{"id":2322,"date":"2026-11-10T23:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T22:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/?p=2322"},"modified":"2026-11-11T21:40:02","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T20:40:02","slug":"how-to-recognize-good-olive-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/how-to-recognize-good-olive-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Recognize Good Olive Oil: 7 Things to Look For"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>To recognize good olive oil, look for four things:<\/strong> a producer named with a name and address, a dark and well-sealed container, a clear, filtered oil, and a fresh, fruity aroma with a slight bitterness and a pungent kick in the throat. A rancid, musty or flat smell is a sign of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/how-to-taste-olive-oil-at-home\/\">defects<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I am Elia Fuster Rius, olive oil sommelier (ESAO) and judge at the EIOOC. These are the seven things I look at first, even before tasting an oil.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;Extra virgin&#8221; does not automatically mean good olive oil<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Extra virgin olive oil&#8221; is the highest legal category. It requires a maximum acidity of 0.8% and the absence of sensory defects, as assessed by an official tasting panel. That is a necessary condition, but not a guarantee of quality in the glass. Within the category there are big differences: an oil can meet the requirements and still be flat, characterless, or already &#8220;tired&#8221; from poor storage. That is why it is worth looking at the following points.<\/p>\n<h2>1. What does the label say?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Extra virgin&#8221; mention:<\/strong> the highest quality category.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Producer:<\/strong> the producer&#8217;s name and address must always be shown. If they are missing, that is a bad sign.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Origin:<\/strong> country and, if possible, region. A single estate or region is better than a blend &#8220;from EU and non-EU countries&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Harvest year:<\/strong> the fresher, the better. Unfortunately it is not on every label. Ask if it is missing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Olive variety<\/strong> (e.g. Arbequina, Picual, Hojiblanca): a sign of a producer who knows their oil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>2. How is the oil packaged?<\/h2>\n<p>Light and heat make olive oil age faster. Dark glass, tins or bag-in-box are good choices. A clear bottle in a shop window is a bad sign.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Is the oil filtered?<\/h2>\n<p>A good extra virgin olive oil must be filtered. In unfiltered oil, water and residues stay in suspension. They begin to ferment and harm the quality. All the oils I sell are filtered.<\/p>\n<h2>4. What does it smell and taste like?<\/h2>\n<p>A good olive oil has three positive attributes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fruitiness:<\/strong> freshly cut grass, tomato plant, the smell of fresh olives.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bitterness:<\/strong> on the tongue, like artichoke or chicory.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pungency:<\/strong> a tingling in the throat, sometimes a small cough. It is not a defect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If the oil smells of old nuts, wax, paint, mould or cellar, it is rancid or defective.<\/p>\n<h2>5. How does it feel in the mouth?<\/h2>\n<p>It should feel fresh and lively, neither greasy nor flat. Fruitiness, bitterness and pungency should be in balance.<\/p>\n<h2>6. What about the price?<\/h2>\n<p>Quality has a cost: harvest, extraction, filtration and storage. A strikingly low price for a &#8220;premium&#8221; extra virgin olive oil is a warning sign. A high price alone proves nothing. Ask about the producer, the harvest and the origin.<\/p>\n<h2>7. Beware of marketing terms<\/h2>\n<p>Words such as &#8220;pure&#8221;, &#8220;light&#8221; or &#8220;mild&#8221; do not correspond to any official category. They often flatter an oil that has no defects, but no character either.<\/p>\n<h2>Good oil or defective oil?<\/h2>\n<table><thead><tr><th><\/th><th>Good oil<\/th><th>Defective oil<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody>\n<tr><td>Smell<\/td><td>fresh, grassy, fruity<\/td><td>rancid, musty, waxy<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Taste<\/td><td>fruity, slightly bitter, pungent<\/td><td>flat, greasy, vinegary<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Appearance<\/td><td>clear, filtered<\/td><td>cloudy, with sediment<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Label<\/td><td>producer with address, origin<\/td><td>no information<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Packaging<\/td><td>dark, sealed<\/td><td>clear, exposed to sunlight<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>\n<h2>How to taste it at home<\/h2>\n<p>Pour a little oil into a small glass, warm it in your hand, smell it, then take a small sip. Draw air in through your mouth as you do, as you would with wine.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-232200\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Is bitter olive oil bad?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No. Bitterness and pungency are signs of a fresh, good oil.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-232201\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How long does olive oil keep?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Use it as soon as possible, and within 18 to 24 months of the harvest date at the very most. Store it in a dark, cool place.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-232202\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Does the colour matter?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No. Green or golden says nothing about quality.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-232203\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can I order olive oil online in Switzerland?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. At L&#8217;Atelier des Saisons, delivery is free from CHF 100.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep reading<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/how-to-store-olive-oil-shelf-life-and-6-rules-for-fresh-flavor\/\">How to Store Olive Oil: Shelf Life and 6 Rules for Fresh Flavor<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/how-to-taste-olive-oil-at-home\/\">How to Taste Olive Oil at Home in 3 Steps<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I taste every oil and check its lab analyses before selecting it. Browse my oils <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/shop\/pour-assaisonner\">for dressings<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/shop\/pour-cuisiner\">for cooking<\/a>, meet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/producers\/\">the producers<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/about-me\/\">get to know me<\/a>.<\/p>\n<!-- internal-links-v1 -->\n\n<p><em>Author: Elia Fuster Rius, olive oil sommelier (ESAO), EIOOC judge.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To recognize good olive oil, look for four things: a producer named with a name and address, a dark and well-sealed container, a clear, filtered oil, and a fresh, fruity aroma with a slight bitterness and a pungent kick in the throat. A rancid, musty or flat smell is a sign of defects. I am [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-2322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2322"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2541,"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322\/revisions\/2541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2322"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.latelierdessaisons.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=2322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}