My Review of Olivari Olive Oil

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Earlier this year I received an invitation to try out an olive oil brand from Olivari and write about my experience.  Of course I said sure.

To be open and honest I have to tell you I was a little worried because although I’ve seen subtle differences between various olive oils I really wasn’t expecting much.

I was wrong.

So here’s how it happened.  I got the olive oil and one night decided to  have just a salad for a snack.   Nothing fancy, no veggies – except for chopped lettuce with olive oil and sprinkled with Romano cheese.

I decided to try the new olive oil on the salad rather than using it in a cooked meal because I wanted to taste it raw.  Since I love salads with olive oil I knew this would be a good test.

Here are the results:

1.  Flavor.

I don’t know what they do – but the olives are general blend of Italian, Turkish, Spanish mix found in most olive oils.   But the flavor was strong.   It was full bodied and definitely did not taste old or bland.

My salad tasted amazing and I made my husband try it and he was impressed too.   I never thought I’d get excited over olive oil!

2.  Pop up pourer.

When I unscrewed the top, to my surprise a pourer popped up creating a spout for the oil to come out of.   Hmm… interesting.  My first thought was, “I wonder if this will create more spills and drips”.

However, to my delight it worked like a charm with no dripping and the words, “That’s coooool” came out of my mouth.

Let me explain something.  I had previously bought a bottle of oil oil which no matter how hard I tried dripped like the dickens.  Every time I used it I had to wash the bottle with soap and water to make sure all the oil was off the bottle.  Pure shame.

So after using Olivari’s pour spout – I was very impressed.

3.  Size of bottle.

I tested the 17 fl. oz bottle size.  I don’t know if they offer other sizes but this is a good one.   One thing you must be careful of is the shelf life of olive oil.  It doesn’t last forever and once the bottle is opened the clock really starts ticking fast.   Some folks say 6 months, some less.  An unopened bottle is between 18 to 12 months until it really starts losing it’s flavor and starts going rancid.

TIP: Look at the bottled date.   Remember especially if a product of Italy – you already lost some time from shipping – the countdown is already started.

I have a friend who had gone to Italy and brought back a “real Italian olive oil” with her.   She used it so sparingly because it was so treasured.   Did she ever notice a taste difference over the many many months she kept it?   I don’t know as she wasn’t an Italian foodie, but to really enjoy olive oil – use it as fresh as possible.  In this case, use it and enjoy it – or you’re truly wasting it!

The Olivari olive oil comes in 3 varieties – Extra Virgin, Classic and Extra Light.   I tested the Extra Virgin.  I only ever use extra virgin as the flavor is so much more rewarding.  For frying recipes, such as my eggplant cutlets, or chicken cutlets – regular/pure/classic olive oil is fine.

Ok, well – that’s it for now.  For more great tips and feedback on product reviews (plus recipes) sign up for my newsletter!

Cia,

Liz
SimpleItalianCooking.com