Best Olive Oils at Every Price Point (2024)

Best Olive Oils at Every Price Point (2024)

Best Olive Oils at Every Price Point (2024): Over the course of two weeks, we tested over 100 bottles in our ambitious search for the greatest olive oils. The favorable tidings? Every pricing range included a ton of olive oils that we really liked. The unfavorable report? We also discovered several bottles that we really, really didn’t like. What’s really distressing is that even the bottles we liked when we initially tried them had lost their vibrancy when we tasted them again a week later. We advise purchasing extra-virgin olive oil from the most recent harvest at a price that is reasonable (whatever that means to you), storing it carefully, and applying it liberally every morning, noon, and night. While it’s still fresh, finish it!

To be honest, a few of our Test Kitchen editors acknowledge that they only have one bottle of olive oil in their kitchens, which they use for cooking, baking, sprinkling on some more flavor to salads, and cooking. The olive oil that received the top rating in our comparison, Monini GranFruttato Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, will be ideal for you if you happen to be that kind of cook. But, like I said, we picked a few other top contenders. For our methodology and the full list of oils we tasted, scroll to the bottom. But first: our picks for the best olive oils of 2021.

Best olive oil overall: Monini GranFrutatto

A persistent peppery bite balances this high-scoring Italian blend. Maggie Hoffman, senior editor, said it had notes of sage and was grassy. Additionally, it tastes undeniably of olives—something that, oddly enough, isn’t true of all brands. A possible explanation for the bottle’s ability to hold onto its freshness and vibrancy is the “pop-up pourer” that the manufacturer included beneath the cap, which restricts the quantity of oxygen that may enter. (Remember: Heat, light, and oxygen can all ruin good oil.) Use this bottle for any applications involving olive oil.

Best budget-friendly olive oil: Colavita Italian Blend

This Italian olive oil has a pleasant scent, a hint of pepper flavor, and a floral bouquet. This bottle falls into a pleasant medium ground between being mildly flavorful and being overly powerful, unlike some of the other bottles in this category that were insubstantial or watery. Citrus, green pepper, marjoram, and bitter almond flavors were also detected by tasters. Merula Extra-Virgin Olive Oil was also a favorite. Choose this Spanish mix ($20) for a tastier option. Editor of Commerce Emily Johnson discovered that it tasted lightly like herbs, like oregano or sage. The subtle flavor would work nicely in baked goods that are both sweet and savory, or in the preparation of dishes like scrambled eggs, where a touch of olive oil is nice but too much could be overwhelming.

Among the group, California Olive Ranch Everyday was particularly notable. We found that we liked this Test Kitchen standby even though California Olive Ranch has faced some backlash since switching from using only olive oil grown in California to its Destinations Series, which sources from various olive oil ports to deal with variations in the harvest due to climate change. Rich, nutty, and mild. We would still use this oil for cooking every day even if it weren’t the most colorful and fascinating option available.

Best midrange olive oil: Monini D.O.P. Umbria

This oil pairs well with sweet foods because of its unusual savory flavor, which is almost like rosemary. Emily noticed a subtle “creaminess” that made her want to serve it with a salad that was heavy on oranges. Naturally, we would also be delighted to bake it into a simple and delectable apple cake, drizzle it over a platter of meat and cheese, or garnish a bowl of winter squash soup.

Best high-end olive oil (bold and fruity): Calivirgin Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

This is the bottle for you if you’re searching for a fruity-flavored, robust and bracing fresh olive oil. Sadly titled Calivirgin, it had a strong, piquant finish with notes of sweet fruitiness and bright, almondy, grassy tastes.

Olive Oil Jones: Siena Tuscany was also a hit with us. Invest in a bottle of Olive Oil Jones’s Tuscan mix for a softer, buttery choice. It has a hint of herbaceous flavor up front, yet it still has a peppery aftertaste of rich almonds and apricots.

Best olive oil splurge (grassy and tannic): Brightland Alive

This Instagram star has the essence of wet leaves and grass clippings instead of spring grass. It has a tannic and unabashedly bitter taste, with warmth and spice. It tastes stemmy and woody. Some of our tasters loved this oil, but it’s not for everyone.

What we were looking for in the olive oils

Our goal was to identify the top-quality extra-virgin olives available in a wide range of US grocery shops, along with a select handful that could be conveniently bought online.
Since olive oil is best utilized right away, most of our editors—including me—usually only have one bottle on hand. Therefore, rather than concentrating on whether two bottles are the “best for cooking” or the “best for finishing,” we looked for the bottles that would appeal to the largest number of people across a range of budgets. Since you will be using it once you get home, we can advise you on what we believe to be best, but in all honesty, you will do as you choose.

Determining which bottle is “the best” is likewise a difficult task. The flavor of olive oil varies from year to year, much like any crop that has annual fluctuations. Additionally, everyone has different tastes, and just as different grape varietals generate varied-flavored wines, so do different olive kinds provide diverse-flavored oils. We collected blends and single-varietal oils from all around the world after searching through online best-of lists and browsing the top-rated oils on well-known purchasing sites.

You’ll see that, as opposed to regular or light olive oil, we exclusively choose extra-virgin olive oils. This is for an easy reason: The purest type of olive oil is found in bottles marked extra-virgin (EVOO). All of the ingredients are organic, cold-pressed olives. Conversely, processed oils are also included in light or standard olive oils. The extra processed oils produce an olive oil that doesn’t have the distinctive flavor and aroma of extra virgin olive oil.

How to store olive oil

Now that you have a firm understanding of the top olive oils available, it is crucial to store them correctly to prevent rancidity. Essentially, storing olive oil means keeping it cool and dark. It swiftly deteriorates when exposed to heat, air, and light.
To avoid letting in light, choose a solid olive oil dispenser over a glass one if you plan to move the liquid to it. Although glass bottles can be quite attractive, the fragile liquid within suffers greatly from them. Fortunately, there are lots of equally stunning metal and ceramic choices available.

It’s important to emphasize again: A quality olive oil shouldn’t last more than a few months, so use it sparingly. Therefore, use it as a cooking oil whenever possible, drizzle it over your vegetables, create delectable marinades with it, and combine it with fresh lemon or a flavorful vinegar for your salad dressing. Hopefully, you’ll get through it before the quality of the olive oil starts to deteriorate.