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RECOMMENDED BY EXPERTS UPDATED APR. 10, 2020

The Best Olive Oils, According to People Who

Consume a Lot of It
By Nikhita Venugopal and Liza Corsillo
Photo: courtesy of Cobram Estate
Stand in front of the olive-oil section at any grocery store and you’ll start asking questions. Is
this one better for cooking or nishing? Should I stick to Italian oils, or try Californian, Greek,
or Spanish? Is there such a thing as a good and cheap olive oil?

Experts will tell you that buying olive oil (that is, extra-virgin olive oil) really comes down to
personal preference, and nding your favorite is all about experimenting. Try enough oils and
you’ll start to notice di erent avor pro les — like piquant, peppery, mild, grassy, ery — and
which one you like best. But there are still a few easy ground rules to follow: Look for dark or
opaque bottles, because olive oil doesn’t like light. (If you do nd one that you like in a clear
bottle, just be sure to store it in the cupboard instead of on the countertop.) Read the label to
learn the country — or countries — of origin, and the harvest date. Richard Rea, the executive
chef at the Butcher’s Daughter, also suggests looking for the certi cations from either the
NAOOA (North American Olive Oil Association) or its European counterpart, IOC
(International Olive Council.)

People like to compare olive oil to wine, but there’s one massive di erence: “Olive oil does not
bene t from age at all,” says Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of Virgin Territory: Exploring the
World of Olive Oil. Olive oil only lasts for about 18 months. If you’re worried that your oil has
gone bad, food writer Kimberly Stewart has an easy test: “Rancid oil smells like children’s
Play-Doh,” she says, “or mouse urine.” And on that note, we spoke to Jenkins, Stewart, and
eleven other chefs, importers, and food writers about the best extra-virgin olive oils to use for
any occasion.

Best overall olive oil

California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil $13

Five of our EVOO experts mentioned this California Ranch olive oil as a pantry go-to. Jenkins calls it a good beginner olive
oil that’s a ordable, versatile, and available in three di erent avors for everyday use. Stewart, the author of Eating Between
the Lines, also uses California Olive Ranch often and noted that the producers manage to maintain the quality of the oil
while keeping the price fairly low. Anna Hezel, senior editor at Taste and the author of Lasagna: A Baked Pasta Cookbook,
calls it a “dependable, mild olive oil to add richness to a tomato sauce or to fry some eggs in.” Danielle Oron, author of Food
You Love But Di erent, likes California Olive Ranch EVOO for roasting or grilling vegetables, broiling salmon, and making
a quick vinaigrette. Oron says it’s a great option when she doesn’t “want the oil to overpower the avor of the dressing.” And
Mailea Weger, the chef and owner of café and natural wine bar Lou in Nashville, who told us she grew up in California and
started her career in the state, is also a fan.
Best olive oil for finishing

Tenuta Di Capezzana Extra Virgin Olive Oil (2 Bottles) $40

If you’re looking for an oil to drizzle over your food for added avor, this one from Tuscany is your best bet. It came
recommended by two of the experts we consulted — Jenkins and Erin Shambura, the owner and chef at Fausto in Brooklyn.
Jenkins told us that Tuscan EVOO “is the best oil in the world,” and that Tenuta di Capezzana, which is produced outside
Florence, is her go-to. Shambura describes it as having “a buttery, mild avor and a peppery nish. It has a nice balance of
fruit and bitter with an earthy aroma,” she says. Shambura recommends using this oil for roasted or grilled meat, and on
hearty vegetables and mushroom dishes. Food artist Laila Gohar is another loyal fan of Tenuta Di Capezzana olive oil.
Gohar tells us she is trying to support local shops as much as she can right now since many of them are struggling to survive
closures due to the coronavirus, and luckily her favorite local shop is also online. “Formaggio Kitchen in Essex Market is
maybe my favorite shop for pantry items anywhere,” Gohar says.

Best (less expensive) olive oil for finishing

Olio Verde Oil Olive Extra Virgin $24

For an a ordable oil for an easy drizzle, Shambura says Olio Verde is a great choice with a mild avor and less bitter notes.
It’s a single-origin Sicilian oil made with Nocellara del Belice olives. (“Noce” in Italian means walnut, so look out for a nutty
avor.)

Best non-California USA-made olive oil

Georgia Olive Farms, Extra Virgin Olive Oil $45

After California, Georgia is one of the largest U.S. producers of olive oil. This EVOO from the Southern state comes
recommended by both Joey Ward, the executive chef and owner of Atlanta’s Southern Belle and Georgia Boy restaurants,
and David Bancroft, the executive chef and partner of Acre restaurant in Auburn, Alabama. Ward recently visited the
family-run farm where it’s made and pressed some himself. He says it has a “very bright and peppery, robust avor,” and
claims that “it goes toe to toe with the Italian, Greek, and California oil producers.” Bancroft, the 2017 winner of Food
Network’s Iron Chef Showdown, told us it’s his go-to at home and at work, saying he loves “the bright aromatics from
Georgia-grown arbequina olives. The avor has a subtle hint of green banana.”

Best multi-use olive oil

Monini Extra Virgin Olive Oil $20

For daily use, Shambura recommends the medium-bodied Italian Monini Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It has a fruity, grassy
avor, and can be used for both drizzling and for cooking meats, vegetables, and sauces, making it super versatile.

Best California olive oil for dipping

COBRAM ESTATE Extra Virgin Olive Oil $17

To re-create the feeling of going out to eat at home Jessica Randhawa, chef and blogger at The Forked Spoon suggests
picking up a bottle of this award-winning California olive oil that’s local to her neck of the woods. Randhawa says their
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California Extra Virgin Olive Oil is amazing oil for both dipping and cooking. If you can get your hands on it, she also
recommends “their limited-edition California First Harvest,” calling it “out of this world tasty, but also quite expensive at
about $50.” Plus, she warns, “it sells out fast.”

Best olive oil for snacking

Zoe Extra Virgin Olive Oil $25 for 2

Oron loves this EVOO, which is cold pressed from Spanish Cornicabra olives, giving it what she calls its “rich and fruity
avor and the most beautiful color.” Oron likes it so much she mostly uses it as a condiment for various snacks. She drizzles
it on crudités, bowls of homemade hummus, and for dipping torn pieces of baguette to enjoy while she cooks. Oron also
told us she uses Partanna EVOO for the same purpose when she can nd it.

Best flavored olive oil

Agrumato Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (200 ml) $31

Produced in the Abruzzo region in southern Italy, the Agrumato Lemon Olive Oil is another favorite of Shambura’s. As the
name suggests, the oil has a lemony aroma. “It’s a unique product because the olives and lemons are crushed
simultaneously,” she says. Drizzle this oil on cooked sh, white meat, crudos, and vegetables.

Best olive oil for salads

Marchesi de Frescobaldi Laudemio Extra Virgin Olive Oil $38

Underscoring what our experts already said about how the quality of Tuscan olive oils is hard to beat, James Beard Award–
winning chef Jonathan Waxman recommends this oil from the region’s famous Frescobaldi estate. He says it’s great for
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salads with seafood and vegetables. Though the color of the olive oil is not an indication of taste or quality, the bright-green
liquid of Frescobaldi Laudemio is de nitely eye-catching.

Best status-y olive oil

Brightland 100% Extra Virgin Heirloom Olive Oil $37

According to Hezel, “everyone in food media seems to be totally nuts for Brightland olive oil.” The California company was
started by Aishwarya Iyer, who left her venture capital job to create better olive oil made in small batches sustainably using
nothing but olives — cold-pressed single origin heirloom olives. Each glass bottle (the design of which was inspired by
Matisse cutouts) is UV-powder coated to protect the precious contents and marked with a harvest date so you know it’s
fresh (not all brands do that). Plus it’s sold at a handful of status-y retailers including Food52, Nordstrom, Goop, and
Terrain. Choose from one of two avors: Awake which is grassier and best used in soups, pastas, or roasted veggies; or Alive
which is nutty avored and great for salads, marinades, and baking.

Best olive oil to buy in bulk

Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil $16

“Don’t laugh,” Oron told us when she mentioned Kirkland Signature Organic EVOO as one of her favorites. “I go through a
lot of EVOO.” The company we like for its great basic white T-shirts is also a surprisingly solid purveyor of USDA organic
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olive oil, which is bottled in Italy with olives from Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

Best olive oil for frying

Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil $15

Sometimes you want an olive oil with strong avors and a lot of personality. But other times when cooking something with
its own unique aromas, you want one that won’t overpower the food. Jess Calvo of Thai Farm Kitchen in the Kensington
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neighborhood of Brooklyn says he uses Bertolli Extra Light for dishes such as Phad Thai, Phad See Ew, or Drunken noodle
because, though it’s the only one on this list that doesn’t qualify as extra virgin olive oil, according to him it’s “healthy, very
good for frying, and won’t compromise the aromas of Thai food,” says Calvo.

Best Italian olive oil (that isn’t from Tuscany)

Pianogrillo Extra Virgin Olive Oil $38

Italian olive oils are widely used around the world, and there are a lot of them, so we asked Beatrice Ughi, founder and
president of high-quality Italian food importer Gustiamo, for her recommendations. She picked Pianogrillo, which comes
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from the Ragusa province in Sicily, known for its excellent quality of oils. Compared to Tuscan olive oil, Sicilian EVOO
tends to deliver a more forward avor with bite, and less of the grassy voluptuousness notes found in the former. Nick and
Sarah Suarez, owners of Gaskins a restaurant in Germantown, NY that recently had to close temporarily due to
coronavirus, are also partial to Pianogrillo and Gustiamo, the importer who delivers it. Nick says “It’s a workhorse that can
be used for cooking, vinaigrettes or as a nishing for salads or roasted vegetables. We used it for everything at Gaskins.”

Best Spanish olive oil

O-Med Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil $29

Alex Raij, the chef and owner of New York City Spanish restaurants El Quinto Pino, Txikito, and La Vara, specializes in
cuisine from the Basque region of Spain. She prefers olive oils that are “grassy and neutral, but not usually spicy,” and
recommends O-Med’s 100 percent Arbequina olive oil with a low acidity. When trying out di erent olive oils, many experts
suggest tasting the raw oil, but Raij has a di erent approach. “The true test of olive oil is on food. Floating in a soup or on
bread, with a little bit of sea salt,” she says.

Best Spanish olive oil for roasting meat

Nuñez De Prado Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tin $30

Nuñez de Prado, which comes from the Andalusia region, is Waxman’s recommendation for a Spanish oil. He uses this oil
for roasting meat as well as for marinades. Zabar’s, which sells the olive oil in New York, describes it as “bright and fruity
with just a hint of pepper and a smooth, sweet nish.”

Best Greek olive oil

Gaea Fresh Olive Oil, Extra Virgin $26

Greek oils don’t get as much attention as Italian or Spanish ones, but Howard says this is one of her favorite oils to use
while cooking. At $23, it’s cheap enough to cook with, but also good enough to drizzle on as a nishing oil, she says. It’s
pressed within three hours of harvest, and importantly, features the harvest date on the label.
Best Greek olive oil to buy in bulk

Theros Extra Virgin Olive Oil $99 for 6

Jacob Sessoms, the executive chef at Cultura in Asheville, North Carolina, prepurchases 50 gallons of this olive oil for his
restaurant. He likes that the oil is a family a air: It’s produced by Spiro Theros, a friend of his, and Spiro’s son, Nikos. The
father-son duo live in Asheville but make regular trips to Greece to press, package, and ship the oil from their family’s plot.

Best olive oil for gifting

Miraval Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil $60

It’s not uncommon for wineries to get into the olive-oil business, and Miraval in Provence (which you might know as the
winery bought by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who still own it, even after their separation) makes a beautiful bottle.
Howard, who recently gifted a bottle to friends, says it’s delicious enough that you can make a whole meal with just a bowl
of this oil and some good bread.

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