So, you know by now that olive oil is one of the healthiest types of fats you can consume.
You probably also know that extra virgin olive oil is the best in olive oil class, that this is grade An oil tasting good and smelling like the real stuff, the kind of stuff produced only in places the likes of Western Crete where olive oil tasting is about as popular as wine tasting in France.
Now, there is a bit of a difference between what The International Olive Oil Council (the Madrid-based worldwide organization setting olive oil standards) grades extra virgin olive oil and what the USDA renders top quality olive oils.
Suffice to say that the United States Department of Agriculture doesn’t recognize the classifications of The International Olive Oil Council and plays by its own rules established before the latter was founded.
But whether regulated by one or by the other, fine olive oil is still fine olive oil. It has good taste, beautiful color and smells nice too. Unfortunately, as was the case not so long ago with a few brands that sold fake olive oil claiming extra virgin quality (remember Bertolli?) there are still cases of producers misleading people with unauthentic products.
Here’s how to spot authentic olive oil.
Notice the label
Most real olive oils are usually sold in bottles with beautiful design and nice packaging.
It’s not that all trusted producers carry beautiful packaging since this adds to the cost and some producers want to deliver the best value at lower cost, but typically elegant bottle designs indicate you can trust the brand to sell real, extra virgin olive oil.
Examine the price
The price and the label of a product are the very first things we notice, the latter because it gets our attention if the product is packaged nice, the first, well, for obvious reasons.
The bigger the price, the better the oil isn’t always the case with extra virgin olive oils. However, you should not expect great olive oil to be cheap. Real extra virgins are the most expensive olive oils.
Look for seals on the bottles
Because labels don’t always tell the truth in regards to how virgin an olive oil actually is, another way you can make sure that you are buying the real stuff is to check for seals that certify to good quality.
In the United States, two agencies provide olive oil certification, the USDA, and the California Olive Oil Council. Look for either one of these two seals on the bottle to spot a trusted brand.
If possible, you should always buy your olive oil from specialty shops because you have bigger chances of finding mostly good quality products here compared to average grocery stores. It also helps to research reputable brands before you actually do any shopping, just to see what’s available and what to look for in the store.
Olive oils are so popular today with them being credited for the many health benefits they posses that the market is fraudulent in an attempt to make a profit at the expense of unsuspecting consumers, so make sure you are paying for the good stuff.