{"id":772340,"date":"2026-07-01T15:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/772340\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T15:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:30:12","slug":"a-buttery-mouthfeel-or-meadow-grass-notes-how-australian-olive-oils-rank-against-other-supermarket-options-australian-food-and-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/772340\/","title":{"rendered":"A \u2018buttery\u2019 mouthfeel or \u2018meadow grass\u2019 notes? How Australian olive oils rank against other supermarket options | Australian food and drink"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consumer advocacy group Choice has taste tested 30 supermarket extra-virgin olive oils, and found some Australian-made oils rank higher than those imported from Italy and Spain.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of Australians are after local products, and there are a lot of Australian olive oil makers that have built quite a good reputation,\u201d Pru Engel, Choice audience and engagement editor, said.<\/p>\n

Australian label Cobram Extra Virgin Classic \u2013 one of the more expensive products on the list at $25 \u2013 landed third place with a score of 80, and was described as having \u201cfruity herbaceous aromas\u201d with a \u201cbuttery\u201d mouthfeel by testers.<\/p>\n

The top spot went to Italian brand Monini Classico extra virgin olive oil with a score of 88%. Costing $2.93 per 100mL and $22 for a 750mL bottle, testers described it as an \u201celegant and abundant oil\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The second-best went to another Italian brand, Villa Rossi Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Testers noted it has a \u201cgood length of persistence with balanced bitterness and pungency\u201d, though the product was the most expensive oil in the lineup with a price tag of $35 for a one-litre bottle, or $3.50 per 100mL.<\/p>\n

The average price of recommended oils sits at roughly $22 rank. Woolworths<\/a> Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil was named Choice\u2019s best value pick, with a score of 78, and priced at $9 per 500mL bottle, or $1.80 per 100mL. Testers described its \u201cnative mint and some meadow grass\u201d notes and \u201cnice balanced bitterness and pungency.\u201d<\/p>\n

The olive oils were blind tested at NSW Department of Primary Industries laboratories in Wagga Wagga. Engel said the judging panel was specifically looking for \u201cpurity and freshness\u201d, as well as fruitiness and pungency.<\/p>\n

One of the cheapest oils was also the worst, according to Choice. Aldi Oh So Natural Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, priced at $8.99 per 500ml bottle or $1.80 per 100mL, received the bottom score of 60%, with testers describing the product as having a \u201clow intensity of flavour\u201d. The second- and third-worst oils were the Monini Organic Premium Selection Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Coles Australian Extra Virgin Oil respectively, with scores of 65% and 66%.<\/p>\n

Speaking generally, Choice\u2019s product review manager, Chris Barnes, said that the components of a \u201cbad\u201d olive oil includes having \u201cbasic\u201d flavours and a lack of boldness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is actually a specific standard when it comes to professional taste testing extra virgin olive oil \u2026 there\u2019s chemical tests plus a specific taste test and sensory perception test, which is why we used the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of all the 13 oils that Choice scored 76% and above, seven came from Australia, three were made in Italy, and the remaining three came from Spain \u2013 the largest producer<\/a> of olive oil globally.<\/p>\n

To make the most of a bottle of the prized elixir, Engel recommends looking out for bottles that tend to be darker and opaque, to prevent light \u201cdegrading\u201d the oil\u2019s quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen storing olive oil, it should always be in a cool, dark place like your pantry. Don\u2019t refrigerate it.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people buy a big bottle of olive oil and then decant them into smaller bottles, and if you\u2019re going to do that just ensure you are using airtight containers to avoid any contact with air or sunlight.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for colour, Barnes recommends not getting too swept up on whether an oil has more of a green or golden appearance, as it may \u201csway your perception\u201d of its quality and natural colourway. Instead, he said to focus on \u201ctaste and mouthfeel\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFruitiness, pungency, peppery characteristics, that sort of thing, should always be present in a good extra virgin olive oil.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Consumer advocacy group Choice has taste tested 30 supermarket extra-virgin olive oils, and found some Australian-made oils rank…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-772340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}