Cheap extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Where to buy cheaper extra virgin olive oil?

Does quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) have to be expensive? Not necessarily, but it certainly has to be priced like other high-end food products. Let’s remember that for many years, olive oil was treated as a “common” product; everything was the same, and it certainly had to be cheap. In fact, it remains one of the food products with the lowest profit margin, between the price at the oil mill and its final retail price.

Consequently, due to this pressure to lower prices, producers cannot develop, invest in new machinery, or conduct research, which condemns the final product, olive oil, to stagnation and failure to improve. In fact, until very recently, prestigious extra virgin olive oils, such as Oro del Desierto, Oro Bailén, or Rincón de la Subbética, were almost exclusively exported, as they were not widely sold in Spain due to their high price.

And thus we arrive at the paradox that in the world’s leading olive oil-producing country, its finest products are not consumed! And many of us Spaniards have taken decades to taste our first EVOO and discover that it has nothing to do with supermarket olive oil; they are, in fact, different products. Fortunately, it seems that the trend has changed, and we are now beginning to recognize that good EVOOs have a price commensurate with that quality. We have to understand that if we are willing to pay 20-30 euros for a good wine, the same should be true for a good EVOO.

Let’s also consider that to produce one liter of extra virgin olive oil, approximately 15 kg of olives are needed, which, in many cases, are harvested by hand due to the orographic complexities involved in growing certain olive trees. Furthermore, if we want quality extra virgin olive oil, the extraction (milling) must be done cold (27 degrees maximum), which means that much less oil is extracted from each olive.

Buying cheap EVOO

That said, as with everything, if we do a little research, we can save money when buying extra virgin olive oil, in addition to being an enriching experience. The first thing we should know is that there are many varieties of olives, and therefore EVOO, Picual, Hojiblanca, Arbequina, Cornicabra, Royal, and many others, and that they are different, some more spicy, bitter, fruity, or sweet. Your choice will depend on the dish you want to make: a strong Picual for meats, for example, or a sweet Arbequina for grilled white fish.

Knowing this, in general, we will stay away from supermarkets and large stores and go to a gourmet store on the street or online, avoiding, of course, the large formats (2l, 3l, and 5l in PET), as they do not allow for optimal preservation of the oil, and in fact, prestigious brands avoid them. We’ll look for opaque 500ml or 750ml bottles, which guarantees that the light hasn’t damaged them and will allow us to preserve them better.

Oleotourism

Of course, if possible, we’ll visit an olive oil mill, especially during the harvest months, from October-November. There we’ll be able to taste the freshly extracted EVOOs on-site and choose the one we like best. We’ll also be able to understand the complex process of harvesting, milling, filtering, etc. In addition, we’ll logically get a better price for the olive oil than in the retailer, by eliminating commercial intermediaries.

Finally, keep in mind that a good EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) costs no less than 12-15 euros/500ml bottle. Enjoy!