My latest post on ZesterDaily doesn’t actually tell you which oil to buy, but rather gives some useful tips when confronting that bewildering bank of extra-virgins on market shelves: http://zesterdaily.com/cooking/940-best-olive-oil-to-buy
Best Oil to Buy?
2 Comments
Kreta Reserve EVOO is the best. Quality controlled from the tree to the can. No middlemen to muck it up. Not cheap, but my cholesterol is now under control because I cook everything it in and it all tastes wonderful. From grits to pound cake, it is a truly rare oil because it fits all the recipes I have. I can only buy it online because no stores carry it in my area. Check out http://www.kretareserve.com to get some. I urge you to try it…it is awesome. I put it on my toast, fry eggs in it, make cookies with it, make pancakes with it (yes!), seriously…I gave up butter 3 years ago and never looked back. I don’t buy mayo in the store either, I make my own in little batches…it is decadently wicked and healthier. There is something about Koroneiki olives from the higher elevations of Crete. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t find that taste in any other olive oil…and I have tried 37 varietals and countless blends. The Koroneiki from Crete is the top of the quality and taste in my opinion.
Yes, there are some great oils from the island of Crete–I visited a few producers there last year. One was a big cooperative called Kritsa which doesn’t export to the U.S. at this point. The other was a small family operation, Biolea, which makes a certified organic oil–which is sold in the U.S. Incidentally, Crete was part of the Seven Countries Study, which first established the relationship between diet and chronic disease. The health of the population has a lot to do with their hearty consumption of fine extra-virgin olive oil.