Olive oil – price doesn’t always guarantee quality

I’m puzzled as to why you’ve restricted your sources of oil to high street multiples.

Even if you don’t have a neighbour with useful connections (like Benetta Adamson), it doesn’t take a huge amount of sophistication to look for specialists or online retailers. I would assume that people who enjoy olive oil and similar products are likely to be willing to look a little further than an edge-of-town supermarket.

How does the oil sold by Carluccio restaurant/delicatessen chain compare with the high street brands, for example? I’ve regularly bought 5 litre cans from Olives et Al (I quite like their Psaltiras @ £45 per 5 litres). Could I do better? I’d love to know, please, Which?!

Much nonsense is spoken about olive oil, the basic problem being ignorance. A longstanding knowledge of the Mediterranean together with an deep empathy with those folk who are lucky enough to inhabit her shores is a rare asset. However let us not despair, nor let us empty our wallets on the mistaken assumption that great oil demands great expense. I totally agree with Benetta that extra virgin olive oil from either the Greek Peleponnese (e.g. PDO Kalamata) or from Crete, is of consistent quality, has superb depth of flavour and good shelf life. This is mostly due to the olive variety common to these areas: ‘Koroneiki’. Nonetheless Benetta, you really must not pay this kind of money! The ‘tourist’ price in Greece for fine locally pressed oil is no more than 5 or 6 Euros per litre! Let’s now talk about UK availability. My local Macro sells ‘ILIADA’ extra virgin oil (PDO Kalamata) for £22-£23 for a FIVE litre can! My local Aldi sells ‘MINOS’ single estate extra virgin oil (PDO Sitia, eastern Crete) for £3.49 for a 750ml bottle! These are the oils I use for ‘very best’ — dipping bread, on salads, etc. For cooking, look no further than ‘EVOO’ blended ec extra virgin oil from (again) Aldi. For ‘beginners’ to the art, NEVER buy: ‘pomace oil’, ‘refined’ oil, or plain ‘olive oil’. These are inferior products extracted chemically from the ‘mush’ left over from pressing the olives to produce extra virgin oil. They are often no cheaper than extra virgin oil either.
For those who are inspired to learn more, try Amazon for this (? out-of-print) book: ‘Olive Oil’ by Charles Quest-Ritson. Also visit Crete in November to see the start of the olive harvest, and sample the green oil direct from the press. I hope this has been of some interest.

There is a brand of Olive Oil by the name of James Plagniol. It is French with a very distinctive taste. So far I have been unable to locate it anywhere in the Country. My last purchase was in Trinidad a few months ago. Would like to know if anyone has come across this brand and where I can get it. In the mean time I usually purchase my olive oil from either Lidl or the Aldi, about 2 bottles a month. I use it both for cooking and in salads. I have checked some sites and have found that there is quite a lot of interest in locating this brand.