Wrong! After a little research, I learned that olive oil imported from Europe is often adulterated with other oils and even if it says it is from Italy or Greece, Italy or Greece may have just been a stop on the way to the United States. It is expensive to make Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the European producers cannot keep up with the demand in the United States at a price-point that people will pay. The U.S. government does not think olive oil fraud is serious enough to crack down on, so therefore a lot of olive oil gets into the United States that is definitely not extra virgin olive oil, and possibly not even olive oil at all. You can read a short article about the problem here and a longer one here. Sadly, there are a lot of small producer's make really great olive oil in Greece and Italy, but when you are just buying a bottle off the grocery store shelf, it is really hard to tell if it is the good stuff or not. In my research I found that Colavita is a very reputable brand. I have also heard that a lot of cooks love the Kirkland (Costco) brand olive oil and I do not doubt that it is good, as the Kirkland brand is usually high quality.
The stuff I bought--definitely not the good stuff. It could have been a problem in the way that it was stored or the producers just might have gotten a bad batch, but knowing about this problem makes me really nervous to go buy 3 liters of olive oil that is imported from Europe.
So what is a cook to do? The good news is that California is producing some really great olive oils and they have a council that certifies certain brands as meeting its standards. I went to a local cooking store and tried several California olive oils and chose one specifically for dressings, marinades and dipping where a good flavor is important. I went with Lucero Mission extra virgin olive oil. Then I went to Trader Joe's and got a bottle of their less expensive California olive oil for those times where you need a lot of it or I am just using it to saute something. The funny thing is the bottles are incredibly similar and I wonder if Lucero is Trader Joe's supplier? You never know, but I do know that I feel good about purchasing California olive oils. Not only am I supporting businesses in the United States, but I am guessing I am supporting some pretty small farms too. Win-win!
have you thought about writing to the makers of the rancid olive oil and seeing if they'll try to make it right by either replacing the olive oil, or refunding your money?
ReplyDeletenever hurts to ask.
The place I got is a little Greek import store. The owners are so nice and I know they struggle considering where the property is and the fact there is no parking around there. I will probably not ask for money back, but I will mention it next time I go there. It is not their fault it was bad. The company is Greek, so yeah--I don't think I would get anywhere with them!
ReplyDeleteI buy the Costco organic EVOO. It's good. A small amount always seems to go rancid because I can't use it quick enough... I always do a smell test when I think it's on the verge. We buy dipping/novelty olive oil from the Oilerie. If you bring in your used container you get a discount on your next bottle of olive oil! I think they're newer so I don't know many locations but it's fun (maybe 30 varieties).
ReplyDeleteI've never had an issue with rancid olive oil up until this point. I cannot even believe how terrible that marinade tasted because of it. One thing I love about the Trader Joe's stuff is that it comes in a dark green bottle, which protects it from light. I also keep it in a cupboard to avoid light as well. I might try a big think of the Kirkland stuff from Costco just because I go through obscene amounts of it.
ReplyDelete