Recommended olive oil
In this article, I will introduce some olive oils that I have tried and can recommend!
We choose items that can be found in supermarkets and department stores around us, not luxury items.
COSPA No.1
First of all, it is a great combination of taste and cost-effectiveness. Extra virgin olive oil! KIRKLAND brand “Extra Virgin Olive Oil TOSCARNO” from Costco, Italy
This is sold in large 1-liter bottles, and I always buy two bottles at once when I find it! The price is 1788 yen (apparently it is also sold online these days?)
We do this because it seems to be a seasonal product and is not always available. With this olive oil, I can cook dishes with plenty of olive oil without hesitation.
I pour a generous amount of this into the frying pan, especially when making pepeloncino. Then I fry the Aomori garlic cloves until crispy and fragrant. It’s really delicious. ❣️
Incidentally, Kirkland Signature Olive Oil VAL DI MAZARA EVOO (bluish label) is also available in the same size for 1880 yen. This one is fruity and slightly sweet, so if you don’t like spicy food, this one is recommended.
Fresh No. 1
Next is a product that I recently learned about that is sold at Aeon. It is made by “Il Casolare”, a major Italian olive oil manufacturer “Falchioni”. It seems that the freshly pressed oil is flown in, so it is very fresh ‼︎ and it is not filtered, so you can taste the full flavor of the olives.
This dish offers a refreshing aroma and richness that can be enjoyed easily. It is also reasonably priced at about 800 yen. Anyway, it is great with salads and fresh toast or baguettes.
No.1 for daily use
Until recently, Picuda Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Muel Olivua (Spain) was a staple in our house. It has won the Olive Japan award two years in a row. ‼︎
And what’s more, the price is right, I think it was around 600-700 yen for 250ml. Now you can buy it on Rakuten and Amazon, but it is no longer available at supermarkets (unfortunately).
The aroma of olive oil and the pungent taste that can be felt well is very good (maybe not for mild people)
Easy No.1
And next, this was one of the tastiest olive oils available in the supermarket, although I am very sorry to say that I have not seen this one in the stores lately. Fruta de la Vida Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Olive oil with a fruity, refreshing flavor made from locally grown olives in Andalusia, Spain. A blend of Ojiblanca and Picual, two typical Spanish varieties, the oil has a moderate taste of sweetness, spiciness, and the bitterness characteristic of polyphenols.
For some reason, it is no longer available in Japan as it is no longer imported. It’s a shame, because it was reasonably priced. I hope it will come back soon.
No. 1 in number of awards
Now, next is GOYA® Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil UNICO Extra virgin olive oil made from carefully selected olives from Andalusia, hand-picked in October and November, when the olives are at their most fragrant, and pressed within one hour using a low-temperature extraction method. Acidity less than 0.4%. ‼︎ It has been awarded the Gold Prize at Olive Japan (2018)!
This is the product that has won numerous awards introduced in a separate article! The price is a little high, but it is about 1000 yen, which is a very reasonable price considering the quality of the olive oil. The aroma is reminiscent of freshly picked herbs.
A little luxury
Also available at local supermarkets, but slightly more expensive, is Alberto Alberto’s DOP Blue Label 229g olive oil.
Low-acid oil, hand-picked and pressed in about 3 hours by the “cold press” method. It is recommended for those who like a pungent taste and is suitable for hot dishes. It is a well-balanced olive oil with a rich flavor. The price is about 1500 yen. There is also an orange label, which is suitable for cold dishes as it brings out the sweetness of the ingredients. The green label is a strong type, with a strong pungency, and is recommended for meat dishes.
We will add more as we find time, so please stay tuned!
The following is a list of products that I have tried and found to be not so good (this is based solely on my own subjective opinion).
