So in the spirit of full disclosure I need to say that I bought this olive oil without particularly high expectations. My thought process had basically been this: I cook with olive oil a LOT. I go through a ton of it in a month. My local grocer only sells relatively small bottles at high prices... and I really don't need a particularly high quality olive oil just to saute a little garlic and such.
I did not buy this expecting it to be of a quality I'd be willing to use as an herbed oil dip for bread... or even of a quality that I'd be willing to use as a dressing for salad or tossed veggies.
So it was a very pleasant surprise to find that I can use it for both and still enjoy the taste!
Is this comparable to a specially pressed olive oil that has been lovingly prepared by ancestral monks in a remote abbey high in the mountains of Greece through a process handed down through a thousand generations and then sold only to those who are willing to pay a few thousand dollars AND walk through fire? Uh...no... and quite frankly, if you buy this expecting it to compare to a high grade olive oil, you probably shouldn't be allowed near the open-flame of a stove to begin with.
But if you are looking for a good olive oil to use in your day-to-day meal preparation that won't cost you an arm and a leg, then this is certainly a good buy and definitely of a good quality. If anything, it's of a much better quality than you would otherwise receive at this price-per-ounce.
I consider this to be one of the better purchases I've made this month.
100% Italian extra virgin olive oil
