Which olive oil is the best in this shop? Its for a coworkers birthday gift
I have no idea about olive oil, as my diet consists mainly of east asian foods. Please help me pick the best one from an EATALY store near my home. I have no time to buy it online
by moomooe2
4 Comments
EmotionsInWine
My guess is the Tuscan organic at lower shelf, upper one is Eataly brand which should be ok but in big quantities therefore difficult that’s very good.
The other one too fancy, so only one option making sense from little info available is that one.
SteO153
If there is any with the DOP/PDO logo, go for it. It would be the only one made with only Italian olives. The one at the bottom right is IGP, ie oil made in Italy, but olives can be from other countries.
seppia99
3rd picture, top left. Best Olive Oil!
LiefLayer
I’ll be frank, oil is something that you have to taste before you can evaluate it and it also depends a bit on personal taste (there are those who like it really strong, there are those who like it delicate, even if the best quality extra virgin olive oil generally has a strong, almost spicy taste that should burn in the throat, but there are also excellent delicate extra virgin olive oils).
The amount of polyphenols determines its character and quality.
In Italy, apart from a few famous brands (which in any case make oil that is at most decent, not very good), all the very high quality oil is locally produced. Also remember that a good oil gives its best in the first year.
Eataly usually sell oil that is very expensive but it is of good quality.
My suggestions are therefore:
1. Get locally produced oil that indicates a specific region of production (so not generically Italy but for example Sicily).
2. Get the newest oil possible, the label usually says the month/year in which it was pressed. Young is better for oil.
3. Taste it, with a little plain bread (not the soft rich kind, it must be Italian or French style bread, bread made with just flour, water, yeast and salt) or without anything, if it almost suffocates you it is a good sign. It must be nice and strong. If it is delicate it could also be of good quality but it is more difficult to judge for those who do not know oil (for this reason I recommend you stick to the stronger oils from southern Italy). Consider that a good oil must be able to hold up a plain pasta dish (or even rice, since you cook a lot of asian food) on its own (with a little parmigiano at most) so it must have enough flavor to enrich the dish without any other addition. Also consider that a good extra virgin olive oil is not monothematic, behind the strong flavor it also has fruity notes of various types (and this is the reason why even delicate oil can be good) but for you who do not know oils these are notes that are more difficult to recognize.
Since you will pay a lot of money (for what I can see from the photo…. just for your info I can get really good quality olive oil here in italy for 15-20€/liter, you will pay double that amount) at least ask for a sample and informations too.
Eataly is not the most cheap place to shop but they usually still got good quality products and they usually are available to help you taste. If not maybe that’s a sign you should not shop there.
4 Comments
My guess is the Tuscan organic at lower shelf, upper one is Eataly brand which should be ok but in big quantities therefore difficult that’s very good.
The other one too fancy, so only one option making sense from little info available is that one.
If there is any with the DOP/PDO logo, go for it. It would be the only one made with only Italian olives. The one at the bottom right is IGP, ie oil made in Italy, but olives can be from other countries.
3rd picture, top left. Best Olive Oil!
I’ll be frank, oil is something that you have to taste before you can evaluate it and it also depends a bit on personal taste (there are those who like it really strong, there are those who like it delicate, even if the best quality extra virgin olive oil generally has a strong, almost spicy taste that should burn in the throat, but there are also excellent delicate extra virgin olive oils).
The amount of polyphenols determines its character and quality.
In Italy, apart from a few famous brands (which in any case make oil that is at most decent, not very good), all the very high quality oil is locally produced. Also remember that a good oil gives its best in the first year.
Eataly usually sell oil that is very expensive but it is of good quality.
My suggestions are therefore:
1. Get locally produced oil that indicates a specific region of production (so not generically Italy but for example Sicily).
2. Get the newest oil possible, the label usually says the month/year in which it was pressed. Young is better for oil.
3. Taste it, with a little plain bread (not the soft rich kind, it must be Italian or French style bread, bread made with just flour, water, yeast and salt) or without anything, if it almost suffocates you it is a good sign. It must be nice and strong. If it is delicate it could also be of good quality but it is more difficult to judge for those who do not know oil (for this reason I recommend you stick to the stronger oils from southern Italy). Consider that a good oil must be able to hold up a plain pasta dish (or even rice, since you cook a lot of asian food) on its own (with a little parmigiano at most) so it must have enough flavor to enrich the dish without any other addition. Also consider that a good extra virgin olive oil is not monothematic, behind the strong flavor it also has fruity notes of various types (and this is the reason why even delicate oil can be good) but for you who do not know oils these are notes that are more difficult to recognize.
Since you will pay a lot of money (for what I can see from the photo…. just for your info I can get really good quality olive oil here in italy for 15-20€/liter, you will pay double that amount) at least ask for a sample and informations too.
Eataly is not the most cheap place to shop but they usually still got good quality products and they usually are available to help you taste. If not maybe that’s a sign you should not shop there.