How to Choose the Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Good olive oil should make food better. A ripe tomato should taste better with it. So should roasted vegetables, grilled meat, fresh bread, pasta, eggs, fish and soup—almost anything that benefits from a little fat and a lot of flavor.

The problem is that two bottles can look nearly identical and be dramatically different once you know what you are looking at. The front may say extra virgin. It may say premium, imported, first cold pressed or Mediterranean.

Those words are not where we start.

At Olivino, we look at freshness, harvest date, origin, olive variety, chemistry, handling and—ultimately—how the oil tastes. That is also why the extra virgin olive oil we sell meets the Ultra Premium standard. We believe it represents the top end of the EVOO market, and we would rather sell exceptional oils we understand than fill a shelf with bottles we cannot tell you much about.

“Extra virgin” is the starting line

Extra virgin olive oil—EVOO—is the highest recognized grade of virgin olive oil. Under the standards used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the International Olive Council, it must be made from olives using mechanical or other physical processes, meet chemical limits and satisfy sensory requirements. Its free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, cannot exceed 0.8 grams per 100 grams.

That matters. But there is still a huge range of quality inside the words extra virgin.

Meeting the minimum requirements does not tell you everything you may want to know about freshness, fruit quality, oxidation, storage, chemistry or flavor. Think of extra virgin as admission to the category. We want to know what happened after the oil got through the door.

Can you trust every bottle that says extra virgin?

UC Davis researchers bought olive oils labeled extra virgin from California supermarkets and big-box stores and tested them. In the center’s 2010 report, 69% of the imported samples failed to meet internationally accepted extra virgin standards. A 2011 follow-up found that 73% of samples from five top-selling imported brands failed the IOC sensory standards when evaluated by two accredited sensory panels.

Why did samples fail? The researchers cited oxidation and rancidity, damaged or overripe fruit, processing and storage problems and possible adulteration with less expensive refined oil.

Now for the important qualification: those studies examined particular products purchased in California in 2010 and 2011. UC Davis explicitly says the old results should not be used to characterize every oil on shelves today.

We do not think the words “extra virgin” on the front of a bottle should be the end of the conversation.

The first thing we look for: harvest date

We tell people this all the time: we do not start by looking at the expiration date. We look for the harvest or crush date.

Why? Because we care less about how long someone says the oil can remain in the bottle than we do about how long it has been off the tree.

• Harvest date tells you when the olives were picked.
• Crush date tells you when those olives became oil.
• Best-by date tells you when the producer believes the product should still be acceptable.

A best-by date is useful, but it does not tell you how old the oil was when that countdown began. Olive oil is not wine. It does not improve while it sits around. Fresh aromas fade, phenolic compounds decline and oxidation eventually wins.

That is why Olivino follows fresh harvests around the world instead of planting a flag in one country. Great oil is made in both hemispheres at different times of the year. We are chasing great olive oil, not a passport.

What is Ultra Premium extra virgin olive oil?

Ultra Premium—or UP—is not another USDA or government grade. It is a private standard designed to identify oils at the upper end of the extra virgin category.

The basic extra virgin standard determines whether an oil qualifies as EVOO. The UP standard asks considerably more of it. The published program uses a broader chemistry panel and tighter limits for measurements associated with fruit quality, freshness, oxidation, heat exposure and handling.

For extra virgin olive oil, that is all we sell at Olivino.

Not because every oil outside the program is automatically bad. Because if we are putting our name behind a bottle, we like having more evidence than a marketing adjective.

How does the flavor get into flavored olive oil?

This may be the question we hear most often after someone tastes Blood Orange, Tuscan Herb or Garlic for the first time. The short answer is that there are two good methods—and they put the flavor into the oil at different moments.

Fused—or agrumato—olive oil: crushed together

With a true fused oil, fresh olives and a fresh second ingredient are crushed together at the mill. Whole citrus fruit, herbs or peppers go through mechanical extraction with the olives, so their aromatic oils become part of the finished oil during production. The traditional Italian word for this method is agrumato.

This is demanding work. The olives and the companion ingredient must be ripe and available at the same time, and the mill has to determine the right proportion before committing to a full production run. That makes genuine fused oil harvest-dependent and far less common than the word fused on a label might suggest.

Olivino’s whole-fruit Blood Orange is a good example: fresh blood oranges and olives are crushed together. The result tastes integrated because the orange did not arrive after the olive oil was made—it was there at the mill.

Infused olive oil: flavor added after milling

An infused oil begins with finished extra virgin olive oil. Flavor is then blended into that oil after the olives have been milled. This method makes it possible to create consistent, layered flavors such as Tuscan Herb, Garlic, Basil, Milanese Gremolata and Olive Wood Smoked without waiting for every ingredient to share the olive harvest calendar.

Infused does not mean inferior. It means the flavor entered later. A well-made infused oil can be cleaner and more precise; a well-made fused oil can feel especially seamless and fruit-driven. The useful question is not which word sounds fancier. It is how the oil was made, what quality of olive oil sits underneath the flavor and which one tastes right on your food.

	Fused / agrumato	Infused
When flavor enters	At the mill, while the olives are crushed	After the EVOO has been produced
What goes in	Fresh olives plus fresh fruit, herbs or peppers	Finished EVOO plus the selected flavor
Typical character	Deeply integrated and harvest-driven	Clear, consistent and capable of complex flavor combinations
Olivino examples	Blood Orange and other whole-fruit or fresh-produce fusions	Tuscan Herb, Garlic, Basil and Milanese Gremolata

The part that does not change at Olivino

We do not use a lesser oil simply because a bottle is flavored. Every fused and infused olive oil Olivino carries is built on the same commitment to fresh, Ultra Premium extra virgin olive oil. For an infused oil, UP EVOO is the finished base before flavor is added. For a fused oil, the olives and fresh produce are handled together through the same quality-focused production program.

So when we say extra virgin is the floor, we mean the whole olive-oil wall—not only the unflavored section.

Why the chemistry matters

You do not need a chemistry degree to buy olive oil. But chemistry is one reason we are comfortable bragging about ours. If a seller shows you the numbers, you are not being asked to trust words such as premium or exceptional. The oil gets to show its work.

Measurement	What it helps us understand
FFA—free fatty acids	The condition of the olives and how they were handled before milling. Lower is generally better.
Peroxide value	One measure of oxidation. Fresh oils should generally begin low.
DAGs	Fruit quality and a snapshot of freshness. Fresh, well-made oil tends to have a high proportion of favorable 1,2-diacylglycerols.
PPP	Degradation associated with age and heat. Fresh oil should begin very low.
Biophenols / polyphenols	Naturally occurring compounds that influence oxidative stability, bitterness and pungency.
Oleic acid	The principal monounsaturated fatty acid in olive oil and one contributor to oxidative stability.
Crush date	The easiest number here: when the olives became oil.

You do not have to memorize any of these. We just think it is nice when the person selling you olive oil knows what they are.

How to buy the best olive oil online

If you are shopping for the best olive oil online, ask the same questions you would ask us across the tasting counter.

1. When were the olives harvested?

Look for a harvest or crush date. If the only date you can find is “Best By,” you know less than you could.

2. Where was it actually grown?

“Bottled in Italy” and “Italian olive oil” are not necessarily the same statement. Look for the actual country or region of origin.

3. What olive variety is it?

Arbequina, Picual, Coratina, Cobrançosa and other cultivars can make very different oils. Knowing the cultivar gives you another clue about what you are buying.

4. Is there real quality information?

Does the seller provide chemistry, harvest information or sensory assessment? Or only adjectives?

5. Does anyone tell you what it tastes like?

Excellent chemistry matters, but you are still going to eat the stuff. Look for descriptions of intensity, fruitiness, bitterness and pungency so you can choose something suited to your food and palate.

6. Will somebody answer a question?

We think a good olive oil seller should be able to tell you why a particular bottle is on the shelf. If you are shopping Olivino online and cannot decide between two oils, call us at (636) 900-9333. We actually answer the phone.

Grocery-store olive oil versus specialty olive oil

There are good olive oils in grocery stores. There are also plenty of bottles that tell you almost nothing useful.

Walk down the aisle and look. You will see premium, imported, Mediterranean, first cold pressed and extra virgin. Now turn the bottle around and ask:

• When were the olives harvested?
• Where were they grown?
• What cultivar is it?
• What does the chemistry look like?
• What does it taste like?

Sometimes you will find the answers. Sometimes you will not. That is the difference we care about.

If we are going to talk up the oil, we should be able to tell you why.

What about “first cold pressed”?

The phrase sounds impressive because it comes from the era when olive oil was literally extracted with presses. Modern high-quality production commonly uses centrifugation. The International Olive Council specifically recognizes washing, decantation, centrifugation and filtration as permitted physical processes for virgin olive oil.

We do not put much weight on romantic words by themselves. We care far more about healthy fruit, rapid milling, controlled processing, chemistry and taste.

Mild, medium or robust: which olive oil is best?

There is no prize for buying the most aggressive oil in the room. Intensity is a style, and the right choice depends on your palate and what you are cooking.

If you want…	Start with…	Try it with…
Delicate, approachable flavor	Mild EVOO	Fish, eggs, baking and lighter greens
More olive character without dominating	Medium EVOO	Pasta, vinaigrettes, chicken and vegetables
Pronounced bitterness and peppery pungency	Robust EVOO	Steak, beans, hearty greens, grilled vegetables and bread

Taste them side by side and you will understand the distinction faster than we could explain it in three paragraphs.

Should good olive oil taste bitter or peppery?

It can. Fruitiness, bitterness and pungency are positive sensory attributes used when evaluating extra virgin olive oil. That peppery catch at the back of your throat is not automatically a flaw. Neither is bitterness.

Fresh EVOO can range from soft and delicate to intensely green, bitter and peppery depending on cultivar, harvest timing and phenolic composition. That does not mean the bitterest oil automatically wins. It means you should not assume the sensation proves something went wrong. Sometimes it is evidence that something went very right.

Is green olive oil better?

No. Color can be beautiful, but it is not a reliable quality score. Olive variety, maturity and pigments all affect appearance. Professional sensory evaluation is often performed in colored tasting glasses so appearance does not bias the taster.

Buy with your nose, palate and information—not because the bottle happens to glow emerald green.

What is high-polyphenol olive oil?

Polyphenols—often reported on our product pages as biophenols—are naturally occurring compounds in olives. They contribute to oxidative stability and influence bitterness and pungency.

If somebody sells you “high-polyphenol olive oil,” ask for the number. Do not settle for the adjective when testing is available. Also remember that polyphenol content is only one part of an oil’s story. Cultivar, fruit maturity, processing and test method can all affect the result.

Can you cook with extra virgin olive oil?

Absolutely. Use it for sautéing. Roast vegetables with it. Bake with it. Make sauces and marinades. Cook eggs in it. Use it in soup. Finish steak, pasta or vegetables when you want its aroma and flavor front and center.

The idea that excellent EVOO is too precious to cook with misses the point. We sell it because we want you to use it.

How to taste olive oil

You do not need a sommelier certification. Pour a small amount into a clean cup. Warm the cup gently in your hand. Smell it. Take a small sip and let the oil move around your mouth.

• Fruitiness refers to aromas and flavors that remind you of fresh olives, herbs, fruit or vegetation.
• Bitterness is usually noticed on the tongue.
• Pungency is the peppery sensation often felt toward the back of the throat.

Now taste a second oil. That is when olive oil gets interesting. You realize quickly that olive oil does not merely taste like olive oil.

How should you store extra virgin olive oil?

Three things work against it: light, heat and oxygen. Keep the container closed and away from the stove or a sunny window. Dark or opaque packaging helps reduce light exposure, but packaging cannot rescue an oil stored badly.

Do not buy a three-year supply because the giant jug looked economical. Buy an amount you will use. Then use it. Fresh olive oil belongs on food, not in a museum.

Is expensive olive oil always better?

No. Price is not chemistry, and beautiful packaging does not prove what is inside. But producing exceptional oil can be expensive. Healthy fruit, careful harvesting, lower yields, rapid milling, laboratory testing, proper storage and careful transport all cost money.

Instead of asking only, “Is this expensive?” ask, “What am I getting for the money?” Harvest transparency, excellent chemistry, great flavor and careful handling are meaningful. Packaging and adjectives by themselves are not.

The best advantage of buying olive oil near St. Louis: you can taste it

Shopping online is convenient, and we ship Olivino oils around the country. But if you are near St. Louis, you have another option: come taste them.

Olivino is located at 120 W. Main Street in downtown Washington, Missouri, about an hour west of St. Louis in Missouri wine country. Compare Ultra Premium EVOOs, infused and fused oils and balsamics before deciding what belongs in your kitchen.

Tell us what you cook. We will point you toward something that makes sense. Then, because this is Olivino, you can stay for a craft cocktail.

Frequently asked questions about extra virgin olive oil

What is the best extra virgin olive oil?

The best EVOO begins with healthy olives, careful harvesting and milling, strong chemistry, proper storage and sound sensory quality. Flavor preference still matters: a beautifully made mild oil and an intensely robust oil can both be exceptional.

What is the best olive oil to buy online?

Look for a recent harvest or crush date, clear origin, cultivar information, meaningful quality data and a seller who describes flavor rather than relying on generic words such as “premium.”

Why does olive oil burn my throat?

That peppery sensation is called pungency and can be a positive attribute of fresh EVOO. Phenolic compounds contribute to the sensation.

Does extra virgin olive oil expire?

Olive oil gradually oxidizes and loses quality. Rather than focusing only on an expiration date, look for the harvest or crush date and buy an amount you will use.

What is the difference between olive oil and extra virgin olive oil?

Extra virgin olive oil is virgin olive oil meeting the highest grade’s chemical and sensory requirements. A product labeled simply “olive oil” can be a blend of refined olive oil and virgin olive oil.

Where can I taste olive oil near St. Louis?

Olivino Tasting Bar is at 120 W. Main Street in Washington, Missouri, serving customers from throughout Missouri wine country and the greater St. Louis region.

Now taste the difference

You do not need to memorize DAGs, PPP, peroxide values or olive cultivars to enjoy great oil. That is our job.

Your job is easier: find something fresh, taste it and put it on good food.

At Olivino, we sell Ultra Premium extra virgin olive oils selected for freshness, chemistry and flavor—and we give you the information behind the bottle so you do not have to take the word premium on faith.