What is the best extra virgin olive oil?

Finding the best extra virgin or extra virgin olive oil is difficult when we have so many options.

Here we want to explain to you what factors you have to take into account when you are going to buy your next extra virgin olive oil.

Traditional olive oil that follows the highest quality standards comes from Europe. We recommend looking for oils from Spain, but Italy also has very good oils. Currently, Greece is improving the quality of the oils it produces and therefore has more followers around the world.

The new ambassadors of extra virgin olive oil in Africa are Morocco and Türkiye. However, currently neither of them are considered within the premium markets for olive oils. They are usually a cheaper option for lower grades due to their economical labor and proximity to Europe.

In Mexico there are some producers of extra virgin olive oil, however production is still very small compared to Europe and the quality is lower due to the lack of regulation and organizations that standardize the processes.

The most important thing about its origin is that the oil does not have more than 1 place of origin, this causes different olives to be mixed, considerably lowering the quality.

Another important factor to consider is to understand that the best extra virgin olive oil is that which is extracted from olives that did not fall to the ground during the harvesting process. These olives are from the first harvest.

Cold extraction is also an important factor, however, it is currently normal to find that almost all extra virgin olive oils have been cold extracted.

Check that the acidity is less than 0.8%. This way you ensure that it has a great flavor to add to all your dishes.

Make sure the expiration date is no more than 2 years. Usually the extra virgin olive oil sold in Mexico has dates after 2 years. According to experts, after 2 years the oil may have impurities or defects so that it is not considered extra virgin.

Keep in mind that the largest olive oil bottlers in the world produce and bottle their oil during January with the previous year's harvest. Which means that if you buy olive oil from a large bottler in September 2024 and it has an expiration date of January 2025, you are likely buying lower quality olive oil. Because if the company bottled in January, to comply with the minimum expiration date, it had to have been bottled in January 2023, which means that you are consuming oil that has been in the bottle for more than a year and a half.

This does not mean that you cannot buy olive oil with a close expiration date, since there are many brands that use 1 and a half years from bottling to set the expiration date.

Remember:

• Check that the extra virgin olive oil is from one place
• Make sure that the extraction was cold during the first harvest.
• That your oil has an acidity of less than 0.8%
• Expiration date less than 2 years.

Sources:

Regulation (EC) No. 1019/2002 of June 13, 2002 on marketing standards for olive oil:
https://www.boe.es/doue/2002/155/L00027-00031.pdf
Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 of October 25, 2011 on food information provided to consumers:
https://www.boe.es/doue/2011/304/L00018-00063.pdf