Life's Too Short for Bad Olive Oil

Taking care of your skin is a personal daily ritual.

No matter what regimen works best for you, it's important to remember that great skincare doesn't have to be complicated.

With Clinique's classic three-step routine, fresh, radiant skin is as easy as one, two, three.

Clinique's iconic trio of products used to cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize, is specifically created to address your skin's needs and provides a refreshingly simple solution for maintaining beautiful, resilient skin.

Twice a day, every day.

Great skin starts here.

Visit clinique.com to learn more.

HALT is the acronym for it, but heat, air, light, and time are the things that really degrade oil.

So

exposing it to the air, the light, and then the time.

Obviously, like the longer you wait, the more likely it's going to go rancid.

So that's kind of an easy way to remember, like, oh, what should I be doing with this?

How should I be storing this olive oil?

That's an easy way to remember it.

Those just happen to be the same things that make us look old, right?

Heat, air, light, and time.

Yeah,

exactly.

Yeah, I guess it applies to us, too.

I'm Christine Seer-Clissette.

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

I'm Rosie Guerin.

And you're listening to The Wire Cutter Show.

Today we're talking about olive oils.

Yes, I love olive oil.

I love olive oils.

My favorite fats.

Especially in the summer, especially on like some really fresh veg.

Oh, yeah.

Ooh, yeah.

On a super ripe tomato.

Or like when you make your own homemade salad dressing.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, that's good.

I recently heard this hot take by a food journalist who said, if you're going to splurge on anything at the grocery store, it should be oil or vinegar.

And I kind of subscribe to that.

I like being adventurous with taste-testing different olive oils.

That's interesting.

I've I've never thought about the thing that I would spend the most on.

Like what, like I think about that with a wardrobe, like always shoes, got to get the good shoes.

But yeah,

I could see that.

I have a couple of items.

Butter.

Yeah, butter.

These things that are the fats that you cook with.

Yeah, I like the idea, but honestly, I'm just going to splurge on like the protein every single time.

I'd rather spend my money there, but I get it.

Well, given it is prime tomato season, olive oil is the thing that you want in the summertime.

We thought this would be a great time to talk about our olive oil review with our writer, Michael Sullivan, who has been on the show before.

He's awesome.

He is just a wealth of knowledge.

He is going to come on with us today and talk about olive oils, the ones we've tasted, the ones we recommend, but also he's going to give us a real schooling on how to shop for olive oil.

So if you're out there in the grocery store deciding what you're going to buy, I think you'll be able to walk away from this episode with a lot of really actionable tips on how to get a great bottle.

Yeah, and it turns out one of the ways to identify good olive oil is to taste it.

And we're going to do a little bit of that as well.

That's right.

So we're going to take a quick break.

When we're back, we'll chat with Michael.

The Wirecutter Show is supported by Rocket Mortgage.

Your home is an active investment, not a passive one.

And with Rocket Mortgage, you can put your home equity to work right away.

When you unlock your home equity, you unlock new doors for your family.

Renovations, extensions, even buying your next property.

Get started today with with smarter tools and guidance from real mortgage experts.

Find out how at rocketmortgage.com.

RocketMortgage LLC, licensed in 50 states, NMLS consumeraccess.org, 3030.

Huge savings on Dell AI PCs with Intel Core Ultra processors are here, and they are newly designed to help you do more faster.

They can generate code, edit images, multitask without lag, draft emails, summarize documents, create live translations, and even extend your battery life.

That's the power of Dell AI with Intel inside.

Upgrade today by visiting Dell.com slash deals.

Wayfair loves fall.

The crisp air, the cool nights, and of course, the seasonal lattes.

And as your trusted destination for all things home, Wayfair's got everything you need to cosify your space, from comfy recliners to warm bedding and autumn decor.

Wayfair even has espresso makers, so you can make that latte at home.

You know the one.

Head to Wayfair.com today to shop curated collections of easy, affordable fall updates.

That's w-ay-y-f-a-ir-r.com.

Wayfair, every style, every home.

Welcome back.

With us now is Michael Sullivan.

He's a senior staff writer on our kitchen team, and he's reviewed a ton of kitchen gear for Wirecutter.

And he joined us last October, actually, to talk about kitchen gear that will last a lifetime or close to it.

So for our review of olive oils, Michael researched over 40 oils and tested over a dozen.

And he used to work at an olive oil store.

So cool.

Michael, welcome back.

Thank you for having me.

Who better but you?

Yeah, absolutely.

I'm really excited to talk about this with you today.

Michael, just to lay a picture a little bit of what our tastings look like in our test kitchen, we have something about like 10 staff writers and editors at this point.

And I'm always intrigued when you're doing a tasting.

It's like this very serious thing that's going on in the test kitchen.

I see like a group of people sitting around a table.

They're quiet.

They've got notes in front of them.

There's like little bowls or whatever you guys are eating.

And I always like to go in and kind of peek in when nobody's in there.

I'm going to admit it.

Then I'll go in and look in the fridge and see what you guys are testing.

And it's like a wall of butter or, you know, know, yogurt or whatever.

Yeah.

And so it's really fun.

And you guys do a lot of work.

And we're going to talk a little bit about that.

But we thought it would be fun to start this episode by you testing our olive oil knowledge, just to get kind of a baseline of what we know.

Great.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I came up with some true or false questions for you.

Okay.

First one, true or false, olive oil doesn't get better with age.

True.

I think it's true.

True.

Yeah.

True or false, Italy is among the biggest importers of olive oil.

True.

True.

True.

True.

Yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

We know some of it.

Yeah, that one.

I feel like that was a tricky one.

Okay, true or false, it's fine to store your olive oil near the stove with a pore spout.

I'm going to say true.

Oh, it's mixed.

I'm going to say true.

Okay, it's false.

Yeah, you don't want to keep it near like a heat source.

So you want to keep it away from heat and you want a nice tight.

ceiling lid on it.

You don't want to keep it open to the air.

So you're saying that bottle that's sitting right by the stove is like not a good idea?

Probably not the best way.

It makes a lot of sense because you just reach for it.

You use it for everything.

Yeah, yeah.

Exactly.

Okay.

And last one, it's best to store olive oil in the fridge.

False.

False.

False, yeah.

Okay.

I didn't answer that one.

I'm just thinking of all the people I know who store their olive oil in the fridge.

I've never heard of that.

It might be like a 50, like a little bit of a drop.

Doesn't it get like all congealed?

Like chestnut oil?

Yeah.

Yeah, it does.

Which is why.

Yeah.

You don't want to sue that.

All in the middle.

Well, I'd like to say I think we have some things to learn.

Let's get into it.

Okay.

Yeah.

So, Michael, first of all, can you tell us how you test olive oils?

Typically, for like any of our taste tests, we're looking at what's available in national chain grocery stores because we want people to easily find them.

And then we also took a stance and only tested bottles with a harvest date.

So that's really the only guarantee that you know how fresh your oil is if it has the harvest date on it.

Will all bottles have a harvest date on them?

They will not.

So that will really help you narrow down to the selection.

And by harvest date, we mean the date that the olives were crushed.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Kind of like wine.

Well, sort of like wine.

A little different.

Yeah, wine sits for a while.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

For olives, you want to get them crushed and bottled as soon as possible.

Got it.

Got it.

Is the harvest date different from the best buy date?

Yes.

So the best buy date is arbitrary.

So the harvest date will tell you when exactly those olives were crushed.

If it's just a best buy date, you have absolutely no idea like when that oil was put in that bottle right like it could be old oil it could be new oil it could be a mix of both so that really tells you how fresh the oil is and that's really the only way to know i mean there's a lot of other things that we'll talk about today but yeah that's a big one got it we didn't include any flavored oils we really wanted to just do plain olive oil and then we looked for you know oils that would have sort of a range of flavors so that you know you could use them for various cooking applications.

And what is the actual testing process like when you are all in that room in the kitchen and you're tasting things together?

Yeah, olive oil is sort of a funny one.

I mean, I should mention that we're not trained professional olive oil tasters.

These testers train for years isolating like specific defects in the oil and that's how they're like grading it for the sensory part of it.

Connoisseurs, basically.

Yeah, yes.

Yeah, somaliers.

And so we're not that.

So we're tasting just, you know, based on like flavor and the nuances of that.

But we did follow the California Olive Oil Council's guidelines for tasting.

So we use these little blue cups that are tulip shaped and they're dark colored so that you don't see the color of the oil because that's not an indication of quality.

So it sort of masks the color so you're not influenced by that.

These look like mini like sift cups.

Yeah, can you listen to sniff cups?

Yeah, they look like little

sniff gas.

Like when you have a really fancy whiskey, a little brandy.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

But the tulip shape helps to focus the aroma when you're smelling it.

So we use these when we test, which is, this is what professional tasters would also use.

And then we concealed all the brands as we always do with our taste tests.

And then we're evaluating like the smell, you know, the fruitiness, the bitterness, the pungency, like how peppery that kick you get in the back of your throat when you swallow.

Good indication of how fresh the oil is.

So are you just sipping the oil?

You're not like dipping bread into it or something?

Slurping it.

Slurping it.

Yeah, because you want to sort of move it across your palate and the oil.

We also do test it with bread after we've slurped it?

After we've slurped it, yeah.

um you know we always go back and taste the oils again with bread

so much to my wife's chagrin i love spending a lot of time in the olive oil section at the grocery store uh-huh i'm never quite sure what i should look for on a bottle so can you walk us through what you should look for when you're going to grab a bottle of olive oil sure yeah i mean it is very overwhelming when you're standing in the store and you're like oh my god all these bottles one of the easiest things you can do right away is avoid clear glass bottles the uv rays will degrade the oil and that's through photo oxidation so it's halt is the acronym for it but heat air light and time are the things that really degrade oil so exposing it to the air the light and then the time obviously like the longer you wait the more likely it's going to go rancid so that's kind of an easy way to to remember like oh what should i be doing with this how should i be storing this olive oil that's an easy way to remember it those just happen to be the same things that make us look old right right?

Heat, air, light, and time.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, I guess it applies to us too.

So a clear bottle, you just don't know how that was stored.

You don't know where it was stored, how long it's been exposed to light.

So it's just, you risk it being already oxidated by the time you open it.

So that's an easy one to avoid.

A dark bottle.

So you want a dark, a tin or a dark.

green bottle, dark glass.

And then I think most people know to look for extra virgin olive oil, but I don't know that everyone really knows what that means.

Actually, that should have been a true or false question, but

I would have gotten that one.

I see.

Talk about it.

So, what it means is that the oil has been lab and taste tested, like I was saying, those professional tasters, and they're making sure that it's free of any defects.

And also, it can't have any excessive heat applied to it during the extraction.

And the use of any sort of solvents or chemicals to extract that oil are prohibited.

So, it's the highest grade.

This comes with some caveats.

And I think if you bear with me for a minute, I can kind of like dig into this for a minute.

Love it.

So there's no national or international agreed upon standard for olive oil.

So the USDA has their own guidelines, but they're voluntary for producers, which means it's not mandatory.

So an oil that's coming in from another country that's coming into the United States, at the border, there's no one checking it to be like, oh, you know, randomly checking it to make sure that it is indeed what it says on the label.

That grade is what it is, right?

California has its own laws.

Jockey.

Yes.

So the California Department of Agriculture, CDFA, they have some pretty strict laws, actually.

They're slightly stricter than the USDA.

The acidity level has to be lower for the oils that are extra virgin.

They're randomly tested by...

the CDFA.

So the producer of olive oil is going to have a random person come and show up and they're going to test the oil to make sure that it is indeed what it says it is.

But California only makes something like 5% of the oil in the US.

The rest is all imported.

So it's like a huge amount of oil that's coming in from elsewhere.

So while their guidelines are really strict, it's not that much oil.

So this is for olive oil that's made in California?

Yes.

And specifically for producers that make 5,000 gallons of oil or more.

Wow, okay.

Yeah.

Then when we're talking about oils in Europe, they have the IOC, the International Olive Council, and they are an intergovernmental organization and setting the guidelines kind of for all these different countries, right, in Europe.

And all of the European Union countries are part of the IOC, but they are not enforcing the laws for the olive oil.

That's up to each of the countries that is a member of the IOC, right?

And that's for all of the oils that are sold in Europe.

So they're taste tested and they're lab tested.

But because the U.S.

is not a member of the IOC, there's not really an incentive to like make sure that the best oils are coming our way.

So they can export like the dregs.

Yeah, they're sending us their junk.

Yeah, I mean, in theory, no, they should not be, right?

Yeah.

But

how would we know?

Yeah.

Right.

Now, I should mention like the FDA has done random testing.

They did about 10 years ago, they were in the DC area and they grabbed a bunch of bottles of oil from grocery stores and had them lab tested.

And they found that adulteration was low, meaning the oils were not cut with seed oils or other types of oil.

They did not do a taste test.

So the oils could still be labeled extra virgin, but not be extra virgin.

Because let's say when it got shipped over here, it was way too hot and it spoiled on the way, but it still says extra virgin on the label.

But then you bring it home and you use it and it's no longer what it says it is.

It's a purity versus quality issue.

The reason that you do a lab test and a taste test is because the lab test is picking up the acidity level.

And then the taste test is picking up all the things you couldn't pick up in a lab, like any defects.

Oh, it smells like dirty gym clothes or it has, you know, know, it's briny or it smells like it's waxy.

Like they're picking up all the flaws that you wouldn't be able to determine in a test.

So they're done in tandem for that reason.

If you see extra virgin olive oil on the shelf, what you're saying is that it likely has been processed in a certain way with like low heat.

It's been lab tested,

but you may not know the quality of that oil on the shelf that you're seeing in the supermarket, right?

Right, which is why I think tasting it is so important.

And what's frustrating about that, people are like, well, what's the actionable advice?

Like, what do you do?

Tasting the oil to make sure that it's not rancid.

And if it is, then you can take it back to the retailer and be like, this is rancid.

And they'll give you a refund or a stored credit because you really shouldn't be paying all that money.

I mean, all of the oil is expensive.

So

you shouldn't be paying all that money if it's not what it says it is.

What is rancid oil?

How would you describe the flavor of rancid oil?

So most often to me, it smells like a box of creolic crayons.

It will smell waxy.

It'll have just sort of a stale nut smell to it and flavor.

It could also be like slightly fermented, might have like a briny or like sour kind of quality to it sometimes, but I find it's, for me anyway, it's like more often, like when I worked in an olive oil store, it was more that it had that waxy quality.

And old oil will also sort of cling to your mouth.

It'll stick to the walls of your mouth and it's kind of...

it's gross.

But like a fresh oil is actually like quite clean, which is kind of surprising, I think.

I think most people will be like, you're drinking fat, but it actually, when you swallow it, it is like a very like kind of refreshing, like clean, doesn't have that same effect when you taste it.

We'll see about that when we taste it.

Yeah.

When you're looking at the harvest date, is there a time period that you would recommend?

So

what's the window?

Yeah.

So generally in the northern hemisphere, it's the fall and winter harvest and then the southern hemisphere it'll be spring and summer.

So you're looking for the previous harvest date from whatever time you're in.

So if we're in July of 2025 right now, you're going to be looking for October, November of 2024.

Got it.

If it's an oil from the northern hemisphere.

And if it goes beyond that, maybe it's from two seasons ago.

Is that too far back?

You want to use it up within two years of the harvest date is a good rule of thumb.

And then once you open it, you want to try to use it up within two to three months.

So I know big families can buy those big three-liter tins and they can use it up in two to three months, and that's great.

But if you can't do that, like don't be buying these giant bottles if you can't use it up within

you know

well because remember olive oil does not get better with age.

Yeah, right.

That's true.

But even

if you buy in bulk and you don't open them, it's still like not well as long as you're in that that sort of that two year window.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But generally buy smaller if you can't use it up within that window once you open it.

So here's the big question.

How much does country of origin matter?

I feel like there's so much debate like Italy is the best, Greece is the best, Spanish is the best.

I mean, does it break down like that or does it really even matter?

I don't like to discriminate based on like a region.

I really encourage people to try just all kinds of olive oil from all over and see what they like.

It's like wine in a lot of ways.

You know, it doesn't age like wine, but it has, there are so many.

nuances and flavors and there's so many cultivars of olives that can be made and they are in certain regions versus others.

And so to limit yourself to like one region, I think is doing yourself a disservice.

I think it's really fun.

And because it's such a pantry staple, like you're using olive oil, or at least I am all the time, that it's really easy to just buy whatever and try different stuff and see what you like.

And eventually you'll kind of figure out like, oh, I really like this type of oil.

I like it really bold and grassy and peppery, or maybe you like it more like fruity and a little more mellow with a subtle pepperiness.

So you'll sort of, by tasting a bunch of them, you'll discover what you like.

The important thing, country aside, you really want to look for on the label, it should say product of whatever the country is, because that means that the olive oil was from that country, right?

If it says imported from or packed in, that just means that the oil was bottled there, right?

And so, you know how earlier, the true or false question,

Italy is one of the biggest importers.

That's because they're also exporting it, but it's bottled in Italy, but it'll say imported from Italy.

But if you look on the back, it should say like where the olives are actually from.

It's not bad that the olives are from this other place, but I think it's just like, it's a little bit of like marketing saying confusion.

Yeah.

Is there any benefit of trying to assure that you're getting something that's quote unquote single origin, like where all of the olives are from one place?

Or

what's your feeling about blends?

Like, because I've seen, you know, olive oil from Portugal plus

Italy or something like that.

I think, so blends is, it's important, I think, to just kind of define what we're talking about.

So you could have a blend of two oils from two different estates, but you could also have a blend of oils from literally all over the world that are like five or six different countries.

Those are often cheaper.

We're talking about like some of the big grocery store brands do this.

They're combining oils from all over the world.

And, you know, you just don't know how long those oils were sitting, where, when.

I mean, that's why the harvest day is so important, right?

Especially when you have all these oils from all over.

Well, now I feel like I have been doing a lot of things wrong with my olive oil.

But just to recap, by and large, people should be looking for extra virgin olive oil.

If they want the most flavorful, the most kind of complex oil, they want to be looking for that harvest date and it should be within two years.

You want to consume it within two years of harvest.

You want it to be a clear oil in a dark bottle or in a can.

Right.

We're going to take a quick break.

And then when we're back, we're going to talk through how you should be storing your olive oil.

And we're going to do a taste test.

Plus, we'll get some of Michael's best secrets for finding a great olive oil out in the wild.

Be right back.

The Wirecutter Show is supported by Rocket Mortgage.

Your home is an active investment, not a passive one.

And with Rocket Mortgage, you can put your home equity to work right away.

When you unlock your home equity, you unlock new doors for your family.

Renovations, extensions, even buying your next property.

Get started today with smarter tools and guidance from real mortgage experts.

Find out how at rocketmortgage.com.

RocketMortgage LLC, licensed in 50 states, NMLS consumeraccess.org 3030.

Wayfair loves fall.

The crisp air, the cool nights, and of course, the seasonal lattes.

And as your trusted destination for all things home, Wayfair's got everything you need to cosify your space, from comfy recliners to warm bedding and autumn decor.

Wayfair even has espresso makers, so you can make that latte at home.

You know the one.

Head to Wayfair.com today to shop curated collections of easy, affordable fall updates.

That's w-a-y-f-a-ir-r.com.

Wayfair, every style, every home.

High interest debt is one of the toughest opponents you'll face, unless you power up with a sofi personal loan.

A sofi personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one low-fixed rate monthly payment.

It's even got super speed, since you could get the funds as soon as the same day you sign.

Visit sofi.com slash power to learn more.

That's SOFI.com slash P-O-W-E-R.

Loans originated by SoFi Bank NA, member FDIC.

Terms and conditions apply, NMLS 696891.

Welcome back.

We're here with Michael Sullivan and we're talking all about olive oil.

And we'd covered a lot of the basics for what you should be looking for when you're shopping in the aisles.

But now we want to know, Michael, what you think most people are doing wrong when it comes to storing their olive oil at home.

Yeah, I think the most common issue is storing the olive oil right next to the stove, just because that heat, like when you think about like, oh, for extra virgin, you don't want excessive heat applied to it during production, right?

So then to just put it right next to the stove sort of defeats that whole purpose.

And they worked so hard, ideally, to

for those of you at home, Michael is making making meaningful eye contact with Christine and Kyra.

I am guilty as charge.

I keep mine in a clear bottle with a spoon next door.

Fine.

I'll change, I guess.

But also, you want to try to avoid decanting the oil like in a clear glass bottle or some sort of kerat.

I know, and I have a beautiful one that I found at an estate sale.

And I'm just sort of like, I guess I just look at you.

I don't know what I do do with you.

But yeah, the, like we were saying, dark glass or tin is best.

Ideally, a tight ceiling lid, avoid pore spouts.

I mean, like, you know, restaurants will have them in open, but they're, think about how quickly they're going through that oil.

It's like not an issue.

And it's best to store it in like a dark cupboard or pantry, like away from heat and light.

So not directly above your stove.

Got it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And what about plastic?

I mean, even one of the bottles that we recommend.

Graza, yeah.

The graza, I see it in grocery stores all the time.

it looks really cute honestly but it's in a green plastic bottle what's the deal with that yeah so you know the experts that i spoke to they overwhelmingly say that it should not be put in plastic and i think that they're pointing to the fact that it you know some plastics are semi-permeable so then there's the risk of oxygen getting in so they really say to stick to glass and tin you know i think it's hard because so many of the reasonably priced oils in the grocery store some of them are are in plastic.

And so like we included them in our lineup because we just felt like we needed to

include some of these reasonably priced oils.

You know, I think just using them up quickly is

probably best advice.

Can we spend a beat talking about why you're not supposed to refrigerate your olive oil?

I grew up with a bottle of olive oil in the refrigerator.

I don't like how it gets chunky, but I would assume that keeping it in the refrigerator would extend the life of the olive oil and keep it from the heat that could, you know, accelerate it going rancid.

So why not keep it in the refrigerator?

For one thing, it's impractical because then you, yeah, like you're saying, you have this congealed oil.

So when you go to use it, you're like, okay, now I'm waiting for this to thaw and come back to being liquid again.

And some people will run it under hot water, which.

Probably not a good idea.

Also, taking it in and out of the fridge can create condensation, which, you know, some experts are saying, that's also obviously bad for it.

So, you just want to keep it in a cupboard at room temperature.

The fridge thing, don't bother.

There was also some misinformation circulating many years ago that was like, if you put your olive oil in the fridge and it congeals or it solidifies, that's an indication of quality.

And it's, no, it's not an indication of quality because all, you know, each oil will have a different density and they're gonna solidify at different temperatures.

And only a lab test and a taste test can determine the quality of the oil.

What's the most surprising thing that you found during your testing?

You know, I think when we made the decision to only include oils that have a harvest date, I thought there would be fewer than there actually were at the grocery store.

And some of the big brands, like Bertolli, is one of them that I was actually really surprised by.

Which is one of our picks.

Which is one of our picks, yeah.

I mean, that's surprising to me.

Like, we tasted all these sort of fancier oils, what I would consider more expensive, fancier oils, but Bertolli did well against these other oils.

Yeah, it did, which was surprising, you know, but it has that bold, peppery, really grassy flavor to it, which was appealing.

So I want to know, if someone is in a grocery store, they don't have access to the oils that we recommend in our guide, they want to buy a nice oil.

What are some tips for finding something good?

If you're in a grocery store, like Whole Foods or somewhere, like you often want to look not at eye level.

So like above and below is where a lot of higher priced oils will be or any product really for that matter.

Like a lot of you'll notice if you go to like Walmart or wherever like all the white label products are all eye level.

That's called the strike zone and it's all strategically placed for the consumer.

So same applies to olive oil.

You'll often find like at the bottom, you know, some more interesting oils, not like the major brands that are at all the chains.

That's why my toddlers are always picking the oils.

Yes, they have champagne taste.

But yeah, that's like a good thing.

You You can also look online too, if you don't have a specialty food store.

A lot of specialty food stores, if you have one in your area, will have maybe a better selection.

If you live in an area where you don't have access to stores like that, you could go online and just do a little bit of research.

A producer that's very transparent online and like shares their lab results.

Wow, that's like a pretty, they're not hiding anything, right?

So I think that's a good indication of a quality producer.

What's your favorite mail order brand?

Give us the inside scoop.

So one of my favorites is fat gold, and they're actually based in California.

They're moderately priced, it's just like reliably good, and it's so flavorful and robust.

And I just, it's one of my faves.

And we'll actually be trying some today.

So, oh, I'm very excited.

Okay, Michael, you brought some oils for us to try.

Okay, let's do it.

Let's taste test.

Unfortunately, the process is to swirl, sniff, slurp, and then swallow.

Great.

Yeah.

Which is just

horrifying.

Horrifying to do on air.

So this is number one.

Yes, this is number one.

So, okay, so first hold it in your hand, and there's like a little lid for these sometimes, but or you could just use your hand.

You just want to like swirl it in your hand and just sort of like warm the oil a little bit, just makes it easier to smell.

And then.

This is quite a picture.

We are holding these little tulip glasses and swirling them with our palms over the tops.

It smells delicious.

And then then you knock your nose.

You don't like the smell?

I love the smell.

I feel like I'm in Italy.

It just smells grassy.

It smells

very grassy.

I feel like I'm at a farm.

It's

all right.

Yeah.

So now, so when you slurp it, you just slurp it and slip it across your be noisy.

I know, it's a weird sensation.

Yeah.

Oh my God, that's so we're losing Cairo.

You guys, I don't think I can do this two more times.

I really did not like the experience of it in my mouth

just drinking oil.

Yeah.

But the after of it, the way that the flavor diffuses on the palate and it really kicks you in the back of the throat, that's so nice.

Yeah, it is very nice.

Yeah, it's really fruity.

This isn't even the most green apple.

Yeah, green apple, definitely.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So that's number one.

This is olive oil number two.

We're swirling.

We're warming.

Let's get the nose in there.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

I like this one better.

It's not

grassy, dirt smelling.

Like fruits, like

light fruit, maybe a little herby.

Yeah, definitely getting herbs on this.

Yeah.

So swirl, sniff, slurp, swallow.

I'm slurping.

I didn't hear you.

Go on.

That was the.

Okay.

Okay, so.

But this one's like very bitter.

Yeah, it's a little bit more.

I don't know this one.

This one isn't doing anything for me.

Oh, really?

Maybe because you already hit you.

Maybe because it already hit me.

I don't feel any sensation.

Oh, really?

Slurp it like across your tongue.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, my God.

Because this is spicy on the tone.

Yeah, it's

pepper spicy.

Like black pepper.

Yeah.

The other thing to say about this one is it's very thick.

It's in terms of viscosity.

Yeah, yeah, it has like a buttery quality to it.

Yeah.

But it's not like clinging to my mouth.

No, no.

The last one kind of was.

Oh, really?

Yeah, yeah.

Number one tasted more oily.

Yeah,

yeah.

This has a buttery quality to it.

Yeah, Yeah, this one is very mild to me.

It tastes bitter.

Yeah.

And I feel a little bit of a burn.

Oh, interesting.

But nothing like that first burn.

That first burn is like, whoa.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

This is number three.

Okay.

And cap it and warm it.

We're swirling.

We're warming.

We're swirling.

And I'm going to sniff.

Whoa, that's almost like waxy to me.

Yeah.

Remember what I was saying earlier?

Wow.

Is that like a little essence of crayon?

I think it's like a red crayon.

It really does.

Isn't it wild?

It smells like

wax and cardboard.

Yeah.

Hmm.

It smells old.

Just like old.

Is it smells like the rancid one?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Swirl, sniff, slurp, and swallow, guys.

Oh, it just coats your mouth.

I know.

It's a distance.

I don't like that, Michael.

It's a dance sensation.

I don't like if you were like, you just played an off note or something.

Like, it's like,

yeah, doesn't have that burn.

It's flat, clings to your mouth.

That's been sitting in my window for a month with a loose lid on it in a clear glass jar.

In preparation for this day.

In preparation for this day.

This is what it would taste like if you just drank straight vegetable oil.

Yeah, yeah.

It has that sort of, so it's like lost all of its, yeah.

And the lingering flavor is just not

pleasant.

So number one was fat gold, and it's their oil that's made from Arbaquino olives.

and the second one was also fat gold but it is from Frantoyo olives okay that was the bitter spicy one I just got this shipment in so I was like oh this will be fun I think it's nice because you know the the olives some of the grocery store brands aren't gonna have the type of olive so I thought it would be interesting for you to try like

like a specific type of yeah olive cultivar so and then the last one was my little jar of gross oil

clear jar

what are some of the these are not picks no yeah what are some of the picks that we have in our guide that you really love that you've been using since you since you did this guide yes okay so for one that's like really fruity and buttery that's really good with fish or like a lighter salad dressing maybe a salad dressing that has fruit in it i really like the bono sicilia pgi organic sicilian olive oil that one's really good we all really like that one it's not going to be as pungent and bold as some of the others.

Like, if you want something

more bold, Bertolli is like really.

We tested the rich taste one.

That's what they call it.

The rich taste.

So it's just like the bold, peppery.

So their blend, there's a blend of a bunch of olives, but that's like going to be the more like grassy, bold one.

But yeah,

those are like the two

extremes of the spectrum.

And then also the graza, that one's also going to be a little more bold and peppery.

Yeah.

Love it.

Michael, what's the last thing you've recently bought that you've really loved?

Oh.

So this is kind of nerdy, but so I do a lot of sewing, but I just bought these

these antique buttons.

I'm laughing as I'm saying this, because I sound like such a dork, but they're like portraits of like these very fabulous women.

They're like 100 years old and they have like little portraits and one of the women is wearing a big jaunty hat.

So anyway, I'm going to put them on a shirt that I'm going to make.

I love where did you find them?

The World Wide Web.

WWW.

No, I got them on eBay.

Michael, thanks so much for joining us.

Thank you so much.

Another great episode with Michael Sullivan.

I mean, when are we going to have him back again?

He's so great.

Yeah, he better not bring any more olive oil around me.

Yeah, to be fair, we don't want to drink any more of his olive oil.

No.

Lovely man.

Lovely man.

Please don't ever make me do that again, y'all.

What are you all taking away from this episode?

Well, I truly feel that I have now the olive oil walk of shame to do on this show, where I need to admit that I've been keeping my olive oil in a clear bottle with a spout near the stove because it's super convenient.

And I guess I'm going to have to stop doing that when I get home.

For shame.

Yes, for shame.

For shame.

And I think because of the way I've been storing my oil, I will taste it when I get home to make sure it hasn't gone rancid.

Wow.

You're brave.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm just going to assume that my olive oil is bad and I'm just going to buy a new one.

No need to taste it.

What are you going to get?

I think I'm going to get the Bertolli because I've definitely seen that in every grocery store I've ever been to.

Very accessible.

I think I've decided that I'm not going to be an olive oil person.

It's just, I'm happy with whatever works and is cheap.

I feel like this conversation validated the fact that I am an olive oil person and will continue to be.

I'm taking away that extra virgin is king of the hill.

That's what you look for, the designation you look for when you know you want to have something something that is that real authentic olive taste.

And then the other thing to look for on the bottle, harvest date.

Yeah.

Really trying to ensure that you see a harvest date and that it's within two years that you're consuming it from harvesting.

Not to be confused with the best buy date.

Not to be confused with the best buy date.

And older is not better here.

Older is not better.

We're not aging like fine wine.

If you want to find out more about Michael's reporting, you can check out our show notes and our website.

That's it for us.

Thanks so much for listening.

Bye.

Bye.

The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel.

Engineering support from Maddie Mazziello and Nick Pittman.

Today's episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson.

Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Alicia Baitoupe, and Diane Wong.

Wirecutter's deputy publisher is Cliff Levy.

Ben Fruman is Wirecutter's editor-in-chief.

I'm Christine Sierra Clissette.

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

And I'm Rosie Guerin.

Thanks for listening.

It's, yeah, if you're not used to trying it, the reaction was just like people choking in public in the store.

You're like, oh my gosh, are you okay?

Wayfair loves fall.

The crisp air, the cool nights, and of course, the seasonal lattes.

And as your trusted destination for all things home, Wayfair's got everything you need to cosify your space, from comfy recliners to warm bedding and autumn decor.

Wayfair even has espresso makers, so you can make that latte at home.

You know the one.

Head to Wayfair.com today to shop curated collections of easy, affordable fall updates.

That's w-a-y-f-a-ir-r.com.

Wayfair, every style, every home.