Is your olive oil actually extra virgin… or just extra fake?
Most people don’t realize that 80% of “extra virgin” olive oils on store shelves aren’t actually extra virgin.
They’re often oxidized, stripped of its healthiest compounds, or even cut with cheap oils like soybean or canola oil.
And that means… the oil you think is fueling your health might actually be undermining it.
But don’t worry—today, I’m about to show you how to spot the frauds, pick the best bottle, and even put your olive oil to the ultimate test.
What is “Extra Virgin?”
But – quickly – has anyone ever told you what “extra virgin” olive oil actually means?
I promise, it has nothing to do with whether an olive has ever mingled with a cocktail weenie.
“Extra virgin” means, the oil is extracted using only mechanical methods – generally a cold press – without heat or solvents, has lower acidity, and is not cut with other oils like soybean or canola oil.
Meeting these standards helps ensure the quality of the fats and the presence of anti-inflammatory compounds in the oil.
So, the big question is, how do you find the authentic extra virgin on a shelf full of adulterated frauds? Here’s how you press for the truth…
1. Dark Glass or Metal Bottles
The oil gets oxidized by light and plastics can dissolve into the oil itself. If you see a plastic bottle —or even a clear glass one—leave it and move on.
2. Look for “Harvest” date within the last 24 months
Just because an extra virgin olive oil is in the correct container doesn’t mean it’s the real thing. The second step in finding true extra virgin oil is to look for a “Harvest” Date. Alternative acceptable terms are “Pressed” or “Crushed” dates.
A “Best By” date is arbitrary and, in my opinion, not good enough on its own – unless the oil passes Step 6.
Good suppliers will tell you exactly when the olives were pressed to get the oil because they know that olive oil should be consumed within ~2 years of being bottled.
3. Price Matters
Okay, this one is a sucky reality, but real extra virgin olive oil is expensive to produce; so, you should expect the good stuff to cost in the range of $10 – $40 per bottle. There are of course higher end oils that, like wine, can be even more expensive.
And while I realize the volume of the bottle matters, but I still include $10 as a lower threshold. You’d be hard pressed to find a real extra virgin olive oil for less than that. Sorry.
When it comes to olive oil, you generally get what you pay for. That said, I’m not paying for lambda olive oil. Yikes!
4. Inert Gas (e.g. Nitrogen)
**Steps 4 and 5 are ‘nice to haves,’ but ‘rare to find,’ and I wouldn’t make much of their absence.
If you can find an extra virgin olive oil packaged with nitrogen or some inert gas on top of the oil, that’s awesome! This inert gas displaces oxygen, slowing the oxidation of the oil.
5. The More Information the Better
If you can find a bottle that tells you the story of the oil (type of olive, country of origin, etc.), that’s also a great sign.
For example, look for a specific region where the olives originate. Lesser quality oils often blend olives from all sorts of regions and countries. But the most delicious EVOOs celebrate a specific place.
While you don’t want a transparent bottle (Step 1), you do want a transparent supplier who is confident enough to share the details about how their product was produced and how you can test it for yourself.
6. Reputable Seals & Olive Oil Lovers Club
If you still lack confidence in your oil selection abilities, there are some seals of quality that you can trust, including the Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA) and California Olive Oil Council (COOC) seals of approval.
Either of these seals indicates that an EVOO has passed a series of chemical analyses and a professional sensory evaluation, i.e., it’s real extra virgin olive oil. To be clear, not all real EVOOs have these seals. But if you see them, you can trust them.
You can also check out the Olive Oil Lovers Club. It’s a community of people obsessed with amazing olive oil. The platform is all about top-quality, pure extra virgin olive oils and helping you learn to appreciate them.
However, these seals don’t allow you to rank the best olive oils amongst each other. Yep, even among real EVOOs some are more “virgin” than others. So, if you want the best of the best, you’ll need to put your oil to the taste test.
7. The Cough Test
Start by pouring about a tablespoon into a lid, bowel, or cup.
Swirl it around a bit to get the oil on the walls of the container and increase its surface area. Drink it all up.
It should taste fruity, bitter, and pungent. Different oils have unique flavor profiles, but they should never taste ‘musty.’ This is difficult to explain in written word. But I promise—if you do this regularly, you’ll develop the skill.
But most telling of all, it should have a peppery kick! In fact, top-tier EVOO is sometimes referred to by experts as “two-cough” olive oils because it has such a strong peppery taste that it makes you cough, not once, but twice!
So, what’s With This Cough Thing?
It all comes down to a substance in EVOO called “oleocanthal” from the Latin “oleo,” meaning “oil,” and “canth,” meaning sting.
Oleocanthal is not only an anti-inflammatory polyphenol, but also an ideal litmus test for good quality oil. Although there are about 36, or more, different polyphenols in EVOO, oleocanthal is the only one that causes a peppery taste, and specifically in the back of the throat because this area is enriched in TRPA1 receptors, to which oleocanthal can bind, causing just enough irritation to make you taste pepper and, perhaps, cough.
For Cooking (Macadamia Oil)
For cooking my eggs, meat, and fish I don’t use extra virgin olive oil. I see that as a finishing oil. However, macadamia oil, which has a much higher smoke point (413 F), is great for cooking.
If you want to try it, I’m a proud partner of House of Macadamia. I’ve been using their products for 6 years. You can get 15% off their oil and other products with discount code NICK15.
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