Chef’s Kiss: Supermarket Extra-Virgin Olive Oils Tested and Rated

When you work in an Italian restaurant, you accept a certain level of olive oil consumption as normal. Outside that context, most people would probably be shocked at the amount I go through daily, whether that’s adjusting a salad dressing or dipping bread for a snack on the go. But even then I wonder – can you really have too much of a good thing?

Like most people, I’m 100 per cent brand-loyal when it comes to olive oil. At Fratelli Paradiso, we use a range of oils for different things. The base oils I cook with are blended varieties by Fino, and Nicholson and Savile, among others. For finishing dishes, I prefer single-origin oils, such as La Barre, Alto and Mount Zero, where the tasting notes are more prominent.

Still, it’s been a scramble to find olive oil amid the worldwide shortages of the past year or so. So there’s never been a better time to put supermarket olive oil to the test. Whether you’re buying for a restaurant or just stocking the pantry, we’re all in the same boat: trying to get the best we can.

Because tasting olive oil isn’t all that different from tasting wine – origin, variety and terroir can influence the final product – I asked Fratelli Paradiso’s sommelier and wine buyer, Caitlyn Rees, to help with a blind tasting of eight brands you’d find at most major supermarkets.

We followed the standard protocols of an official olive oil tasting: each oil was served in a glass warmed by hand. We smelled each one for aroma, then tasted for the three key attributes of extra-virgin olive oil: fruitiness, bitterness and pungency. We scored each attribute out of five, which gave us an overall score. 

As with wine or coffee tastings, we used a tasting chart to help define the characteristics of each oil’s aroma and taste, ranging from green (grassy, herbaceous) to ripe (apple, banana). Generally, though, we preferenced the aromas and flavours you’d expect from fresh olives.

Bitterness is exactly that – a sharp, bitter taste, typically at the sides or back of the tongue. It’s more pronounced in oils made from unripe or green olives, and signals the presence of polyphenols: naturally occurring antioxidants found in cold-pressed, unrefined extra-virgin olive oils. Pungency is the peppery kick you feel in the back of your throat – another marker of freshness and polyphenols.

The best oils we tried showed a good balance of all three attributes and had length. “Moisturising” and “nourishing” are how I’d describe these. The worst tasted flabby (unstructured), watery or even metallic.

It’s tough comparing local oils to European ones, because the northern and southern hemispheres harvest at opposite times of the year. For us, that means locally produced oils are freshest in the middle of the year, while European ones fare best towards the end. According to the Australian Olive Oil Association, variety, harvest timing and processing care are the most important factors to consider.

That said, the oils we tasted were all 100 per cent blends. So aside from a blanket origin label like “Australia” or “Spain”, we don’t know precisely where the fruit for these oils comes from. It’s also important to note that olive oil is considered to be a natural product, and characteristics can vary between batches. Of course, personal taste varies, too – perhaps you prefer a milder or more robust-flavoured oil – but from this line-up, these were our preferences on the day.

Correction: an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that some local producers incorporated oil from imported olives into their products due to olive shortages. The article has been updated to clarify that no Australian producer imports olives to crush locally. 

Colavita Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $15.99 (500ml) at Harris Farm
Origin: packed in Italy from imported ingredients
Aroma: ripe apple, banana, lemon, walnut skin, rocket

Because this one came from Italy, I was curious about how long it had been in freight for. But when we tasted it, it was really fruity – more ripe than green fruit. It was well-balanced overall, with pungency and bitterness proving the strongest of the day. In fact, Colavita set the benchmark for bitterness. This is the biggest flavour bomb you’re going to find in the supermarket.

Score: 4/5

Cobram Classic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $25 (750ml) at Coles and Woolworths
Origin: Australia
Aroma: green apple, celery, lovage, wheat, grassy, fennel

Of the Australian brands, Cobram was the winner for sure. I mean, Neil Perry is an ambassador. I had high hopes for it and it delivered – it was a bit more vibrant than the others we tried, but still lacked the pungency and bitterness of Colavita. It was a tough choice between those two. We were waiting for that bitterness, that spicy hit of rocket leaf. But it didn’t really happen.

Score: 3/5

Squeaky Gate The All Rounder Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $20 (750ml) at Coles and Woolworths
Origin: Australia
Aroma: grass, apple, green banana

You could really smell the grassiness with all the higher scoring products, and Squeaky Gate was no exception. A fair amount of green apple and banana on the nose, too, but the aroma was milder overall compared to some of the other products. Fruitiness and bitterness were well balanced, but this one lacked vibrancy on the palate. The All Rounder was pretty good all-round.

Score: 3/5

Moro Primero Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $27 (1L) at Coles
Origin: Spain
Aroma: pineapple, yellow fruit

We were clutching at straws with this one. It was pretty lifeless. Flat on the nose – not grassy or green at all, and with more of those “yellow” characteristics you don’t really want in an olive oil. Spicy in the mouth, but lacking vibrancy and freshness. It actually tasted like it had been cooked. This would be fine for cooking, but I wouldn’t use it as a salad dressing.

Score: 2/5

Bertolli Originale Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $23 (750ml) at Coles and Woolworths
Origin: packed in Italy from imported ingredients
Aroma: wheat grass, unripe banana, apple skin, peeled artichoke

This one was promising on the nose and struck a good balance between ripe and green fruit. But in the mouth, Bertolli fell flat. It was unbalanced and lacked pungency and bitterness. The mouthfeel was flabby with a lingering, negative aftertaste.

Score: 2/5

Red Island Cold Press Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $25 (1L) at Coles and Woolworths
Origin: Australia
Aroma: almond meal, grass, ripe apple, lemon peel, tinned peaches

This one’s been in your mum’s pantry for sure. We’ve all used it. But when you taste it in a setting like this, it’s pretty gross. Flabby, dull, no balance. You know when you’ve got an empty can of tinned peaches stinking out a recycling bin? It smelled like that. I wouldn’t recommend cooking with it, but baking would be suitable because you can just mask the flavour with sugar.

Score: 1/5

Woolworths Spanish Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $18 (1L)
Origin: Spain
Aroma: pineapple skin, chicory, flat, winey, watery

Both home-brand oils got me asking questions. Why do they taste like this? What am I judging here? No body, length, complexity or balance. No life. To the point where it makes you question the production process. I imagine it’s probably because they’ve been treated in some way to kill any and all bacteria, good or bad, so it’s shelf-stable. You could use either for really low-heat shallow frying, something like crumbed fish. Good for mayo or toum, because they have a flavour profile one step above seed oil.

Score: 1/5

Coles Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sample price: $15 (1L)
Origin: Spain
Aroma: peach, stale brazil nuts, tapenade, damp

Tasted fusty and had a metallic end note. Didn’t swallow – couldn’t.

Score: 1/5