Are You Buying Bad Olive Oil?

Here’s some good news if you like your eggs fried in the morning: A recent study showed that cooking with olive oil isn’t linked to heart disease. (Duh, right?) But here’s what you may not know: You’re probably buying the wrong stuff.
According to Tom Mueller, author of Extra Virginity—the 2011 book detailing an olive oil controversy—people are buying oils that are sometimes just a notch above lamp oil. Gross. “This stuff isn’t wine-geek snobbery,” he says. “How oil tastes and smells is directly correlated to its chemical composition, nutritional, and therapeutic value.” Here’s your guide to buying and enjoying the best olive oil in order to reap its full benefits.


Know Your Dates
Look for a “best by” date, or a date of harvest. (Some bottles won’t list it; that’s a sign to leave them on the shelf.) Buy oils harvested in the same year and look for a “best by” date that is at least 2 years away, says Mueller. And use your oil once you’ve bought it! “It’s essentially fruit juice—it gets worse with age.”
What It Should Taste Like
Bitterness and pungency—like a sting at the back of throat—are signs of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in the oil, says Mueller. If your oil tastes rancid, like wine, or stale and flat, it’s oxidized. Mueller’s website lists stores that are starting to let you test olive oil before you buy it—something he suggests every guy do if they can.
Buy Extra Virgin
Extra virgin is the highest quality olive oil—more like fresh-squeezed fruit juice than industrialized oil. The problem? Labels are essentially useless, says Mueller. Most bottles sell as extra virgin when they’re not. “It’s like selling all wine as fine wine,” he adds. How can you tell if it’s really extra virgin? Light, heat, and air are the enemies of olive oil, says Mueller. Make sure you are buying oil packaged in a dark bottle.
A Few Good Kinds?
Try Corto Olive Oil—it’s available at mass retailers like Costco and is a well-made American product, says Mueller. If you’re OK spending a little extra, Mueller suggests Laudemio Fresco Baldi for a high-quality, Italian oil.

A Few Bad Kinds?
Beware of big-name brands like Carapelli and Bertolli, which both use a misleading “extra light” label on some of their bottles, Mueller says. “These products are made from olives—which is a start—but more likely than not they’re using stale olive oil blended with newer, refined oil.”