6 days ago
Extra-virgin olive oil is now a cult essential – here's how to get the best value from it
Food prices may be rising, but we're happy to splash our cash on fancy olive oil.
'Extra virgin olive oil is now a cultural marker of taste,' says Octavia Pendrill-Adams, head of brand at the online independent food and drink retailer Delli, which sells bottles for up to £25 per 500ml.
Delli has reported a massive 515 per cent increase in sales over the past 12 months – but it's not just niche sellers seeing a spike; Waitrose has also reported a 13 per cent rise in sales of extra virgin olive oil (or Evoo for short).
As with many food trends, it has its celebrity makers (hello, Sting), celebrity endorsements (hello, Gwyneth), documented health benefits – and bottles that look great on kitchen shelves and social media alike: TikTok searches for 'best olive oil' have amassed over 21.4 million posts.
But Elinor Griffin, oils buyer at Waitrose, attributes the rising popularity of Evoo to more than just looks. She points to its versatility in cooking, its appeal as a gift (being vegan, gluten-free and non-alcoholic, yet still premium) and its ethics: 'Premium, pretty and, crucially, ethical brands such as Belazu and Citizens of Soil have made [extra virgin olive oil] a status symbol for our pantries.'
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Eight ways to make the most of extra virgin olive oil
Having splurged on a bottle (which might cost anywhere from £10 to £30), don't just leave it sitting on the shelf looking chic. The following ideas prove that 'you can do everything with extra virgin olive oil,' says Tony Papas, founder of Puglia producer Trulli Ulivi – even deep frying.
Treat it like seasoning
'You can spend ages choosing a really nice piece of meat, some beautiful vegetables, something you're genuinely excited to cook, and then put a poor-quality oil on it. It's just a bit of a shame,' says Katia El-Fakhri, co-founder of Glug, which uses olives from groves in Jaén, Spain, to make its Evoo.
Instead, she suggests drizzling or dripping 'something that enhances all of those lovely ingredients,' tasting as you go to judge the balance, just as you would with salt, pepper, lemon juice or vinegar.
Drizzle it over ice cream
Try a trickle of Evoo over chocolate sorbet or vanilla ice cream (soft-serve if you fancy) – a delicious combination that was demonstrated at the Citizens of Soil Olive Oil Clubhouse, a two-week pop up in Notting Hill, this summer.
Bake a cake with it
'Extra virgin olive oil goes beautifully with chocolate cake,' suggests Papas.
'You can often substitute butter for olive oil, and chocolate – because it's lovely and silky and has a strong flavour – can handle bitterness, which good extra virgin olive oil should have.'
Add it to coffee
'Add a few drops to your coffee, whether you take it black or white,' Papas also recommends.
'In my case I add a tablespoon, but taste it and see what works for you.'
Use it in cocktails
At The Bar Below at Hide restaurant in London, the popular Hide Gin Martini is fat-washed with olive oil to enhance its flavour profile. To recreate it, blend vodka or gin with Evoo, freeze the mixture, lift off the separated fat to reuse, then make a martini or similar cocktail with the infused spirit.
Deep fry with it
'You can use it over and over, so deep fry with it,' says Papas.
Make sure the oil doesn't reach smoking temperature, and afterwards, 'strain it off and keep it in a jar. I'll use that oil again until it loses its smell and then it's done.'
Geek out with it
'If you want to get a bit geeky, get three small bottles,' says Sarah Vachon, founder of Citizens of Soil, which runs an Evoo subscription service and sources oils from Greece and Spain to Sicily and South Africa.
'A run-of-the-mill version, perhaps from a later harvest, for cooking, and two 'finishing' oils. One should be quite delicate, to drizzle over desserts and salads. The other should be strong and intense, to use almost like a sauce on pasta.'
Be liberal with it
'Where the olives for extra virgin olive oil are grown, it's used liberally,' says Woodgate.
'Be generous with it. It's not a pretentious ingredient – it's an easy, everyday staple that brings fantastic flavour to whatever you're cooking.'
What makes olive oil 'extra virgin'?
Extra virgin olive oil is simply the first cold pressing of olives, which must be done mechanically – for example, through a centrifuge – rather than using heat or chemical solvents.
'It also legally needs to be under 0.8 per cent acidity,' explains Tom Woodgate from Honest Toil, which produces Evoo from small farms in Kyparissia, Greece. 'That's an indication the olives were pressed when they were very fresh.'
Later-season olives, overripe fruit or those with defects all increase the acidity.
But a harvest date is key, according to El-Fakhri.
'The freshness of the oil is important, as both flavour and health benefits diminish over time. So any olive oil worth using, especially if you're going to spend proper money on it, should have a harvest date on the label.'
The flavour profiles of extra virgin olive oil
As with wine, region and olive variety make a difference to flavour.
'You certainly can't make a judgment by country,' says Vachon. 'The two biggest varieties that come out of Spain, for example, are night-and-day different.'
Still, there are some broad rules of thumb: Andalusian olive oils made with Picual and Hojiblanca olives are fruity, bold and peppery.
Catalonian Arbequina olive oils are mild, buttery and nutty.
Tuscan oils, often made with Frantoio or Moraiolo olives, tend to be robust, bitter and grassy, whereas in Liguria you can expect delicate, fruity and sweet Taggiasca oils.
Greek oils, typically made from Koroneiki olives, are intensely fruity, aromatic and well-balanced.
But, says Woodgate, 'the nuances are endless,' and this is where small-batch bottlings really come into their own.
'You can have the same age tree, but if one's slightly closer to the sea, the olives taste different. If the soil is rocky, the oil will be slightly more bitter. The guy who runs our press thinks you can taste in the oil how far apart the trees are spaced. The variation is endless.'
How to taste extra virgin olive oil
'Three things are the holy trinity of high-quality oil: a fruity nose or a smell of plants, bitterness on the palate and a pepperiness as you swallow,' says Vachon.
'When you spend money on a nice bottle, pour it into something you can nose in,' she advises.
'Put your hand over the top, swirl it around to warm it up, then have a smell. That first aroma will open the door to what this oil is. Then take a teaspoonful on your tongue, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and aerate, like you might with wine. Olive oil isn't just about smell or taste, it's a sensation. That's what you're feeling for.'
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