olives are pressed within 12 hours of harvesting and produce a vibrant green oil, the greenest of all the olive oils I tested. The olives are exposed to a lot of sun, giving them a slightly more bitter flavour compared to other oils. I tasted notes of artichoke and grass, as well as quite a lot of spice derived from the high polyphenol content. Trulli Ulivi has the highest polyphenol content of all the oils tested, with a whopping 721mg per kilogram.
I loved eating this EVOO with crusty bread and creamy cheeses such as burrata, as well as on fresh vegetables like tomato, fennel, romaine lettuce, and carrots. It also pairs beautifully with white meat and fish, as the bitter and spicy flavours add complexity and depth.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil
Buy now £22.5, Trulli-ulivi.com
Foli essentials set
Rating: 4/5
Best: olive oil for gifting
Why we love it
Light flavour doesn’t linger
Take note
Not the most complex flavour
This highly attractive Foli trio set makes mealtimes in the summer a real joy. The colourful bottles are cleverly designed to neatly “interlock” with one another and they look so beautiful in the middle of the dining table, you can’t help but reach for them.
I think they’d make the ideal gift for food-lovers or summer babies, who will love how effortlessly the design and contents fit into days when it’s too hot to think of eating anything other than a big, leafy salad, some crusty bread, cheeses and cured meats.
The interlocking bottles look beautiful (Kate Ng/The Independent)
When it came to taste, Foli’s EVOO was quite a delight. Made from golden picuda olives from Spain, I really enjoyed its fruity, ripe taste, as well as its light texture that doesn’t linger or coat the mouth.
It may not be very complex in flavour but it is certainly a crowd pleaser and brings out the best in room temperature cheeses, cold cuts, and bitter leaf salads. The bottles are completely opaque, protecting the EVOO against UV rays.
Key features:
Size: x3 bottles (250ml, 240ml, 230ml)
Type: Set of extra virgin olive oil, mature balsamic vinegar, and classic French dressing
Buy now £44, Notonthehighstreet.com
Duchy organic Italian extra virgin olive oil
Rating: 4/5
Best: olive oil for cooking and baking
Why we love it
Works well for cooking savoury dishes
Waitrose’s Duchy olive oil is made with organically grown Italian olives and has a rather fruity, almost zesty quality to its aroma and flavour profile. At £7.25 for a 500ml bottle, it isn’t significantly more expensive than the ASDA EVOO mentioned above, and as an organic product, it is great value for money.
I really enjoyed cooking with this olive oil, as it works really well with savoury dishes – even simple things like fried eggs tasted delicious when cooked with the EVOO, and roasted chicken and vegetables benefited from it too.
I picked up on a fruity, almost zesty quality (Kate Ng)
While some may balk at the idea of using an expensive EVOO to bake cakes with, I was especially pleased after baking an olive oil cake with it. The cake turned out moist with a delicious nutty flavour and mild notes of pepper, which worked well with the sweetness of the cake and can be mellowed with a dollop of cream.
Key features:
Type: Organic extra virgin olive oil
Buy now £5.8, Waitrose.com
Galantino extra virgin olive oil in green splatter ceramic bottle
Rating: 4/5
Best: olive oil in ceramic jug
Why we love it
Oil has a fruity and peppery flavour
There’s something quite romantic about a ceramic olive oil jug. It feels traditional and akin to slow living, a trend that reveals our yearning for simpler times. This ceramic olive oil jug might not be able to bring back those bygone eras, but it certainly looks beautiful enough that you can pretend for a moment that you live in a quiet Italian village, with no screens to stare at and KPIs to meet.
It’s housed in a hand-decorated bottle (Kate Ng/The Independent)
This splatter-decorated ceramic jug is decorated by hand, making each one uniquely rustic. It features a cork that can be easily removed and placed back in to protect its contents, and as it’s completely opaque, the olive oil remains safe from exposure to sunlight and oxidation.
Within the jug is a cold-pressed EVOO produced by the Galantino family in Puglia. They have been producing high-quality olive oil for almost 100 years and their oil is known for having a fruity and peppery flavour, matching well with crisp, fresh salads and creamy cheeses. It has Protected designation of origin (PDO) status, which guarantees that the product is entirely grown, processed, and packaged within a specific geographical region.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil
Buy now £35, Johnlewis.com
Glug the perfect pair
Rating: 4/5
Best: olive oil for everyday use
Why we love it
Squeezy bottles are easy to drizzle
Olive oil for drizzling is grassy and vibrant
Olive oil for cooking is versatile
EVOO in squeezy bottles are a major trend on social media right now, and everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon. It began with US-based company Graza, which launched olive oil packaged in plastic squeezy bottles in 2022. In the UK, there are now several brands that have done the same (including M&S), but the best of the bunch is Glug, which was founded in 2023 by husband-and-wife team Katia El-Fakhri and Thomas Cohnin.
Glug offers a raw olive oil and one for cooking with (Kate Ng/The Independent)
Glug stands out because it offers two different types of EVOO – one for cooking and one for to be consumed raw. Both are made from Picual olives grown in Jaén, Spain, but the key difference is when the olives are harvested. According to Glug, the EVOO for cooking is made from late harvests, when the olives are ripe, dark and yield more oil compared to an early harvest. Older olives are also less pronounced in flavour, making them more neutral and suitable for cooking.
I love that both oils are available as a pack of two. The bottles are easy to use and I found that they quickly became part of my daily cooking routine. The olive oil for drizzling is pleasantly grassy and vibrant, without much bitterness and a hint of pepperiness. I enjoyed using it over salads, soups, and pastas, and found it especially good when paired with white fish. I also used the cooking EVOO to sweat onions and garlic, fry eggs, sauté vegetables, and pan-fry fish and chicken.
Key features:
Type: Extra virgin olive oil in squeezy bottles
Buy now £27, Getglug.com
Your questions on olive oil answeredWhat is the best olive oil?
The flavour nuances within olive oils are so varied, depending on the type of olive, where it’s grown, how it’s processed and kept, and how fresh it is when it arrives on your table. Overall, for me, Waitrose’s valli trapanesi extra virgin olive oil takes the top spot as the best olive oil, thanks to its verdant flavour profile and mid-range price.
If you’re prepared to spend a little more, there are certainly some EVOOs out there that are worth the higher price tag, such as Oliiv, Bona, Citizens of Soil and Honest Toil, all of which offer a really superior product. In the middle ground sits brands like Odysea, Oli Oli, Brindisa and Trulli Ulivi, as well as crowd-pleasers such as Glug and Icono.
I was pleased to have found several high-quality EVOOs that are more budget-friendly as well, including those from Asda and Waitrose. Meanwhile, I love Galantino and Foli as foodie gifts.
How I tested olive oils
I tested a wide variety of olive oils and extra virgin olive oils from supermarket own-brand versions to premium oils harvested from independent growers, across a range of prices. During testing, I considered the following:
Taste: I smelled and tasted each one neat before dipping bread into them. I even tried some with a cube of dark chocolate to determine how the flavour profile changes.
Versatility: Each oil was drizzled over salads, used in dressings and sauces, and cooked and baked with in a variety of dishes, including olive oil cake, to determine just how versatile each bottle is.
Origins: I considered how and where each oil was produced, too.
Packaging: I examined the design of the bottles and tins, as good olive oils should be packaged to prevent sunlight from damaging it.
What is the difference between olive oil and extra virgin olive oil?
The biggest difference between olive oil and EVOO is when the olives are harvested and how they are processed. EVOO is often cold-pressed and unrefined, which helps it retain maximum flavour and nutrients. It is also lower in acidity as a result. The pressing process has been done without using excessive heat (no higher than 27C), usually within 24-72 hours of the olives being harvested, and ensures as much of the olive’s nutrients and flavours are retained.
Meanwhile, olive oil is usually blended with other oils and much more refined, plus the extraction process can use heat above 27C. This gives it a more neutral flavour and higher smoke point, so is often better for cooking with.
Should I avoid cooking with extra virgin olive oil?
No, you can absolutely cook with EVOO and many producers and brands are trying to change consumer perception around this. A lot of people avoid cooking with EVOO because it tends to be more expensive and there is concern around the oil losing its nutritional benefits when heated, as well as the fact that it has a lower smoke point (190-210C). However, EVOO’s smoke point is still relatively high, making it perfectly suitable for sautéing, frying and roasting. Even baking with EVOO is safe and stable, and results in deliciously moist cakes.
Heating EVOO to high temperatures does indeed reduce the total amounts of antioxidants and polyphenols within the oil, but it does not kill them all. Regular olive oil has a slightly higher smoke point of 200-240C, so, it can be used for frying, though always check the label first, for suggestions.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Kate Ng is a food writer who has previously tested kitchen accessories for IndyBest, including saucepans, Tom Kerridge’s cookware range and the best woks. She knows what to look for in a good kitchen essential, from value for money to how well it works with everyday dishes. IndyBest reviews are written based on real-world testing, and Kate has taste-tested every olive oil to bring you her honest verdict on each.
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