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Olive oil is used by most households every day of the week (Image: Getty)
Olive oil is used by most households every day of the week for cooking, dressings, dips, sauces, and marinades. It’s a versatile ingredient that adds moisture, flavour, and texture to a plethora of dishes. One of my favourite ways to eat olive oil is slathered on a slice of good-quality bread with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. In recent years, I’ve learnt that not all olive oil is made equal.
Extra virgin olive oil, also known as EVOO, tends to be higher quality than regular olive oil, is unrefined, cold-pressed and is not exposed to chemical or heat treatment. Regular olive oil tends to be a blend of cold-pressed and refined oils, has a milder flavour, a higher smoke point and is usually a lot cheaper. When it comes to buying olive oil and EVOO, I’m nearly always swayed by the price, but Mazen Assaf, an olive oil sommelier and founder of The Olive Oil Guy, explained that there’s more to choosing olive oil than just the price.
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When choosing olive oil, it’s best to go for one in a dark green bottle or a tin (Image: Getty)
He told Express.co.uk: “When picking olive oil, go for bottles in tin or dark glass—heat, oxygen, and light destroy flavour and health benefits.
“Choose single-origin, ideally from a specific region like Sparta, Greece, and avoid vague ‘EU and Non-EU blends.’ Look for the olive variety on the label—there are 1,600 worldwide, each with a unique flavour. For example, think about all the table olives you eat: each variety tastes different. If the olive variety is stated on the bottle, it’s a step further to recognising its authenticity.”
With this in mind, I decided to ask chefs, food experts, and olive oil connoisseurs what the best olive oil to buy is.
While many of the brands they recommended were different, one characteristic of the olive oil they recommended was the same: where it was from.
I expected most of the olive oils on the list to be from Greece, but the majority of the chefs and experts recommended olive oil from Italy.
This is one of my favourite ways to enjoy good quality olive oil (Image: Getty)Italian olive oils
Connor Robson, head chef at modern Italian restaurant Bar Gigi, suggested Frantoio Muraglia, an olive oil made from cold-pressed Coratina olives, which are native to the Apulia region of Italy.
Retailing for £41 at John Lewis, it’s not cheap, but it comes in a beautiful terracotta bottle with hand-painted designs, making it the perfect gift for a foodie.
Mr Robson added: “It is a splurge, but every drop is worth it. Home cooks can easily elevate their food by choosing good quality, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. If the bottle just says ‘olive oil’ on the label, chances are it’s been blended with cheaper seed oils, which you want to avoid.”
Even if you don’t want to spend that much on olive oil, you can easily find a good-quality, affordable EVOO by checking the label. Good-quality EVOOs should have a protected designation of origin (PDO), which is a certification that states the oil has been produced within a specific region and has been pressed using traditional methods.
The chef said: “This guarantees that the quality is there and that the oil has not been treated in any way.”
Jonathan Kleeman, a UK-based Group Beverage Manager, wine buyer, and hospitality consultant, also suggested an Italian olive oil: Manni olive oil which is from Tuscany.
Mr Kleeman said he first encountered this olive oil when he worked at a two-Michelin-star kitchen, where it was used in several dishes.
The olive oil is the brainchild of Armando Manni, a passionate gourmet and wine collector, who worked with the University of Florence and the National Research Council of Italy to develop a completely new process called “live oil”.
The expert explained: “What that means in practice is that the extra virgin quality, the elements that earn it that title, lasts for up to two years. In most commercial extra virgin olive oils, you’re lucky if that quality lasts three months.”
Another expert who championed a Tuscan olive oil is Giulia Crouch, food writer and author of The Happiest Diet in the World. She said her favourite olive oil is from a small, organic, family-run farm in the region called Fattoria La Vialla.
This olive oil is ordered directly from the seller, and the harvest year and date it was bottled are clearly displayed on the label, so you know what you’re getting.
Priced at £35.10 for two 750ml bottles or £15.15 for one 500ml bottle, it’s reasonable and has a “clean, buttery and bitter” flavour. Ms Crouch recommends this olive oil to everyone and uses it for all of her cooking, including “salads, drizzled on bread with a sprinkling of crunchy sea salt and even on vanilla or chocolate ice cream for a surprisingly amazing dessert”.
She added: “Because it’s so fresh, it also retains a lot of beneficial compounds–known as polyphenols–which have been shown to feed the good bacteria in our gut microbiome, so it does you good as well as tasting delicious.”
If you’re looking for something more affordable and recognisable, Which? magazine voted Filippo Berio a “Best Buy” after conducting a blind taste test that compared three extra virgin olive oil blends from Filippo Berio, Napolina, and Tesco.
Priced at just £7.50 for 500ml from Tesco and Ocado and £8 from Sainsbury’s, it’s a more affordable option for those looking to pick up a bottle from their local supermarket.
The panel of olive oil experts were impressed with Filippo Berio’s dark glass bottle, which blocks UV rays, which can impact the quality and flavour of the oil.
Good-quality EVOOs should have a protected designation of origin (PDO) (Image: Getty)Other olive oils
Some non-Italian olive oils made the list, including Belazu, which can be found in Waitrose and on Ocado.
Mr Assaf, who sells his own olive oil brand in Harrods and Selfridges, said they offer an impressive selection of olive oils at all price points. Ocado is currently selling 500ml of Belazu’s Single Origin Extra Virgin Olive Oil for just £7.
The olive oil expert added: “Their oils are single-origin, packed in tins, and monovarietal. Their range of infused olive oils is also impressive.”
Head chef Benjamin Ferra Y Castell at one Michelin-star restaurant, Pavyllon London, recommended two olive oils: Kalios olive oil from Greece and Château d’Estoublon olive oil from France.
Kalios olive oil has a fruity flavour and is made from hand-harvested Koroneiki olives and cold-pressed.
Château d’Estoublon olive oil is produced organically using a rapid cold-pressing technique that preserves its freshness. At £49.99 from Selfridges, it’s certainly a splurge but would make a lovely gift for any self-professed foodie.
You can use extra virgin olive oil for cooking (Image: Getty)Full list of expert-recommended olive oils:Muraglia Rainbow Bottle Olive Oil, 500ml, £41 from John Lewis2024 Grand Cru: Per Me & Per Mio Figlio Organic Olive Oil Box Set – two 100ml bottles, £60 from ManniExtra Virgin Olive Oil 2024 ‘La Vialla’, 500ml £15.15 from Fattoria La ViallaFilippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 500ml, £8 from Sainsbury’sBelazu Single Origin Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 500ml, £7 from OcadoKalios 01 Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 500ml, £20.99 from Sous ChefChâteau d’Estoublon olive oil, 500ml, £49.99 from Selfridges
Prices are correct at the time of writing.
Dining and Cooking