Also, because a little bit of olive oil goes a long way, spending more on a bottle gives you a high-quality product that can be used for countless recipes over the course of several months.Īs the CEO and co-founder of Graza, one of the most ubiquitous “fancy” olive oil brands on social media these days, Andrew Benin acknowledges that “sometimes, when you are paying 38 bucks for 375 millilitres of olive oil, £9 of that is just to cover the cost of the fancy bottle.”īut i n his view, olive oil that earns its higher price (and he counts the olive oil produced by Graza in this category) is “harvested and milled the right way, protected from light, never blended, is a powerful flavour bomb.” How to know if your pricey olive oil is worth the cash.Ĭhef Steven Jarczyk of Sfera Sicilian Street Food in Chicago recommends paying attention to what the label says about where and how it’s grown. It’s always best to use the highest quality ingredients across the board, but when that isn’t possible, you can lean on that fancy olive oil to add a little zip ‘save’ the most basic or boring dish and bring it back to life.”Įssentially, Dombkoski believes that using a £30 olive oil made from olives harvested at their peak and cold-pressed for maximum flavor can balance out any negatives that come from purchasing a cheaper cut of meat or off-season produce. Once you know what to look for and how to interpret the labels of the trendy viral olive oils out there (or the labels of your regular supermarket brands), then you’ll discover that, as Dombkoski said, “Fancy olive oil can actually save you money. There are fantastic extra-virgin olive oil producers throughout California and the world who don’t have Instagram accounts,” she said, adding that “cute bottles and attractive promoters don’t translate automatically to great oil.” ‘Fancy olive oil can actually save you money’Īlexa Dombkoski, founder of Bellemille Extra Virgin Olive Oil, admits that “olive oil isn’t a very sexy product to sell, so putting it in Instagram-able packaging certainly helps.”īut she went on to explain that “with all the options on the market, you have to be able to distinguish between the pretty faces and the products that can stand on their own based on quality.” “Great olive oil does not necessarily come via the recommendations of Instagram stars. However, she advised against taking these Instagram or TikTok recommendations at face value, instead encouraging the olive-oil-curious among us to “take this opportunity to explore beyond the flashy promotional stuff.” Lisa McManus, editor of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews, believes social media can encourage people to learn more about olive oil, which is a positive development: “If Instagram has gotten people interested in olive oil, that’s incredibly great.” In some cases, olive oil’s “viral” potential has more to do with its bottle’s aesthetic (and its ability to be marketed by influencers) than with its overall quality. What would lead me to pay more for olive oil would be freshness ― a great raw product that is produced by great people with integrity,” Psaltis said. “Are we buying the great packaging and marketing with inflated prices? I am not sure that price always correlates to quality. According to Doug Psaltis, chef and co-owner of Andros Taverna in Chicago, shoppers should do a bit of digging to figure out exactly what they’re paying for. When it comes to olive oils with a big social media presence, their (usually higher) price points can reflect a number of factors. It’s up to shoppers to do a little research Shoppers need to remember that not all trendy oils are created equal and that a few important characteristics can help to determine whether hip olive oil brands qualify as smart purchases. “ Like any luxury product, it’s only worth it if you really want it, right?” McKeough asked. That said, Christina McKeough, chef de cuisine of High Street in Philadelphia, pointed out that the “is it worth it?” question really comes down to personal preferences. So are these “fancy” olive oils worth the extra cash? When we asked professional chefs and olive oil experts to answer this question, they generally agreed that these oils are sometimes worth their splashy social media presence and their elevated cost. This brand at Selfridges comes in at a whopping £126, while this aesthetically pleasing number will set you back £40.
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