14 Quality Supermarket Olive Oils Worth Trying
Photography: MARTI SANS/STOCKSY UNITED
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14 Quality Supermarket Olive Oils Worth Trying

A staple in the Mediterranean diet, olive oil is produced mainly in Italy, France, Spain and Greece. A versatile all-rounder, it’s great for sautéing, grilling, roasting or as a base for sauces, while its flavour profile works well with everything from meat and fish to vegetables. If you want to give something new a try – without breaking the bank – here are some quality bottles we recommend, all of which can be found at your local supermarket…
Photography: MARTI SANS/STOCKSY UNITED

Farchioni Il Casolare Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £7.60

The Farchioni family has been producing top quality extra virgin olive oil since 1780 and today, it’s one of the top five Italian producers of olive oil. Farchioni Il Casolare extra virgin olive oil is cold extracted by mechanical means, which means it maintains its high quality, resulting in a full and distinctive flavour. This is an unfiltered extra virgin olive oil, hence its distinctive green colour, and works well in salad dressings and sauces.

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Zaytoun Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £14.50

From Medjoul dates to za’atar and freekeh, Zaytoun is dedicated to showcasing ingredients from Palestine. Its Fairtrade organic extra virgin olive oil has been sourced through Canaan in Jenin. The Palestinian extra virgin olive oil is pressed from the fruit of ancient trees on the West Bank hills, which have been tended by hand through generations of family farmers. Made solely by mechanical means, this oil has a truly peppery taste, making it a great choice for salad dressings.

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Clearspring Organic Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £5.19

The hot dry summers and mild moist winters of southern Italy ensure that Clearspring’s organic Italian extra virgin olive oil offers versatility and character. This blend of mild and fruity Dolce di Rossano olives from Calabria with more pungent Coratina olives from Puglia produces an oil that is high in flavour and ideal for salads, sautéing, baking, dressings and dips.

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Bio Orto Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Monocultivar Coratina, £13.12 (was £17.50)

Bio Orto uses olives from centuries-old trees in Italy. This Organic Monocultivar Coratina extra virgin olive oil is loaded with antioxidants and polyphenols, which means it has notes of bitter rocket and a spicy, fruity taste. Packaged in an earthy-toned bottle, this olive oil works especially well as a finishing oil for soups, salads, pasta and bruschetta.
 
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Carapelli Oro Verde Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £4.33 (was £6.50)

This beautiful bottle would look good on any kitchen counter. Made in Tuscany, Carapelli aims to celebrate the simplicity of olive oil. Made by blending carefully selected extra virgin olive oils, this bottle is made by pressing olives solely by mechanical means, giving it a flavour profile of green almonds, artichokes and fresh vegetables. Works especially well with summer salads and bruschetta.

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Iliada Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £11

One for keen cooks, this one-litre can tastes great and will last for ages. This top-quality extra virgin olive oil is obtained directly from Greek olives and is cold pressed for an authentic taste. Last year, the product won gold at the London International Olive Oil Competition, so it’s guaranteed to be good. Works especially well in salad dressings and for roasting and frying.

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Oro Bailen Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £8.75

This Great Taste award winner is a mild-to-medium green olive oil. Produced by Oro Bailen, one of the world's most awarded olive oil producers, this ultra-low acidity olive oil is produced on a single estate in Spain and is made during the first two weeks of harvest, which gives it a smooth and delicate taste with a medium peppery finish. Works especially well for salads, fish, chicken dishes, sauces and desserts.

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Brindisa Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £14.75

We’re big fans of Brindisa in the SL office, in particular its Arbequina extra virgin olive oil, which is selected and blended in Navarra, Northern Spain. Sweet and grassy with hints of green tomato and a lightly peppery aftertaste, it’s an excellent oil for both salads and as a cooking ingredient. A multi-purpose oil, the team recommends trying it instead of butter in a roux or white sauce.

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Belazu Verdemanda Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £13.95

Belazu’s Verdemanda oil uses Arbequina olives, which are picked prior to the general harvest, resulting in a much lower yield with an intense fresh colour and aroma. This is a vibrant, punchy oil with a grassy herbal flavour, accompanied with an unusual lack of bitterness and a slightly peppery finish. A Great Taste award winner, this single estate olive oil works especially well as a finishing oil.

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Brindisa Olivar de la Luna Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £16.25

This bottle is a collaboration between Olivar de la Luna and Brindisa. At the Oliver de la Luna estate, the brand presses its own freshly picked organic olives, producing a golden oil that is completely unfiltered. This Great Taste award-winning oil is made with rare Nevadillo Blanco olives, which results in a fragrant and mellow oil. Tastes especially great with tomatoes at this time of year.

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Toplou Monastery Extra Virgin Olive Oil PDO Sitia, £8.99

This extra virgin olive oil comes from the ancient Toplou Monastery, located on the island of Crete. Dating back to the 15th century, the monastery has a network of olive groves, where it produces its own extra virgin olive oil. Monks supervise the entire process from farming to bottling, producing this great-tasting extra virgin olive oil. Made from Koroneiki olives, 100% of the olives have been harvested by hand, without any mechanical methods, which results in an oil with low acidity and lots of nutrients.

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Daylesford Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £19.99

This versatile peppery Italian olive oil is pressed for Daylesford by a small artisan producer using hand-picked organic Carolea olives, grown in ancient groves on the Calabrain coast. Ideal for pouring over salads, soups, grilled meat and vegetables, this oil offers an herbaceous, grassy taste which pairs really well a ripe tomato salad, artichokes or fresh burrata.

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Harvey Nichols Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £17.50

In the Extremadura region in south-west Spain, the Marques de Valdueza and his son have planted four traditional Spanish olive varieties. Each olive variety is harvested separately and blended to produce this award-winning oil for Harvey Nichols. With flavours of apples and light citrus aromas, this gently nutty oil is well balanced with great depth and a gentle peppery finish. Perfect for drizzling over pasta dishes.

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Nicolas Alziari Provence Fruity & Intense Olive Oil, £16.50

Nicolas Alziari began producing olive oil in Nice in 1868. For 140 years, the company has been producing fine French olive oil, blending olives from different terroirs to get the best flavour. This particular olive oil is made from young green olives for a fresh and lively flavour, and has a fresh, grassy aroma and a fruity flavour with a slight peppery kick. Try drizzling over fresh tomato salads, as a simple dip for fresh bread, or as a finishing touch for grilled meats.

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