Good info here! The date is very helpful as a means of minimising the risk of buying stale oil.

FYI I found some info on olive oil in Spain here and a recent listing of good and bad oils tested this year in Australia (greek low-cost oil a surpise winner) - note the last line about production date!

I just stick with Extra Virgin Spanish Olive Oil for my salads and frying. You really cannot go wrong with it. Spanish olive oil is a bargain because it is not as "famous" as Italian olive oil. But for my other recipes I really do prefer the Italian olive oil.

And yet I'd bet good money that a significant portion of the Italian oil you've had was made with Spanish olives.

Which is a fascinating story in itself! Just look it up in Wikipedia.

No preference, I just know that olive oil is healthier than any other oil and I pick up whatever is on sale and use it exclusively for any and all cooking- tastes the same to me as canola/vegetable/etc... I have a few flavored ones (like garlic infused) for certain recipes, but I'm not much of an olive oil snob at all.

I have two favorites, one Italian (Lucini Extra Virgin) and one Spanish (Goya Extra Virgin). The Goya is quite cheap and very good. The Lucini has a distinctive flavor that I love. About 90% of my oil use is with one of these two, the rest is canola (baking, other times when I don't want the olive oil taste).

Last night I checked for any dates on the current and next 4L cans at home.

The Greek one ('Altis' extra virgin from Elais) has a 'best before' date on the can but the Spanish one (Carbonell extra virgin) does not!

The latter was on a supposedly 50% off sale so I bought on that basis and the packaging looks extremely new, so I hope the oil is as fresh as the shiny new packaging.

Like Brosnan and most of you, I use it for everything as I couldn't be bothered having several cluttering up the place.

You might be intrested in knowing how olive oil is 'tasted' for flavour and quality. Here's a roughly translated section from this website
http://revista.consumer.es/discapaci...dad/analisis1/

"Para la prueba de cata oficial, se utiliza una muestra de aceite de 15 mililitros, en una copa especial, normalizada a tal efecto. La denominada "copa para cata de aceites", es un recipiente mitad copa mitad taza, de cristal y provisto de una tapa. El color debe ser azul o �mbar para evitar que el catador se vea influido por los tonos verdes relacionados con la acidez. La muestra del aceite a catar se mantiene en la copa a una temperatura aproximada de 28�C. Esta temperatura se ha elegido por ser en la que se observan con m�s facilidad las diferencias organol�pticas. Adem�s, a esta temperatura se produce la volatilidad de los compuestos que componen el aroma del aceite. El catador toma la copa, cubierta por un vidrio, la inclina y en esa posici�n le da un giro total a la copa, a fin de mojar lo m�s posible la superficie interior. Hecha esta operaci�n, separa el vidrio de reloj y procede a oler la muestra, haciendo inspiraciones suaves, lentas e intensas, hasta formarse un criterio sobre el aceite que debe juzgar. El periodo de olfacci�n no sobrepasar� los 30 segundos. Si en ese periodo no ha llegado a ninguna conclusi�n, debe tomarse un descanso antes de un nuevo intento. Una vez realizado el ensayo olfativo, se procede a enjuiciar el flavor (sensaci�n conjunta olfato-gustativa-t�ctil), para lo que se tomara un peque�o sorbo de unos 3ml aproximadamente. Es muy importante distribuir el aceite por toda la cavidad bucal, desde la parte anterior de la boca y la lengua, por los laterales y la parte posterior, hasta los pilares del paladar, ya que, como se sabe, la percepci�n de los cuatro sabores fundamentales, dulce, salado, �cido, amargo, se hace con distinta intensidad seg�n las zonas de la lengua y el paladar. La sensaci�n t�ctil debe tomarse tambi�n en consideraci�n, as�, la fluidez, pastosidad y picor o escozor deben ser anotados cuando se detecten, y si la prueba as� lo requiere cuantificar su intensidad.

Con todas las sensaciones percibidas por el catador, con respecto a los atributos e intensidad de las sensaciones, se rellena una ficha. En la parte izquierda se incluyen algunas de las percepciones sensoriales m�s caracter�sticas y se punt�a su intensidad, en una escala que va del 0 al 5. El 0 indicar�a ausencia del atributo, 1 casi imperceptible y el 5, la intensidad m�xima. Despu�s se otorga una puntuaci�n conjunta teniendo en cuenta todas las calificaciones anteriores, que va del 1 "p�simo", al 9 "excepcional". Esta puntuaci�n debe ser consecuente con las virtudes y defectos encontrados en el aceite, anotados en la parte izquierda de la ficha.

La clasificaci�n de los aceites se basar� fundamentalmente en la presencia de virtudes, y en la ausencia o presencia de flavores defectuosos as� como en la mayor o menor gravedad o intensidad de estos; sin embargo, como la escala de valoraci�n es de 9 puntos, deben considerarse algunos matices y aspectos que contribuyan de forma definitiva a decidir la puntuaci�n total de calidad. El jefe del panel determinara la puntuaci�n del aceite a partir de las puntuaciones medias de los catadores."

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Basically it says that a standardised receptacle is used and 15mls of oil at 28 degrees Centigrade is tested. The receptacle is made of amber or blue glass and has a lid - the colour is to prevent any green relating to acidity influencing the taster.

The taster takes the receptacle (with the oil inside and the lid on), tilts it and in this position rotates it so that the inside is moistened as much as possible. Once this is done, the lid is lifted and the taster inhales (through the nose) softly, slowly and intensely until a critical judgement is reached. Inhalation should not last longer than 30 seconds, if an opinion has not been reached the taster should take a break before making another attempt. Once done the real test begins. The taster imbibes 3mls of oil and coats the whole of the inside of the mouth with it, this is important to allow evaluation of the oil's sweet, salty sour and bitter tastes. Tactile qualities are also evaluated, fluidity, 'viscosity' and 'prickling'/'heat' or burning should also be noted if detected and their intensities recorded.

All the tactile sensations that are experienced need to be noted down on a scale of 0 to 5 where 0 is absent and 5 is the most intense. These scores are presented with the previously described qualities which are score on a 1 (bad) to 9 (exceptional) basis and the final scores should take into account the tactile deficiencies (the 0 to 5 scores).

Yada yada yada - oil is judged on scale of 1 to 9 by panel of tasters and the median is used.

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So the results of a selection of everyday Spanish oil by an official panel of graders were

ELOSUA - 7.1 - Extra Virgin
CARBONELL - 7 - Extra Virgin
LA ESPA�OLA - 5.8 - Virgin
YBARRA - 6.9 - Extra Virgin
OLIDOR OLIVAL - 8 - Extra Virgin
KOIPE - 6.4 - Virgin
CORDOBA - 6 - Virgin
LA MASIA - 7 - Extra Virgin

Although Olidor Olival was (at the time) the most expensive and did come out as being the best, Ybarra (at 6.9) and La Masia (at 7) were amongst the cheapest.


Just for comparison, consumers, using less stringent and methodical means, gave the same oils these scores:

ELOSUA - 6.5
CARBONELL - 6
LA ESPA�OLA - 7
YBARRA - 7
OLIDOR OLIVAL - 7
KOIPE - 5.5
CORDOBA - 6.5
LA MASIA - 7

(I usually avoid the Koipe brand too and my gran has always used Ybarra - which is excellent)

But then Morgenster is not just some oil.... to me it is the absolute best I have had and you may not compare it to standard supermarket brands.

I used to work for a Spanish company producing fancy gourmet EVOO and I assure you Morgenster is worth the money but obviously for special occasions only.

Do also note that the variety of olives used, the blend, the ripeness all have an influence on flavour.

I went to school in Ann Arbor, so discovered high-quality olive oil out from Zingerman's.

I have two favorites, one is French and the other Italian.

Interesting in the OP the comment about oils being marketed like wines. That's true, but I also think it's ridiculous. So many people swearing they'll only use oil from one country or region, and statements like "extra virgin or nothing" just prove the marketing is working its magic.

Here's an idea: how about choosing an oil based on how it tastes? And smells? And works in your recipes? Quality ought to matter more than the
darling label on the undoubtedly fancy designer bottle.

Living in a country where the stuff is produced in huge quantities, and where it's an integral part of the diet gives me an opportunity to try and compare a lot more than I could before. They sell plenty of the prissy stuff here (especially at the airport!) but the one we go back to every day, the one with the best, slightly piquant flavor and most exquisite texture, for me, is this stuff, at around 3€ a liter for a plastic jug in any supermarket.

We still try others from time to time, but I have two or three nearly-full expensive bottles in the kitchen that we reach over to get to the good stuff.

Naughty linky!

What is it, what is it???

How long does it take for you to go through a 4L can?

Just asking in case a 2-3 month period from opening would have meant the oil has oxidised, gone stale or whatever. I'd rather use a recyclable steel container rather than four or eight plastic bottles, which most likely would go to landfill if not recycled by our council's recycling contractor.

If locally-made oil was available at a competitive price and in a 4L can I'd buy it. ^

It's been a while since I've bought oil in receptacles that large - in the UK, it's rarely the large cans that are discounted. But we tend to consume about 2 litres a month (certainly in the summer - perhaps a bit less in the winter).

As you're using Carbonell, I really wouldn't worry about it, especially not for cooking. As long as you keep it somewhere dark (and it's in a can, so perfect!) it takes much longer than a couple of months for opened oil to go noticeably rancid by even the slightest amount.

If the oil has been kicking around for a couple of years in some hot warehouse before you got a chance to buy it, that will affect the taste more than having it open for four months or so. If it was fresh to start with and it's kept somewhere dark and not too warm, 4 months, even 6 months should be fine.

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I just looked around to see if I could find something to back up my experience and intuition and found this:

http://news.curiouscook.com/2007/01/olive-oil-cold.html

Oops, none of the supermarket links seem to work.

It's from these guys http://www.coosur.es/2index.html

Just the plain old Oli d'Oliva, sabor intens (it looks like the labels are in Spanish on the web site).