I usually buy what's cheapest and on special. I made a simple snack today - sliced tomato on unbuttered wholegrain toast - seasoned and a drizzle of olive oil. Have had a few more snacks during the day - probably more than I should have. MacKenzie Station Seed & Grain bread is the BEST! Anyway, I have looked at premium Olive Oil with it's premium price and wondered if I was missing much.
carlosjackal,
Feb 24, 4:03am
I use Village Press Olive Oil and have Lupi Extra light Olive Oil on hand for when I make crepes for example and when I don't want a strong flavour.
davidt4,
Feb 24, 4:23am
Village Press is our staple olive oil, with Pam's extra virgin for frying and for storing homemade feta.
We have recently been given a tin of top quality Spanish cold pressed organic extra virgin olive oil and it is superb, peppery and grassy, and I am using it as a condiment with salads and vegetables.
Freshness is very important, so if you buy an expensive oil make sure it is fresh, and don't let it sit in the pantry growing stale.
bedazzledjewels,
Feb 24, 4:45am
Village Press here too. Buy it on special.
lythande1,
Feb 24, 5:45am
Yes. Can't stand the stuff.
toffeey,
Feb 24, 9:15am
You can buy a lot of really superb local olive oils in Nelson. I'm sure this must be the same in Auckland. You take your own bottle along to the local market and growers will fill it there with lovely fresh oil and it costs only about the same as the mass produced stuff you get at the supermarket. I wouldn't cook in it as the flavour is too intense but it is superb for dipping, drizzling and dressing. Apparently a lot of the oil we are sold in supermarkets is rancid.
aktow,
Feb 24, 1:21pm
when i was cooking in the 80's- mid 90's we didn't use olive oil. even when i worked in some top restaurants i cannot remember ever using it,, about 6 years ago we went to a Italian restaurant and they served olive oil with there bread, i cannot recall how it tasted but if it was no good i would of remembered, last year i saw some extra virgin olive oil on special , $15 a small bottle so i bought a bottle, i was told it's one of the best extra virgin olive oils on the market, it tasted bitter and horrible. , i have looked in a few shops to see if they have olive oils to try but i have not found any shops that do that yet.
drommy,
Feb 24, 6:27pm
I'm not tremendously fussy. We use Lupi generally, except for when we're given fancy ones as gifts - then we thoroughly enjoy those until they're gone.
I can absolutely tell the difference between the price ranges, but still buy the more affordable one.
martine5,
Feb 25, 6:23am
I use Lupi organic, ruth pretty recommended it, that's good enough for me
village.green,
Feb 25, 8:52am
I like Village Press Barnea variety - I don't really like the peppery grassy flavours of NZ oil though as I grew up on Cretan oil which is quite different. Mum used to bring back gallons of it when visiting our rellies each summer as it was much cheaper than what we could get (if we could get) in UK at the time. However this week we were given 4 different olive oil varieties from a local grower here in Manawatu as hubby helped them pick their crop a few months ago. One or two of them are way too strong for me though so I will let him use. I worry that imported oils have been tampered with or 'cut' with something else and we were told of this at a cooking school in Tauranga - not sure if it is true or not? I do like to support NZ olive oil producers though but only if I can afford it.
wendalls,
Feb 25, 9:20am
Yep. I only buy the extra light stuff as otherwise itss too strong for us. I try specialty stuff from the m arket for bread dips now and again.
gayle6,
Feb 25, 1:10pm
New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil is fresh, tasty and good for you. If those qualities are what you are after then look to buy at your local Farmers Market or specialty food store. Look for the red OliveMark which signifies that it is certified as New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
lilyfield,
Feb 25, 6:50pm
Me neither
barbs77,
Feb 25, 7:02pm
Village Press and my new fav a bottle of Spy Valley oil which is very good. Use coconut oil and rice bran for other things
barbs77,
Feb 25, 7:03pm
Never buy olive oil in clear glass bottles, it needs to be protected from the light
village.green,
Feb 25, 7:43pm
Ditto for extra virgin.
kaddiew,
Feb 25, 7:47pm
Ditto.
willyow,
Feb 25, 7:51pm
A lot of the cheap Spanish and Italian olive oils on sale here are old and off imho - a bit rancid. When you compare the taste with freshly pressed local oils - you may just get a shock! We abandoned imported oils a couple of years ago after doing a taste test comparing Spanish and Italian olive oil we had in the cupboard ( ex supermarket), with a locally produced one bought at a farmers market - the difference was astonishing. I suggest everyone should do this test. Anyway, supporting Kiwi farmers and producers should be a way of life - if you have enough money as often it costs a bit more. I've recently been into roasted NZ grown hazelnuts - fabulous when compared with the stale imported rubbish stocked by supermarkets. yes you pay more - but you get what you pay for sometimes.
gayle6,
Feb 25, 8:42pm
And if you check on TM you will find a number of local growers advertising their EVOO at a very reasonable price. Just make sure that you check it has been certified by Olives New Zealand as EVOO and it should have the red OliveMark on the bottle to signify this.
paora-tm,
Mar 4, 9:12am
Well I splashed out and bought The Village Press - Manzanillo Olives. I'm not that impressed - it has a strong bitter taste. I will stick with those cheap rancid ones - Lupi & Olivani, when they are on special at half the price of The Village Press bottles.
twindizzy,
Mar 4, 6:38pm
Village Press Barnea
village.green,
Mar 4, 7:15pm
This one. Very mild and not at all bitter and grassy. Just depends on the variety of olive I suppose.
buzzy110,
Mar 4, 8:21pm
Yes. It absolutely depends on the olive variety. I usually go to the markets and buy direct from growers. They always have a selection of their oils available for tasting and it is incredible just how different each variety is. Some are hot and peppery and some are mild. I like the stronger flavoured oils because they go well with salads, which is what I usually use them on.
davidt4,
Mar 4, 8:49pm
Fresh peppery "green" tasting olive oils like that can be a bit startling if you taste them undiluted, but they come into their own when made into a vinaigrette for a salad or when used as a condiment and trickled over cooked vegetables or a warm Italian-style soup like Minestrone.
paora-tm,
Mar 4, 10:08pm
Yep, I did find that but then when I use cheaper oils in the same way, I'm not sure I notice any difference apart from paying more.
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