So I’ve been reading this incredible book called Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. You might have seen the Netflix version. I love how simply Samin explains cooking science and some of the information has just been mind-blowing!

One startling fact that she shares is that most of us are consuming RANCID olive oil! We are so used to the taste that we don’t even know it is bad. Have you ever tasted good, expensive olive oil? It tastes much different.

Olive oil fraud is rampant!

Not only is freshness an issue, in 2019, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency launched an investigation into fake olive oil. It found that 33 percent of samples analyzed was adulterated or mislabeled. Vegetable, canola, and sunflower oil were among the contaminants. Some of the adulterated brands exposed on the show included Caruso and Villa Toscanella.

How to shop for quality olive oil

• Buy “extra-virgin.” This means it is unrefined and not heat treated
• Dark, glass bottles are best. Light is olive oil’s enemy
• Look for a harvest or pressing date (this is not the expiration date). Good olive oil will brag about it! Olive oil is good for about 1 year after the olives have been pressed
• Buy smaller bottles that you can use more quickly or store it in the fridge
• Olives grown in Greece, Italy, and California are said to be the best. But those marketers will try
• to trick you by saying “produced in Italy” meaning the olives were just processed there.
• Look for a third-party certification such as the:
  • California Olive Oil Council Seal (COOC)
  • Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA)
  • UNAPROL
  • North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA)
• According to Samin Nosrat, the Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is apparently one of the best, low-cost olive oils out there

How to use olive oil

• It’s imperative to heat the pan before you add the oil (this goes for any oil)
• It’s said not to use olive oil to fry at high temperatures, but apparently there is little research to back that up
• Use your more expensive olive oil for dipping and dressing, and the less expensive stuff for cooking

Health benefits of olive oil

A staple of the Mediterranean diet, the health benefits of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) are well documented. Here are a few:

• EVOO contains 500% more antioxidants than other common oils such as avocado and coconut oil. Most other cooking oils, such as sunflower oil, are made from seeds. Seeds are difficult to extract oil from, so they need to be heated and the oil extracted with solvents. This means that most of the antioxidants in seeds are lost during production.
• Vegetables Cooked in EVOO retain more nutrients
• EVOO may protect against type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and even Alzheimer’s disease.

Now tell me in the comments below, have you ever had a bad olive oil experience? What did you do?

What about an experience finding an olive oil you love?