How To Tell If Olive Oil Is Good Quality

Have you ever stood and stared at the hundreds of bottles of olive oil on the grocery store shelves and wondered...how do I tell if the olive oil is good quality? I'll teach you exactly how to evaluate a bottle of olive oil so you know the ones to buy (and the ones to avoid), just like I learned at culinary school in Italy.

On the very first day of culinary school in Southern Italy, we sat at a table with six samples of extra virgin olive oil. Since olive oil is at the heart of regional Italian cuisine, it was important for our class to understand how to select one that's high quality.

At first, I thought there'd be a way to just look at the olive oil and know whether it was going to be delicious in the dishes we cooked. Some of the oils had a really light color compared to others, so I assumed those were the "worse" quality ones.

But to my surprise, we learned that color has nothing to do with the quality. Instead, the most important skill to learn is how to taste olive oil.

That's exactly what I'm going to teach you today! Rather than telling you which bottle of extra virgin olive oil to buy, I'm going to teach you how to evaluate the bottle and oil for yourself.

Once you learn to master this skill, your food will taste even better! Some of my favorite dishes from culinary school that highlight the flavors of olive oil include spaghetti aglio e olio (garlic pasta), Italian pizza dough, classic Italian bruschetta, and Italian olive oil cake.

How To Tell If Olive Oil Is Good Quality

The best way to evaluate a bottle of extra virgin olive oil is a taste test, but we'll get to that later. When you're shopping at the grocery store, there are usually a few signs of a high-quality oil just by looking at the bottle.

Look for Extra Virgin Olive Oil

When you're shopping for a high-quality bottle of olive oil, look for the words extra virgin on the label. This means the oil has met specific chemical and sensory standards.

You may also see terms like first cold pressed but always start by looking for the words extra virgin which will indicate the grade.

Check the Harvest Date

Next, look for a harvest date. This will show you when the olives were harvested from the fields. Although the harvest date alone isn't a guarantee of the quality, it can give you some important information about the freshness.

Pay Attention to the Bottle

Be sure the bottle has dark-colored packaging. Light is an enemy of olive oil, so it's important that the packaging helps prevent access to light.

You'll also want to ensure you keep the bottle away from light and heat when you store it in your home.

Check Producer and Origin

Who produced or bottled the oil and whether it's a single-country vs. a multi-country blend doesn't necessarily tell you anything about quality.

Even though I love Italy, there are many good olive oils from other countries. That said, if you want olive oil from a certain country, you'll need to read the label to see who it was produced by. Bottled by doesn't always mean the olives were grown in that country.

Taste the Olive Oil

Once you find a bottle that meets your standards at the grocery store, the next step is buying it and giving it a taste. Labels can only tell you so much!

The only way to actually understand the oil you're buying is to taste it!

How To Taste Olive Oil

There's no fancy equipment needed to taste olive oil. In fact, anyone can do this in just a few minutes!

Step 1: Pour a small amount (about ½ tablespoon) into a shot glass or spoon.

Step 2: Give the oil a sniff. Can you smell fruity, peppery, grassy notes, or other pleasant aromas? Or does it smell unpleasant, rancid, or musty?

Step 3: Next, take a sip of the olive oil and move it around in your mouth. Then suck the olive oil into your mouth so the aromas go up through your nose. I'll show you what this looks like in the video below.

What Should Good Olive Oil Taste Like?

Now that you've smelled and tasted the oil, here's what to look for to tell if your olive oil is good quality:

• Fresh and fruity aromas
• Peppery taste
• Herbaceous or almost green smelling notes
• A slightly pleasant bitterness

Every variety of extra virgin olive oil will have its own unique characteristics that vary from harvest to harvest. There isn't one correct flavor for olive oil.

An important process of determining if the bottle is high-quality is whether or not you personally enjoy the taste.

That said, there are some smells and flavors that indicate a low quality bottle of olive oil. Here are some things to look out for:

• Rancid or stale aroma and flavor
• Flat or stale taste
• Fermented or musty smell
• Foul, off-putting, or unpleasant notes

You can see that tasting olive oil isn’t that difficult. It just requires a bit of practice to discern the taste of each bottle.

I promise this is something you can absolutely do as a home chef! The more extra virgin olive oil you taste, the more refined your palate will become.

If you decide to give this a try, here's a checklist of characteristics to evaluate during your tasting:

• Aroma
• Fruitiness
• Bitterness
• Pungency
• Finish
• Overall balance and preference

Jessica's Expert Tips

• Taste two olive oils side-by-side. If you're new to taste testing olive oils, try buying a few different bottles and trying them side by side. You'll be amazed at how different they all are.
• Never judge olive oil by its color. As I mentioned earlier, we learned in culinary school that color is not an indicator of quality with extra virgin olive oil. Always go by taste, not color.
• Don't assume bitterness is bad. Most olive oil will have a little bitter taste. We're not used to tasting oil by itself. As long as the bitterness is paired with fruity, grassy, and/or peppery notes, this is a good sign.

FAQs About High Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil