Have you ever wanted to do an olive oil tasting but are a little afraid of how to proceed? Here’s how my pretty normal Midwestern family approached it!
We know that olive oil is a healthy superfood, delivering antioxidants and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.
You might drizzle it on your salad or heat it up for sautéing, but if I asked you to describe the flavor profile of your extra virgin olive oil, would you suddenly feel like you were in an episode of Top Chef? Yeah, me too.
So one day, our family decided to try a proper olive oil tasting. You know, for science.
We lined up 10 different bottles on the counter. Half were fancy-pants samples from companies I work with, and the other half were store brands from Costco and our local Spartan store. In true Kitchen Stewardship® fashion, we used what we had on hand.
Technically, you’re supposed to sip olive oil straight from a shot glass. We tried that. Once. The facial expressions were … memorable. Let’s just say bread was invited to the party shortly after.
How to Do an Olive Oil Taste Test
- Technically, you should just drink each oil from a glass and let the flavor bloom on your tongue.
- But if you’re a plebeian like myself, I’d suggest dipping a plain bread in each one. (No fancy herbs or cheese on the bread! Plain sourdough or Italian bread.) Pour a little of each bottle into a bowl and make sure you mark them with a number or the name of the brand so you know which one is which.
- After tasting, talk about what you think, making notes if you want to remember which ones you like! Discuss with the family: What does it taste like? Mild or spicy? Fruity or bitter? Don’t worry about “getting it right” – this isn’t wine tasting with your pinky up. It’s more like, “Hmm, this one burns my throat a little!”
- Sip some water in between tastes to clean the palate.
- That’s it!
Our First Impressions while Olive Oil Testing
We noticed big differences right away in color. Some oils were so pale they looked like water, others were deep golden yellow. The fresher, high-quality oils definitely leaned more yellow—probably a good sign, right?
Our trusty Kirkland (the one we use almost daily) was first. It tasted like … olive oil. Comfortingly familiar. Then we tried the True Fields oil, which was almost clear and much lighter in flavor. Not bad, just meh.
The Fancy Olive Oils
Then came the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club lineup. These came with tasting notes like, “aromas of shaved raw artichoke and green almond.” I read them aloud dramatically while the kids dipped their bread and squinted suspiciously at their oil-soaked bread chunks.
“It smells like tomato but tastes like spinach and bitterness.”
“Too fancy for me.”
“This one numbs my mouth. Is that supposed to happen?”
We were not sophisticated tasters. My husband and I tried to pretend we knew what we were doing, but mostly we just passed the bread and made faces.
And yet … there was something intriguing about those fancy oils. They were bold. Complex. A little spicy. Even if we couldn’t put our finger on exactly why we liked them, we (adults) kind of did.
Surprise Winners
We threw in a clearance bottle I’d grabbed randomly (because that’s how I roll), and everyone agreed: it was surprisingly fruity, less bitter, and definitely easier on the palate.
The Kosterina was the spiciest, according to some of us. And not spicy like jalapeños, but that tingle-you-in-the-back-of-the-throat sensation you sometimes get from fresh greens.
Funny thing? One kid thought it was way too spicy, while another said, “I don’t taste any spice at all.” So either their tongues are broken, or olive oil tasting is highly subjective.
The Oils We Tried
Here’s a rundown of the extra virgin olive oil brands we tried and how we felt about them!
- Kirkland Signature Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – This is our standard at home, so it tasted good and normal to us.
- Kirkland Toscana – This one is not organic. But it is all grown in Italy, as opposed to “around the Mediterranean” like the previous oil. We got varying opinions of very spicy, salty, and weird! Let’s assume that means it’s more “bold” than your average olive oil.
- Colavita – This is one of your basic grocery store brands and it comes in a lot of varieties. Ours was the “Premium Selected” bottle of extra-virgin olive oil. Leah said she couldn’t stand this one; it was incredibly bitter.
- True Fields – Lightest in color and very light in flavor. (This company appears to be out of business now.)
- Kosterina – Pretty bold, even for the adult palate. I thought it was spicy, while Leah didn’t get that all! Paul said it’s very robust.
- Tassos Organic – The kids liked that this one was the most fruity. It’s also single-source, meaning one country of origin where it’s harvested, which is supposed to be a sign of “what to look for” when buying quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Culinary Tours – This is the brand I bought on clearance. It was lighter, fruitier, and a little less bitter. (This brand is found in grocery stores like Hy-Vee, Food City, and IGA.)
- Three oils from the Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club – All of these were a much deeper yellow. They were labeled as mild, medium, and bold. The mild is the one Leah dubbed, “Smells like tomato, tastes like spinach and bitterness. A little too fancy for me.” The kids joked that the medium one “smelled like olive oil.” They did feel like they could smell the “fresh cut grass” mentioned on the label! Leah said the bold one smelled different than the other oils.
RELATED: One oil we didn’t try in this tasting but we have really liked is from Kasandrinos, an organic, Greek, family-owned brand. And you can get 20% off their oils with the code KATIEKIMBALL, so try some soon!
How to Use Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil
You may have noticed that some of our bottles are ginormous, as the kids would say. How does even a large family of 6 go through so much extra virgin olive oil, which shouldn’t be kept around forever?
Pro tip: Extra virgin olive oil should be used within 12-18 months of harvest (how long does it take to get to you??) and within 6ish months of opening the bottle.
We make all our own homemade salad dressings, so olive oil goes fast in 1 and 2 cup portions!
Here are our favorite recipes:
- Homemade Caesar Dressing
- Greek Salad Dressing
- Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing
- Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
- Honey Mustard Dressing or Dip
- Easy Homemade Italian Dressing
Pesto is another great place to use up a lot of oil, and it makes a delicious condiment for sandwiches or to put in creamy pasta sauce. This pesto from my friend Wardee is even nut-free!
We also sauté in olive oil when we’re cooking regular dinner recipes and side veggies.
If you enjoy the bolder, more sophisticated taste of the pricier olive oils, I recommend using those in dressings where the flavor is front and center. Keep a less expensive bottle around for sautéing onions that are going to end up in a bowl of chili anyway, taste buried under tomatoes and spice!
What We Learned Testing Olive Oils
- Kids like mild oils. Anything too bold, bitter, or “fancy” got rejected fast.
- Some oils definitely felt more nutrient-rich (hello, polyphenols!)
- Our palates may not be gourmet, but we could tell the difference between cheap and quality oil.
In the end, we all had favorites, and most of us now feel a little less mystified by that green-gold elixir.
Would I recommend this as a family activity? 100%. Maybe not 10 oils (that’s a LOT of dipping bread), but even 3 or 4 would be enough to spark curiosity.
No special tools needed. Just some bread, a few bottles of olive oil, and a willingness to feel a little silly together.
Because let’s face it: sometimes the best way to learn is with a messy kitchen and a family full of opinions.
Where to Buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Here are a few favorite places to get oil!
- Wildly Organic – Use the coupon code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off
- Kasandrinos – Use coupon code KATIEKIMBALL for 20% off
- Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club – Get a $39 bottle of oil for $1 with this special link!
- Kosterina – I don’t have a code, but you will get 10% off an order if you sign up for emails.
- And, of course, you can find many great ones at Costco as well as grocery and specialty stores.
