Your Olive Oil is (probably) a Lie

[@johnnyharris]

Click my trainwell (formerly CoPilot) link go.trainwell.net/JohnnyHarris-cp to get 14 days FREE with your own expert personal trainer!

[@nickchapsas]

As extra virgin myself, I'd like to thank you for covering this story

[@saucerar7615]

just like me fr

[@AshiquzzamanKironbd]

LOL

[@harshwasnik7636]

++

[@josephchandlerceniza3264]

LMAO😂

[@nevergiveup5939]

Why are we here in this life? Why do we die? What will happen to us after death?

[@TimeBucks]

Thank you for covering this topic.

[@MuhammadYakubu-cy4jq]

Nice 👍 post

[@walifortune-hc4fe]

Nice one

[@mahaburalam7641]

Nice

[@nhrabby7214]

Thumbs up

[@ajsweety4077]

Very nice

[@IBNHATTUTA]

For me, a Jordanian/Palestinian, we mostly take our own olives to special factories where they process it for us to olive oil… that’s why you’ll find many of us even traveling with our oil, it’s important to us, and you can never find that fine taste on a supermarket shelf… and now I know why 😅

[@alok.01]

Nice, just like I take my native snacks whenever travelling

[@skp8748]

​@@alok.01no you don't because you don't have any worthwhile native snacks

[@annamariaiaia1563]

in italy is exactly the same

[@vukaleksic3550]

we do the same thing in serbia with flour lol makes sense we’re #2 globally in bread consumption per capita

[@flashgames8451]

احبك قاسم ❤❤

[@brunoalves-pg9eo]

I live in Portugal and my father has some olive trees. With those olives, he takes them to a special place where everyone can bring their own olives to be pressed and juiced for their oil. Like a community mill. Let me tell you, that original and unprocessed olive oil tastes nothing like the ones you see on the market. It's darker and has a much more intense taste. It works very well for some dishes, but not for soups and salads. At Christmas, we always have 2 bottles, one from home made olive oil and one bought in the supermarket for those who don't like it, it goes really well with our christmas dish of boiled potatoes, lettuce and cod fish.

[@danielbroomhall8882]

Funny that even the olive oil Johnny Harris is drinking in this video is of a class B KKKKK

[@rubr949]

These ones are not good for cooking. Its to clowded. Those particals burn in the pan

[@albtub]

What you say is "weird". I think you can make a better olive oil than that. How long does your father wait after harvest before going to the mill ?? Do they cold press it ??

[@brunoalves-pg9eo]

@@albtub I'm not sure how long he waits. But I can definitely believe that you can get very different types of olive oil depending on how you make it even without any processing and additives. This is just the way we do it here and we're used to it.

[@jorgelotr3752]

@@albtub olives can be pressed several times (at least as long as you don't use the trituration/centrifugation approach, I think) with each successive press (hot or cold) producing lower quality oil. Also, different pressing methods (and not only temperature) producee different results. Furthermore, olive oil may be filtered or unfiltered (the first is clearer, the second cloudier). Second and further pressings (except the last, which is pomace and basically the worst) are usually blended between them and with virgin olive oil to get better oils (than the latter pressinfs, not than the virgin and extra virgin).

[@spenceflatulence]

This was a huge scandal in Denmark six years ago. Some of the oil sold as "Extra virgin olive oil" were deemed unfit for human consumption.

[@peterpain6625]

Over here in Germany also. Started to buy mine in a little store i know would rather close than sell fake anything (owner is Italian and a serious foodie ;)). Pricy yet soo much better than the supermarket stuff.

[@mr.neworld2031]

​@@peterpain6625am Ende kaufst du direkt von der Mafia 😂

[@johnboy8515]

@@mr.neworld2031 solange es echtes Olivenöl ist wäre es mir wurscht

[@ukmaxi]

At least within the EU the regulations on origin and process/procedure/traditions of certain products is mostly protected and therefore action is taken when it is discovered that someone is defrauding the actual product and farmers.

[@riddledtomcat1360]

Do more foods!

[@teo_vlachopoulos]

As a greek I feel fortunate and priviliged that I never had to buy olive oil from the supermarket since I have relatives making it. And trust me , every other greek has some similar source of olive oil through a friend or relative. You can definitely taste the difference between the real thing and processed junk.

[@tahabh6530]

im tunisian and we literally have like 3 trees at our garden we make enough for ourselves and relatives every season

[@adityajaswal5155]

I am from India and my aunt living in Greece sent me olive oil once ... that was an eye opening experience for me... I have tried a bunch of expensive olive oils before... but they were not even close to the real thing...

[@dhavalbhalara1664]

can you please ship it to India? Here I've been using olive oil for the last 7 years and nothing magical seems to me in it because probably it's not genuine. really wanted to test the original one. please let me know :) thx

[@leventelajos5078]

I actually prefer Greek and Spanish oil, because I know they are genuine. And I live in the EU.

[@kototube346]

In Southern Italy is the same!

[@louster35]

Wow I never realized how lucky I am to be consuming the organic extra virgin olive oil my father produces with his own hands here in Greece all these years! Just took it all for granted!

[@yeetboi268]

olive oil doesn't taste that good tho

[@dennisp8520]

@@yeetboi268olive oil tastes delicious. Different olives have different flavors. Some is very robust and can just be eaten with bread. Others are bit less spicy and tastes more like well olives

[@vex123]

One of our friends gifted us a bottle of olive oil. It tastes absolutely amazing! Never tried that before.

[@NonCapiteNiente]

Me too. Always hated when dad asked me, as a child, to help to harvest olive trees. Didn't know at that time, but what a blessing

[@Ramdapanda]

While I'm glad for your new found gratitude, I'm also a bit shocked that it took this video for that realization to come up :D

[@LucaVicini]

I am Italian. I've been living with Extra virgin olive oil all my life. I moved to Andalusia in Spain 15 years ago. Here, the culture of olive oil is a step higher. As with wine you select the grapes by name (Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot noir,...), in Spain we select our oil by the name of the variety of olives (Picual, Arbequina, Hojiblanca, ...) and I can certify that on average Spanish olive oil is of better quality

[@amilcarbarca7290]

thanks, i was starting to wonder why spain was so shadowed in this video... its like talking about pizza and putting the focus on argentina...

[@h.chappelle2720]

Yes. One of the best olive oils I tasted was from Spain.

[@sladjanab]

Yes but you can not tell all olive oil is fake . I am mediteranian and we consume olive oil from Spain, Portugal and mostly Greece

[@olefella7561]

I only buy 'Organic' 'First Cold Pressed' 'Unrefined' 'California' 'Extra Virgin Olive Oil' in a dark glass bottle. You can find one at Safeway. I drink one spoonful daily. By the way, I'm 90 years old.

[@RobertTaylorGreatfunshop]

@@sladjanab Yes you can tell ,If it dont have that peppery bite in your thoat 100% sore its not real.

[@antoniosmagkoutas8222]

Hi everyone, I am a Greek olive oil producer myself. I’m not selling olive oil - and I mention this in advance for obvious reasons. First of all, something I was hoping to hear and I didn’t is that the olive oil you are buying in the USA and in general in any non-Mediterranean country is a second class olive oil. Depending on its oil acridity you define the quality of your oil. All people know and buy the extra virgin olive oil, which is a B class here in the Mediterranean counties. What we produce and eat/drink is the ‘so called’ Extra Extra Virgin olive oil. The acridity must be between 0 and 0.8. What you get is actually olive oil more than 0.8 acridity (0.8 to 2.0). You can’t even grasp the difference between an olive oil of 0.3 and 1.8. It’s almost like you’re getting something else. Another product. The reason why most producers don’t achieve these low numbers of acridity is mostly due to profit and/or lack of knowledge and manpower. It costs a lot to only collect (labour is expensive and quantity not enough) the olives that are still on the branches - it’s a very intensive job during the winter months where rain can ruin the quality of the olives as well as your equipment. Many producers decide not only to collect the ones already dropped in the ground, but there others (lazy ones) not even following the traditional way of collecting them and they just put some cloth on the ground waiting for all olives to fall naturally. This method increases acridity dramatically, therefore, the olive oil quality. And now you can understand the reason why you don’t get this quality of olive oil anywhere else. Producers would rather keep the good quality locally for their families or extensive families and close friends. Who ever gets to help in this very hard and intensive task, will be rewarded with the ‘so called’ golden liquid. At least now you know. When a little of an extra extra virgin olive oil costs here in Greece 10-12 euros, you can’t really expect to get it for 15 dollars and get the real deal.

[@C-dunbrook]

I was just in Greece + Crete in May and heard about the acridity percentage for the first time. Amazing real deal, olive oil over there!

[@xoxjelloxox]

Is olive oil a bit spicy?

[@lewstone5430]

Oh my, you’re so exclusive! Now stop talking.

[@a2pabmb2]

Bruh, either poke your own eyes out or just unplug your router.@@lewstone5430

[@kjstaff09]

@@lewstone5430 why are you so upset by this well typed (not spoken lol) informative comment? I get pissed off at lots of things online… but THIS triggered you? I hope things get better for you. ✌🏻

[@arjalainen6749]

Fun fact: During ancient times the greek city states used to burn each others olive farms when at war, because they were so valuable and it was an easy way to cause harm to their enemies. This was partly because the trees take a long time to grow before producing anything.

[@Erin_Wilson_Studios]

Not just an ancient practice. ISIS did it in Iraq. Turkey continues to burn the olive groves of Kurdish farmers in Iraq. Settlers do it to Palestinians. It's a devastating act of violence.

[@MTTT1234]

Guess that explains why some say why an olive branch is a sign of peace. If the trees were living long enough to bear fruits, then there must have been a long period of peace in that region for the trees to grow that old.

[@techcafe0]

kinda like what Israel does when the IDF brutally destroys Palestinian homes and olive groves

[@wr1120]

I have a 50cm olive oil on my balcony and it grows so slow that I can only hope my great-great grandchildren can witness the first olives on it.

[@fenrirgg]

Fun? That's horrible 😭

[@Bl4ckDrg0n]

I remember meeting once a chef of a restaurant in his kitchen. I saw a Tupperware on top of a table with oil and some olives inside and asked him what was he preparing. He proudly said "olive oil, of course!", then showed me a big bottle of vegetal oil he took and refilled his Tupperware with more oil, where there were about 10 green olives swimming. Never went back to his restaurant.

[@23lizardking]

So the moral of the story is to buy olive oil from places like Spain and Greece etc. where there’s no mafia

[@ExplorerMedia]

Sure, there's no mafia there. SURE.

[@anglomallorquina5898]

I’m Spanish, and my first thought with the dyed seed oil scam was: you can only get away with this in countries whe people don’t have easy access to the real stuff. Even a “cheap” extra virgin olive oil tastes completely different to any other type of oil. Also, and this is hard to explain and teach, olive oil has a particular viscosity that a most of seed oils don’t. I have family in England and once spent 20 minutes in Sainsbury’s tipping bottles sideways to find the “gloopiest” oil I could.

[@Jesusiscoming24]

Can you use extra virgin olive oil to stain wood to preserve wood for gardening so not to use stain that is bad for vegetables

[@chatteyj]

@@Jesusiscoming24 I would use Tung oil, its food grade safe. I recommend raw tung oil as well not stuff that has been processed. However it does take forever and a day to dry but its good stuff.

[@Alias_Anybody]

My issue with olive oil is that everything made with olive oil kind of tastes like olive oil, same thing as with butter. Don't get me wrong, its taste is awesome, but different and more neutral oils are just as legit.

[@danielgeorr9820]

As a Lebanese I feel you!

[@ciaragriffin7398]

Saludos desde Barcelona. Yes there is no way you could get away with fake olive oil here. Tenemos suerte 😊

[@doodledoodledo]

As a Greek, I can say that I eat very good olive oil all the time, our food culture is obsessed with olive oil we put it everywhere. It's not hard to find very good olive oil in Greece and it actually tastes very differently across regions, my personal favourite is olive oil from Crete. Also, the best way to taste extra virgin olive oil is on a piece of bread.

[@seitanbeatsyourmeat666]

With just a sprinkle of salt!!

[@JmKrokY]

Cool

[@zakariabarami3784]

Same thing in Morocco also alot of people buy oil directly from the local farmers

[@fioreloe.9256]

Same. As an albanian, we produce our own olive oil. Its true its nothing like store-bought tho, its smell is much stronger, much better taste, even different viscosity.

[@nitro1234walll]

we have the same obsession with olive oil in Tunisia lol

[@alexanderleighton3226]

Australia has an industry body, and the government regulations on agricultural products are quite strict relative to other countries. The majority of the extra virgin olive oil sold here is produced in Australia. The only overseas brands sold in supermarkets are the ones that passed certification

[@DavideDostilio]

As an Italian oil producer, the best way to taste 100% extra virgin oil is to buy from families that produce oil for their personal consume, like we do. Also the timing is super important: conservatives free oil changes it's taste during months, in october-november the oil has just being harvested so it's taste is at it's best. Good indicators of an high quality oil are it's taste (it must be kinda spicy like pepper) and also it must cost at least 9/10€ per liter

[@cosy1]

Do you ship internationally? 😅

[@DavideDostilio]

@@cosy1 Sadly no :3

[@TAL97]

The first part I agree with - buy from family or small producers. But as a Slovenian olive oil producer myself I can say that the real stuff will cost you at least 16 to 20+ euros per liter. There is no profit if you want to sell it for a cheaper price, especially for small ecological producers. And even homemade may not automatically mean good oil.

[@DavideDostilio]

@@TAL97 Probably the Slovenian market is different, here the prices are lower, probably due to the higher offer. Nevertheless prices in Italy are goin up this year, due to inflation and other factors, in some zones even 15€ per liter. We are harvesting now and we I'll probably sell around 10-11€, in line with my country's prices. Mhh homemade oil is always better in my opinion (as long as it is ground in a certified mill and obtained with non rotten olivas)

[@Lovlalek]

And where would I, a Norwegian, do that?

[@playerone7663]

if Johhny keeps doing this channel long enough he will find out basically everthing is a lie.

[@igordubiago6896]

*- in USA

[@Dan-ch8kv]

At least we know how smart he thinks he is.

[@RoyceVera]

So true😂 I guess money and power makes humans lie.

[@zee9709]

@@Dan-ch8kv how do we know?🤔

[@JoseLuna-tj7qh]

Welcome to the post-truth society

[@juanantonio7117-student]

I'm Spanish (Spain is, as you showed, the largest producer of olive oil worldwide) and now that I'm living in the US I share with you the thought that many people here do not know what it really tastes like real extra virgin olive oil. I have friends who make their own olive oil (they live on rural areas and have some tenths of acres of olive trees) and it is really something completely different, much stronger than what one may find. It means a great deal that you are doing yhese video so that people just do not start thinking that extra virgin olive oil is just normal olive oil with a bit darker color, they are different indeed, and its prodiction really labor intensive. Btw, lots of olive oil from Spain are bottled amd labelled in italy, selling as Italian (legally even) benefitting from the increased price. That can be seen by the fact that in italy, spain, greece... we suffer price increases much sooner than the international market. Nevertheless, in Spain it ja still much much cheaper than here in the US. Thank for the video it was really interesting and beneficial for a vital tradition of Mediterranean culture!

[@nachocosta9476]

No se enteran de nada, en este pais no comen para degustar, solo comen para saciar el hambre. Pero casi que mejor asi por que de lo bueno no hay para todos.

[@vlad_ebakov]

Salut to Spain 🇪🇸 ❤️

[@mysteriousu5528]

Hi, Can I ask you a question? Since you're Spanish and live in the US, can you shed some light on the olive oils from Italy, Spain and Greece sold at tjmaxx? The ones from Spain and Greece have production date and sells lower than the Italian version which doesn't have a production date on the label. I used to buy the ones from Italy in the beginning but then started buying the ones from Spain and Greece with the production date which is normally less than 2 months old from the date produced. I want to know if they are real or fake. Thanks.

[@mysteriousu5528]

I forgot to mention the ones from Spain and Greece have the region where it was produced and says made in Spain or Greece. It tastes amazing on breads.

[@faubourglincoln]

I heard they do the same with Tunisian oil.

[@aletheabaldwin6612]

In NZ, I was told, that oil from nz groves can be tested independently in Australia to confirm their oils are indeed EV. I buy direct from a grove I visited and met the owner and saw his small process plant and shop

[@zerozerop-xv4yb]

Do not know anything about NZ or Australia olive oils, but am willing to learn.

[@vyersleciel]

My favourite part is how the google doc and video don't explicitly state a SINGLE brand you can trust whatsoever. Like, he has the studies and the info. He clearly buys some he trusts himself. But won't give us any insight on the name of the company he buys from.

[@yasminbarry7941]

So I'm not the only one disappointed that not a single brand of olive oil is mentioned here!

[@lars2894]

I recommend Terra Delyssa and Partanna if you live in the USA. Both are single region sourced, fresh (harvested

[@vyersleciel]

@lars2894 ty so much. Good intel is so helpful. I'll keep an eye out. Ironically kirkland olive oil from costco is the real stuff too I found out, so now I've got three to try.

[@lars2894]

No worries. Each grocery chain has their own rebranded private label of a "top-shelf" olive oil - Partanna for Wall mart, 365 Organic for Whole Food, Italian Reserve for Trader Joe, Specially Selected for Aldi, and Kirkland for Costco. IMHO, Partanna is the best, and the other 4 are on par with Terra Delyssa but fairly more expensive. With Kirkland I would only buy "Kirkland Organic Signature from Tuscany". Their Spanish and Italian varieties are subpar quality for the price. And some brands are known to constantly change their sources (eg. California Ranch, Bertolli, Olivita, Carpelli, etc) over the years. You want to look for specifically two things on the label: 1) olives harvest date (not bottled date or expiration) 2) a single source of origin like "produced in north sicilly" (more specific the region the better). Best thing you can do is to buy small bottles and taste them side-by-side.

[@vyersleciel]

@lars2894 super helpful, thank you so much.

[@withamara3206]

As a Palestinian who grow in a family of generations of Olive Oil producers, seeing who people cheat Olive Oil hurts me on a personal level. My family has lots of Olive trees growing in north of Palestine, all our olives trees came from one olive tree that is 600 years old still living in our land. That 600 year old tree is from an Olive Tree called Tsuri. It was brought by the romans from a village in Lebanon called Tsur (Tyre). The Romans liked the taste and planted it alot in what is now North Palestine. My grandma used this olive oil to cure all illnesses when I was a child. The taste is Divine Fruity, and almost spicy, amazing taste, and I can tell you, I never tasted better Olive Oil. And we did drink shots of it growing up. My grandfather used to say: " Drink olive oil and knock down walls" (It rhymes in Arabic) Can't wait to see this years Olive Oil yield. We Cold press our olive oil... (Edit: since alot of people are asking me, please see replies for my email)

[@soldbyhobbs6786]

@withamara3206 can I buy from your family online and have it shipped to Canada?

[@MOTIIII24]

I think it is actually Syrian not from Tsur. What is the name of the farm. I will be happy to contact and buy some good fresh olive oil.

[@withamara3206]

@@MOTIIII24 It's called Tsur, or in English Tyre is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny population. Google it :) I've done the research long ago.

[@theexteriorcleaningguy9457]

Do you deliver to the UK? Serious question

[@phillipholland6795]

Amazing! I would love to try authentic Palestinian Olive oil, I've heard it's some of the best in the world.

[@SuperTommox]

As an italian I'm really happy about this video. There are many scams about our food, often made by us italians.

[@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it]

yeah but mutti and la molisana slap hard as an export food. idk if they have a good repuration in italy but here in poland these 2 brands are miles better than barilla overrated shit

[@albertofoti4152]

@@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it Italians eat a lot of Molisana pasta. In my opinion is the best. I've been to Kielce in Poland recently for work and I've seen that Molisana was selling good there, you have good tastes!

[@canchero724]

This is the main source of income for your mafia. Not drugs or prostitution, but food.

[@kden1473]

Lmao italy buy olive oil from tunisia and mix it to his oil and label it as italian olive oil 😅

[@Chronosmaster002]

Yeah between olive oil and parmesano the potential for fraud is too great

[@h.chappelle2720]

In my readings, olives originated in Greece. Ancient Romans embraced olive oil and put it more into production because they believed that butter caused leprosy--leprosy was more prevalent in Northern Europe than in the southern regions such as the Middle East. Ancient Roman legions that carried enormous weights on their backs and walked hundreds of miles rubbed olive oil on their feet before going to sleep.

[@sodajerker3161]

As a Spaniard, life without EVOO would be so bland. It´s rooted in our culture where almost every national or regional dish contains at least a hint of olive oil, from fried foodstuffs to a gourmet quality meal. Thank you very much Johnny for exploring such an interesting subject, especially coming from a perspective outside of Southern Europe where we just assume its existence and prevalence in everyday life.

[@lukatore123]

As a Croatian I definitely agree. I have my own 40 trees, but I am so sad because this year we wont have even 100 kilos... There have been great droughts this year.

[@franciscomanuelteruelgutie6790]

@@lukatore123 Same in Spain, for 2 years in a row. The price at the supermarket is reaching almost 10€/l, right now.

[@isaacsayolpiedra5563]

However, it is very sad that in Spain, we are great at producing tasteful quality foods and horrible at marketing them. It happens with many products. Spanish Wine, Champagne (called cava), many varieties of cheese, and of course, olive oil... We produce the best stuff and sell it for less than our neighboring countries.

[@thithi8793]

ok

[@atta1798]

Your Extra Virgin olive oil and wines are the best along with the greeks .... so far olive oil from Spain and Greece are beautiful ..... each has its own quality and beauty.

[@Islam-dp4yz]

when I used to live in South Asia, I used to believe that the extra virgin olive oil that I got in supermarkets were real, until I shifted to the middle east and tasted real olive oil. The taste difference and richness of oil was so much apart.

[@helpfulcommenter]

you were probably eating soybean oil

[@sameenwaseem4803]

Where exactly in south asia

[@helpfulcommenter]

I'm guessing Indonesia @@sameenwaseem4803

[@BrewBlaster]

Step in, step on.

[@aimanbelmokhtar9124]

As a Moroccan I usually buy my olive oil straight out from the press and sometimes I get the olive from a tree in our garden and then go and press it , so when i moved to the US and bought that "Extra virgin olive oil " it didn't taste remotely close to what it should be ,it's just blank , olive oil has a greessy texture to it his a raw olive after taste and looks dark green, the bottled one has nothing to do with that.

[@James-n4t8o]

How were you able to escape morocco 😅

[@Victor_E_Phillips]

The world is strange. I started watching your channel last week for some CIA history. Yesterday I was at the doctor's office and she was telling me the olive oil most of us use isn't the good stuff. Today this video is im my feed. I'm sure my phone was listening, but still... Strange syncronicity!

[@katihaynes2936]

Thank you for covering this topic. I used to work with a Sicilian olive oil farm, importing the extra virgin olive oils to the US and educating consumers around the country in grocery stores about this. It’s amazing what people don’t know and then when you offer them a taste comparison - their minds are always blown. Such a story behind this product. I’m really happy it’s getting told even more.

[@augustodeazambuja365]

Just to say, and this is really strange to say, but I actually live in Italy and although I know that there is a difference from the extra virgin oil from the olive oil itself I have to express that not all the extra virgin olive oil tastes the same... I get that regulations about food and such in the US are to say the least bizarre, but, growing in Brazil and have tasting extra virgin oil made in Portugal for all my life, it seems odd of how different it is from the Italian extra virgin oil, but the problem grows even bigger when you notice that the ones being made in Calabria are so much different from which is made in Sicily, Puglia, Abruzzo, Campania... Just goes to say that even in close regions not only the olives that are made are different and adapted for its soil, but also its oil, tastes different: for the example I bought a five litters can of home made extra virgin oil from a friend that has olive plantations in Calabria and the smell when I oppened it was absurd, it filled my house and I loved it, the taste was uniche and much strong, but talking to Italians I got to know that so many of them didn't appreciate it as much because it was so strong and spicey, and they would preffer those from Umbria or even Sicily. Much like it happens to grappes and wine, they are not the same eventhough you learn to apreciate all of them and learn about your own taste. It is strange to think that almost 70% was fake or you guys are just a little bit ignorant about olives and olive oil itself, but I don't think that it is the case, if you take all the olive variesties for a taste you'd feel the difference what's to say about its oil that concentrates so much of it's flavors and shows so much of it's differences... Just to finish I really don't think that the "amanzingness" of extra virgin oil was discovered by the world in the 1960 becouse of some study of an american, it was always recognized and appreciated even if it was not a trend, and how much different they taste based on the variety not only of the soil but also from the specific olives that they are produced from (just for an example the best "mussarela di bufala" there is you'll find in Napoli, and why's that if all milk should taste the same).

[@gloing]

I’ve been living in Italy 6 months a year and the olive oil tastes the same as what I buy in NY and LA and I don’t spend 25$ per bottle. There should be a strong « burning » sensation when the oil goes down the throat, which is sometimes very painful. An Italian olive oil specialist says this is how to know if it’s fresh and authentic. You can also try the refrigerator test (Google it for full details).

[@Jesusiscoming24]

Can you use extra virgin olive oil to stain wood to preserve wood for gardening so not to use stain that is bad for vegetables

[@passportready7371]

I had my mind blown when I actually had the real deal in Florence so I get it 💯

[@katihaynes2936]

@@Jesusiscoming24 I don’t know about that. You could look into shou sugi ban. It’s the Japanese are of charring board, making them last for a super long time.

[@cjay2]

It's one of the reasons I live here. I buy my EV olive oil, directly from the people who grow the trees. EDIT: If you come to Italy to visit, go to an open Saturday morning market, and find the lady with the rough unmarked, or hand-marked bottles. My friends have nice but very simple labels, and they hand-fill-in the year of the gathering. Buy a small 100ml bottle and taste it. Then decide if you want to take some back. But at least taste it. Then go visit the monuments and museums. And then eat.

[@alhasanasaad9850]

Drinking it raw is definitely not weird. I am from Syria, and specifically from the western countryside of Hama, an olive-producing region. During the harvest season, we used to drink a little glass of olive oil first thing in the morning. Nice video. I think once you taste/see the real stuff, it is so easy to identify the bad/mixed stuff.

[@Jesusiscoming24]

Can you use extra virgin olive oil to stain wood to preserve wood for gardening so not to use stain that is bad for vegetables

[@ihatehandles3]

it all depends on the quantity that is drink, a spoon every morning is normal going around with a oil bootle and drinking it as water is definately wierd.

[@maherhammade2336]

اهلين بلد

[@melaluca]

If it doest come outa a recycled bottle it's not authentic

[@N0N4M30]

How do you have internet? Aren’t you guys all bombed down !?

[@LorenzoCastellana]

Here's a tip: If you know any Italians, ask them if they know anyone who owns olive trees or sells olio novello (extra virgin oil from olives that have just been harvested and pressed). Chances are, they know someone who can provide you with a bottle. You'll discover the spicy flavors of olio novello like never before. Enjoy it over a slice of toasted, artisanal bread.

[@NonnoNao]

Se non pizzica si usa per cucinare

[@Tiphareth80]

First of all, very good video Johnny, as usual. A word of advice for my US friends, being an Italian. The price of good EVO in Italy is about 9 to 12 Euros a Litre, anything below that is considered for mass consumption and starts to raise red flags, so being on the other side of the Atlantic and considering import fees, shipping, distribution and various middlemen it's improbable to pay it less than about 25-30 a Litre. An immediate red flag for you should be the size of the bottle. EVO is sold in 1 liter bottle or 3/4 liters for some boutique oils. If you find a bottle that is in exact Oz that's an immediate red flag. You should also understand the process. Extra virgin means that it is the result of the first "gentle" pressing of the fruit. The fruit is not heated to induce the release of oil so it's cold pressed. After this first passage and the EVO is extracted there's a second one. We call this just Olive Oil (no extra virgin). It's still good oil and it's used for mass consumption, usually for cooking and its price is usually half of EVO. There's also a third pressing that is much stronger and usually also crushes the seed of the fruit. We call this third pressing "Sansa" and it's mainly used for animal feed or cosmetics. You can still buy it and eat it and if it comes from a reputable source it still ha some decent nutrients attached to it but it's usually sold to manufacturers of other types of product. Sadly, despite having a very strict wine labeling procedure, we don't do the same for EVO, so we usually choose brands based on price or word of mouth or first hand experience. Basically we buy the best stuff we can afford, because, being EVO 90% of our culinary fats, it really adds up in our family budget. I usually buy, for example, about 3 liters a month for a two people household, so if I choose to buy the good stuff, I sped about 60 euros a month just for cooking fats. So to recap the long comment, be doubtful of imperial units sized bottles. Be doubtful of oil that is too green (good EVO is really yellow, especially if unfiltered). Be doubtful (always) of cheap oil. It costs a lot even here where it is made, it's impossible that it costs there less than it costs here with no shipping. tariffs and middlemen.

[@Taka.1011]

Wait. I might be miss remembering, but when I was 8 years old, my family used to bring olives to the town's mill and get *some kind* of olive oil, that was greenish. And I'd say that olive oil that we get from farmers it's also greenish. What's wrong with that?

[@Tiphareth80]

​@@Taka.1011It mainly depends on the variety and color of the olives. Green Is chlorophyll so it's not and intrinsic flaw for It to be greenish but One of the most common wats to cheat on oil quality Is to add chlorophyll. If you know the source there's no reason for doubt 😊

[@Jesusiscoming24]

Can you use extra virgin olive oil to stain wood to preserve wood for gardening so not to use stain that is bad for vegetables

[@UltrasGD]

If you'll ever be travelling to Slovenia (coastal region) I'll be glad to take you on an olive oil tasting, we are one of the northest region that produce olive oil, so it is very bitter, but also very specific taste and I only buy from local families. Great video btw!

[@tompanter2635]

I live in the UK. Whenever I’m at a supermarket I literally will spend 20 minutes looking through all the various labels on the bottles. I knew that a lot of the oils are ‘fake’. However I didn’t realise it was this bad and that the Mafia was involved! Thank you again for yet another hugely informative video ❤

[@verde2762]

i lived there for 5 years and trust me u cant find real one... i grow my own since i am kid here in italy and that is in my opinion diluted or just low quality olive, even when i was working at sushi samba they would buy mediocre one and pay full price, when i bought mine (with other delicacies) they got mindblown beyond belief xD u can find decent ones in little italy but its mostly big franchises oil, decent but still far from the spicy and greasy real one

[@itsamagicalliopleurodon]

​@@verde2762 I was just about to ask, how can I find a real one in the UK? 😢 Is there any brands that ship to the UK that we could order online, that you know of?

[@emmaconnell2586]

I’m from Scotland and would love to know too!

[@Silvina46]

Spanish Olive oil is the BEST. The controls are exhausting

[@Morbuto]

There some specialist retailers for olive oil in the U.K. (two in Borough market for example) that may have good stuff. Otherwise getting top quality Greek or Spanish oil (look for a Greek or Spanish shop selling it) may be the best bet.

[@Knownonamexo]

I did some research and found a family owned business in Rome, they have their own olive plantation and a tiny supermarket in Rome. Not in a tourist area but somewhere locals live. So when I visited Rome I went to that store and got 3 bottles of their olive oil. And it was amazing! I gifted one bottle to my parents. It tasted fresh like grass and it felt like silk on the tongue. Oh by the way, if your ear hurts and you have the real deal olive oil, you can drop a few drops into your ear and you'll get better quickly.

[@lane6216]

My mom used to do the ear trick and I did it with my kids. We’d warm it up a bit. Nothing more soothing.

[@olefella7561]

I only buy 'Organic' 'First Cold Pressed' 'Unrefined' 'California' 'Extra Virgin Olive Oil' in a dark glass bottle. You can find one at Safeway. I drink one spoonful daily. By the way, I'm 90 years old.

[@nickcastillo3503]

Whats the brand name ?

[@marcsuntzu]

As someone from Spain, I can say olive oil isn't cheap at all, but a twenty-five dollar bottle is savage if you're going to use it as we do. We use it on almost everything, so if you're going to pay twenty-five bucks for every bottle here, you'll probably pay two-hundred and fifty or three hundred dollars monthly in oil. Hopefully, good quality oil here is not that expensive.

[@slothc]

if you're using 10 liters of olive oil a month you're either feeding a family of 20 or have a serious problem

[@TheAsimMohammed]

What are you paying locally in Spain? In the UK, Tesco sells La Espanola Extra Virgin Olive Oil for £7.75 for 1 Litre.

[@marcsuntzu]

@@TheAsimMohammed There's a scale between 8 and 10 euros, depending on the brand.

[@TheAsimMohammed]

@@marcsuntzu That makes UK prices reasonable, which is good to see.

[@ltu42]

@@TheAsimMohammed In a Lidl in Dénia the most expensive olive oil was around 5 € per litre, with several brands at around 3.80 €. For us coming with a preconceived notion that any EVOO under ~10 € a litre is a scam, it was hard to choose.

[@Spaniard47]

I lived in Spain for several years, and I can say with absolute certainty that Spaniards value their olives and olive oil VERY highly. If you ever visit, taste the olives at an olive shop (yes, those exist). It will completely change your perspecitive of what olives even are. And if you want a better price here in the states, trust me, buy genuine Spanish olive oil from a reputable source. It's as good or better than most italian oil. The stuff will transform the way you eat.

[@boscodomingo]

Thank you for pointing it out. When he said Italian oil is the best in the world all I could think is "nope, he has no clue about good Spanish olive oil". We control 30% of that market for a reason! It's a huge cultural thing here, and my family look at me weird because I cook with margarine as it's less calorically dense, but it'd be the same with butter. People don't use them, everything (except deep-fried stuff) is fried with olive oil here

[@deborahgonzalezknight168]

Italy gets a lot of oil from Spain.

[@chouchounr1]

😂

[@MiGujack3]

Exactly. The climate is identical, olives are the same but we don't have that prestige bs

[@3ducs]

@@boscodomingo Margarine is not a healthy alternative to other oils, you would be better off with animal fats such as lard or butter.

[@redoberon]

As someone from Spain, it is mind boggling how (with all respect for Italy) Italians have deluded you into thinking that their olive oil is superior just because it's theirs. I know there is a huge community of Italians in the US so I guess that's the reason, but you just need to check the numbers. Spain produces way more high quality virgin olive oil than any other country in the world BY FAR. There are entire regions and communities that have been dedicated to this for centuries. It's not rare at all for people from southern Spain to have a decently sized chunk of land in the countryside where they grow olive trees, for self consumption, or to sell.

[@sir.fuentes7642]

redoberon, you're absolutely correct. Spanish oil is a superior product, but they have people convinced that anything Italian is better. They have a grasp on the US market. The same can be said about wine, being Spain the largest producer of quality wines in the world. Case in point, the prosecco explosion. Cava being made with the traditional method of champagne production is forgotten. Don't get me started about Pata Negra vs Prosciutto. The whole thing sickens me.

[@treyshaffer]

For anyone wanting to get into the deep rabbit hole of olive oils, focus on finding EVOOs that use single varietals (types of olives) to figure out which specific olives you like as it influences the flavor the most (although processing and handling do too). My personal favorites are the Italian varieties of Itrana and Moraiolo for raw/fresh tasting purposes, and Greek Koroneiki olives are good for use in baked goods or, more generally, as a butter replacement. Also, good EVOO has a high smoke point, so it'll be fine for sauteeing and frying.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

Why do they say, then, that one shouldn't use EVOO for frying?

[@treyshaffer]

@@erzsebetkovacs2527 they just don't know what they're talking about. lower quality olive oils have lower smoke points though, and this figure is often listed on reference lists of oil smoke points, so it may be part of where the myth comes from

[@Oliveoillovers]

This guy oils 🙌

[@treyshaffer]

@@Oliveoillovers Hey! Funny to see y'all here! I love your site :)

[@mrhassell]

Living in Australia, has some great health benefits. Among other things, rigorous food testing means that we're mostly free from these kinds of scammers and we grow our own.

[@200Das]

In Australia you can still end up with a pretty bad olive oil if you stick to the mainstream mass-produced brands sold at big supermarkets only.

[@MisterF_1984]

Any sources to confirm this? E.g. is the Coles/Woolworths EVOO legit and how do we know? Cheers!

[@200Das]

@@MisterF_1984 many of the cheaper ones you find at woolies are still mixed with other hydrogenated vegetables oils (those not labeled as extra virgin). You can find decent legit brands like cobram estate, but still not as good as a proper family-owned EVOO. If you want top quality olive oil in Australia, get in either from directly from organic farms or at specialized delicatessen stores but expect to pay at least around $40 for a 500ml bottle.

[@chatteyj]

Can't they grow olive oil in Australia and the US? They have hot climate areas. Is it really limited to the meddittereanean ?

[@mdc4677]

​@@chatteyjthere is an Australian olive oil industry based in South Australia

[@alexanderveritas]

As an *Italian* myself I can confirm that I’ve never tasted actual olive oil, it’s all soy oil with colorants.

[@bklyn11217]

I recently went to a olive oil class (I'm weird too, Johnny😁) at Olive Brooklyn and learned what the real thing tastes like which is slightly bitter, grassy and sometimes a touch of peppery-ness. Since changing my diet, I feel like I'm just now learning what food actually tastes like and it's both eye opening and sobering. Great video!

[@isacs29]

Which brands you recommend

[@SinanDemiratar]

As a Turkish Mediterranean and someone who’s family has an olive farm and produce to give away to friends and use our own, I only buy either rarely known Turkish brands which are from small family run farms or Greek brands as an expat living in Dubai. PS: If you taste a real extra virgin olive oil, you’ll get to know how to differentiate them. Stay healthy everyone 🤞

[@tiusernamenabalw]

I am Greek and have been scammed by some of our local (non branded) producers that you find around tourist areas. Better buy branded (and official quality controlled by authorities), but small. In Dubai try Zois Fine Food :)

[@Ninjastahr]

I'm in the states, and after having real extra virgin olive oil in Italy I've been chasing that here ever since

[@SinanDemiratar]

@@tiusernamenabalw I will give it a try neighbor thank you :)

[@acovidsurvivorof2020]

Ben de Manisalıyım, bizde de yağ eşten dosttan hediye olarak veya para ile alınır. Ben hayatımda marketten yağ aldığımı hatırlamam. Bunu izleyince memlekete şükrettim, bu ülkede hemen herkesin ev yapımı yağ aldigi arkadaşı vardır.

[@oh_ze]

You're Turkish. Why the need for the extra description? You should also separate yourself from other Turks by detailing your ancestors, height, education level, eye colour etc.

[@emanuelescarsella3124]

As an Italian I have to say, this video was very needed. Everywhere you go you find terrible Italian rip-offs products, and people get easily scammed because they simply don't know how this stuff is supposed to taste like. Here we are well aware of how good/bad the products we find in stores are, and a good reason for this is that in Italian suburbs it is very common for those who produce some of their own food themselves to hand it over to relatives and friends (especially in the south), for example we have chickens and we give away eggs, and all our friends and relatives really appreciate them (because the eggs you buy at the store are terrible compared to those) and we have some friends that each season give us extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, potatoes, apples, strawberries, cherries, sheep meat of any kind (that lust one is a speciality of "Abruzzo", the Italian region I'm from) and each year with the tomatoes they give us we also make enough tomato sauce to last us for a whole year and we hand over that as well to our friends and relatives and those are very popular among them (again, because the one you find at the store is acid af). By applying this same reasoning to foods from other cultures I can easily believe people when they say for example that sushi tastes very differently in Japan that it does here😅

[@GloomGaiGar]

You can still get terrible sushi in Japan fyi

[@pushslice]

Bongiorno! I just came back from a holiday to Italy; and having tasted some of the oils furnished directly by farms in Umbria and Marche…wow! Indeed, it tasted like a completely different product than what I had become accustomed to. It was also fascinating to visit the local wine & oil co-ops, where the locals would just bring their jug & buy the products in bulk for very reasonable prices.

[@joseanl]

I'm from Spain, part of my family has olive trees and I'm laughing at all of this bc..I know the real taste of good olive oil too! it's easier to get an overall mid tier product that is better than average, than actually buying the really good stuff if you never tasted the real deal

[@joseanl]

the "Spain oil is sold to Italy" part I know a lot too, my country is not as good as selling itself to the world as Italy is". I've been to Italy, I tasted italian and spanish oil and when it's good it's really good in taste, albeit with different tastes and nuances you only catch if you've been eating stuff with olive oil all your life, thus that scam is really easy to make, buy in bulk from Spain and bottle in Italy

[@aronasmusicandart9876]

Bella anch'io sono italiano e sono assolutamente d'accordo, tutti ci copiano ma nessuno sa come le cose sono veramente, qui in italy

[@hwh888]

I read about this some time ago and for that reason I do not buy Italian olive oil, period. I now only buy EVOO produced in California from small independent producers. It’s fresh and absolutely the best in quality. Disgusting that organized crime in Italy did this. Now many just do not trust the name Made in Italy.

[@glaidjph]

I have been living in Spain for almost 6 years now and I can say that having access to good and authentic extra virgin olive oil is a game changer on how I prepare and cook my meals. EVOO has an acquired taste. Here, there are numerous brands, from big suppliers to small olive oil factories, and you get to play around the intensity of flavour you want. That being said, it would be difficult for countries that don't have easy access to this product to discern which one is real or not. A normal EVOO here for cooking is around 6-10€ (1 liter) so it is insane for me to think of paying 25$ for a small bottle.

[@nahor88]

I'd still be willing to pay that price knowing I'm getting the real stuff; I checked out his doc in the link, but I'd like to know what are some commonly available brands in US stores that meet all those criteria? I've been to some olive oil tastings, and all I know is that the real, high quality stuff has a distinct combination of bitterness and zestiness that has a pleasant mouth feel, and slightly burns your throat. If it's harsh on the pallate and throat, the acidity is too high, which means it's likely fake or old. If I'm being real though, I mostly use oils for cooking, and I can get the same nutritional benefits of olive oil, primarily the high Omega 3 content, from other oils.

[@KeenanModica]

What is a good brand to buy in Madrid?

[@tupapichulo]

in spain theres no "fake" olive oil, it is label by the procedence, the worst olive oil available is the one that contains the bones of the olive and skin@@nahor88

[@Bryzerse]

American food standards never cease to amaze.

[@collinbarnard207]

Agreed. Also dental hygiene in the UK is astounding to me. It leads me to believe there is far more inbreeding in the UK than is reported.

[@Bryzerse]

@@collinbarnard207 Astoundingly good or bad? I wouldn't know either way, you'd have to ask someone from the UK.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

And never cease to despair or disappoint

[@ricardomartins1783]

In the late 90's, as a business student, I was able to talk to a relevant portuguese producer that told me he would only sell 15% of his juice to local market, Spain, UK and Brazil. The remaining was sold in bulk to Italy and they would label it as local and got unreal margins. I think that was it, not fake mixures, people would drink quality anyway.

[@amilcar4838]

Same thing in Tunisia since the association agrement.

[@scott9334]

Even in Italy, a lot of stuff on supermarket shelves will say something about olives being of EU and non EU origin. Saw this in France as well. Honey is the other big industry like this. The irony of course is that Tunisian olive oil and Spanish olive oil are not worse than Italian at all. I think the best olive oils I tasted were from Portugal (family friends hand produced), Tunisia, and Jaen in Spain 😂

[@signor_No]

​@@scott9334i'm italian, i have tried various oil from a various region of italy, and every region oil have different taste from each other, there are some more spicy, some more sweet, some more acid, this is the same for all the other regio of mediterranean see

[@marymar4181]

My family is poor and they worked as simple workers for years in Greece, they were collecting olives and other vegetables, and were able to get this olive oil at lowest prices possible so growing up I used to taste the olive oil as it is and my buds are used to it , I don’t think anyone could fool me !

[@tealcedar]

“You may have never tasted real extra virgin olive oil” *laughs in Lebanese*

[@CoreDump451]

Laughs in Jordanian

[@shaygraham6925]

😂

[@romankok]

Would have been a nice touch to also mention that Spanish and greek olive oils are also top-notch quality.

[@upiferico]

Spain is indeed the largest producer, it's strange he didn't mention anything about Spanish olive oil

[@MinMorts]

My brother lives in spain and his best friend is greek, watching them argue when i say that italian olive oil is the best is a secret pleasure of mine

[@eduardosanmiguel8132]

In a nutshell: buy Spanish olive oil because it is the same quality as Italian olive oil, but you won't risk buying mafia pee-pee. And it's cheaper because there's no absurd premium.

[@Kareragirl]

@@WealthyandNerdy I am sure the Greek people would totally benefit from not exporting any olive oil and your economy wouldn't suffer at all.

[@vulcan4d]

Yup very true. I went to Italy and met a local farmer. Tried their olive oil and it blew my mind! The ones you can get from known public sources in Italy was good but not this good. Going back to Canada, the olive oil we get in stores is pure trash.

[@andresil8330]

I had the pleasure to live in Portugal for a while and taste real olive oil produced by friends and I could help in the process. It was SO DELICIOUS that I would eat every day with just bread or put on every of my meals. It’s been years and I still miss it, never had the chance to buy an oil like that one.

[@Jesusiscoming24]

Can you use extra virgin olive oil to stain wood to preserve wood for gardening so not to use stain that is bad for vegetables

[@raysmith1127]

Use Tong oil.

[@lopesdiogo1]

U can buy "galo or caixeiro" online ...

[@billybob1723]

@@Jesusiscoming24 - You need something that won't go rancid.

[@Jesusiscoming24]

@@billybob1723 .. I heard of mineral oil

[@kingsleylaurent562]

How do you know a particular content is good? When you wonder how a 21 plus minute video went so fast. Great content as usual.

[@MrNathansdad]

Wow - I didn't even realise this was that long! 😮 Truly great content

[@jimmymoller8640]

Didn’t realize I was sitting on the throne this long either. Hahaha.

[@kingsleylaurent562]

@jimmymoller8640 yeah not gonna lie, it do be like that

[@Pablo-vv9lr]

Maybe it's because I'm Spanish and I have olive oil literally every day, but in my opinion it's incredibly easy to tell apart extra virgin olive oil from the other stuff, it just tastes that much better that even when taking it with other things you can instantly tell if it's good or not

[@nate-otero]

Amen brother

[@auto952]

As a Greek, I totally agree. It's so easy to tell the difference, but again, Greeks are by far the biggest per capita consumers of olive oil.

[@Darkmaiki]

@@auto952and Spain is second. This is why I like to buy French cheese, the guys eating it daily will actually produce it better

[@GloomGaiGar]

@@Darkmaiki And are most likely to counterfeit it well too.

[@naynu757]

As I spanish person, I love to just go to the kitchen from time to time and and drink a couple drops of oil

[@Karahalios1]

Excellent video as usual. Cought my eye as recently expanded one of my companies into food products, including an EVOO from my parents' birth region, Sparta, Greece. Over the past 11 months I had to learn a lot and still know very little. And because all of our products are private labels, the responsibility involved is even higher. Videos like this are of great importance for people who have no access to such knowledge. My congrats to the team.

[@ottitudes1991]

A Greek olive oil producer from Zakynthos taught me that no genuine olive oil should have more than 13g of saturated fat / 100 ml. Dunno how true that is but since then I always check the label and if its 13 or above I hard pass. I did notice that indeed, the ones under 13 taste a lot more "green and fresh" and give me less of a reflux reaction (its still straight oil, so use sparingly). Also, I know everyone is all over Italian olive oil, but do give other regions a try. Middle East, Greece, Spain, etc.

[@TheTomexification]

Late November/December is harvest time for olives here in Portugal. My late grand parents, had Olive groves, they used to put burlap tarps around the trees, used wooden ladders (made by my granddad) and kind of a rake (don't know the name in English) to strip them from the branches. When I was a kid, I wondered why the olive oil in the supermarked looked like sunflower oil, so much different from the one at home.

[@crrc77]

The production quality of these videos is just insanely good. I think I havent seen any better on KZbin.

[@vitonildo]

When I lived in Valencia, Spain, had the chance to buy fresh olive oil, just pressed from recently harvested olives (it was November), produced in a small village nearby. I never forgot how delicious it was.

[@DardaniaLion]

I have high respect for you Johnny!!! Covering this scam is very good and I am thankful for what you are doing. Please cover other food scams like juice or other food we are told are this but actually are totally different.

[@dabadoo7631]

i read that America grows olives so guessing they can make their own

[@e.a.matesanz]

I'm from Spain. We use olive oil for *everything* (yes, for toasts too). My mum even used it for lice removal. Everytime I go to northern Europe I'm amazed that people cannot taste the difference. And I don't just mean between the legit and the false olive oil, but between the olive oil, virgin olive oil and *extra* virgin olive oil. The latter is used ideally raw (as in salads, or as a sort of sauce), the other ones are used best for frying, as it actually endures better the heat. I usually don't even buy butter (some people do, but it's definitely way less popular over here). Now, having said that, please don't drink olive oil like that 😂😂💀 It's meant to be eaten with bread or something, not as a juice. Yes, it's healthier than other fats, but it's still oil.

[@jobhuisman6350]

It's kinda sad to see you seem to be one of the only people that realize extra virgin isn't better in all ways it's not meant for heating

[@VnkLG]

​@@jobhuisman6350we would never do that in Spain lol

[@TonyFrmSpace]

Northern we have good olive oil too. Maybe try it first

[@beebee4334]

American here. Once you TASTE real olive oil, you know right away you’ve been duped all along by most other brands. I have a friend who’s a wine distributor. He gets free extras from the vineyard families which usually includes other products they grow or produce on the same land. He gave me a bottle of Tuscan EVOO from a small vineyard that also produces olive oil. It was AMAZING. In that moment, I knew I had never tasted real olive oil before that day. And I always buy the good stuff at Whole Foods! Or at least I thought I was buying the good stuff.

[@ambivertical]

what brand from whole foods are legit olive oil?

[@weddingwiththewhitedove]

Why not export to europe?there are nithing f usa oliveoils here

[@nodric2314]

As a Cypriot I laughed when he said you probably never had real olive oil.

[@gcgcgcgcgcgcgcgc]

I'm Italian, and a big part of my family from Puglia is envolved in production and selling (2 very distinct aspect) of Olio extra vergine di oliva. During my entire childhood, adolescence and also now, I've always had the chance and honor to compare many flavors, recognize them and sort them out from the good stuff and the industrial ones (olive oil, tomatoes, vegetables in general, fruits, meat..) and the single most mind-blowing fact is that, everyone in my family that was used to consume these top notch products, the first time we tried industrial ones, we felt sick for days. Food can heal, do your best to not make shitty companies richer with your money and on your health.

[@sierossafaar8767]

“The most magical liquid on earth” I’m sorry, but that title is taken by tequila

[@gominuke]

Im spanish and I think that the only true extra virgin olive oil that I’ve had is produced by my father -in-law. It’s really labour intensive and the whole family helps out picking the olives from the trees during the winter. The pueblo (village) have a cooperative where everyone gives the olives they’ve recollected and then extract the oil using shared machines. They give us a 5L bottle every Christmas and I’m always looking forward to it. It’s reserved for salads and dipping bread. There’s nothing like it, even in local supermarkets :(

[@MiGujack3]

Where? Can you purchase it? I'm tired of the hacendado garbage.

[@90hunt]

I'm Italian, coming from Puglia, the same region of the big fraud and I have some advise for anyone to figure out if you've been scammed. 1) Extra virgin olive oil is made and bottled asap after the harvest (as the video explains really well), the harvest can be made in different ways but it always happens between november and early january, the northern you go in Italy, the earlier it happens, but not sooner than October. This means that if you check when the oil was bottled, if it's extra virgin, it should be very close to this period. 2) If the bottle is not older than one year, usually the oil it's bright green colour, It seems weird but it's not chemical, most of the people think oil is yellow, but the "new" oil keeps for a while the colour of the olives, and olives are green. With the time also extra virgin oil gets yellow, is still good oil but it's less easy to figure out just looking at it. Not impossible though. 3) Finally, if you manage to buy one bottle of real extra virgin olive oil, you'll find the flavor delicate with a hint of "spyciness". Yes, "new" good oil is a bit hitchy on the tongue. With the time also extra virgin gets less spicy, but trust me if I say that the flovor is completely different. Crappy oil has very invasive flavor with acid persistence. PS if you never tried extra virgin olive oil, there is a chance you will not like it the first time. It's not what you expect if you're not used to it. If you can, pour it on a slice of freshly baked bread with some ricotta spread over it. For me that's the ultimate way.

[@ddacoe0]

wow!

[@diego6849]

I have 100 olive trees and make my own cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil. That crap sold in supermarkets is not made from olives, guaranteed

[@Rockmaster867]

Just checked the oil I have at home here in Austria. Both are extra virgin olive oil. Even the organic one "only" costs like 7-8€ for 0,75ml. After thinking about it I think I never had anything else at home. Tasting a pure spoon full for the first time in a while it made me appreciate it much more again! I usually use it on salads. Great stuff. Thanks for the video Johnny & team! Btw, the quaility definitions are in an EU regulation, so we got that going for us which is nice.

[@rudib-5304]

You probably meant 750ml, or 0.75 liter...😀

[@m.k.6143]

​​@@rudib-5304Maybe it wasn't a mistake and it's really that expensive 😂

[@TheAstralftw]

here in Europe we don't have that fake oils like USA , so even if you live in Central Europe , still in super markets you can buy solid quality of olive oils for reasonable price. Maybe they are not same as those who are grown directly from families in Mediterranean but they are still great stuff. One of few good examples of EU regulations. I am from south Croatia(Dalmatia) my family has some olive trees, so I use family olive oil for salads and dressing, while use those bought in Lidl/Interspar for cooking.

[@herbertlong3981]

Just because it says EVOO on the label, that doesnt mean its real olive oil I am from the US, and these days I buy only 100% California raised and processed oo. My brand is "California Olive Ranch 100% Californian" 5 years ago I splurged, bought a bottle, tasted it and never went back. NO comparison to what I had been using. Wouldnt think of buying anything from Europe or S America. Mafia fraudster bullshit. And believe me, it tastes like that. It comes over to the US in huge tanks, is old, turning rancid, , and it is very easy to adulterate. More than likely is already adulterated when it is put into those tanks over there NO FREAKING WAY I realize that if you live in Europe, there likely is a better chance that it is genuine, than getting European oo here in the US There is a long, long history of fraud in this business. Beware

[@kellsonmarcus]

I'm Brazilian, and moat of our olive oil here actually comes from Portugal, which makes our local market and exception to global trends. Nevertheless, Italian and Spanish okive oils tend to be more expensive. To the best of my knowledge, there are labeling and testing regulations in place that ensure that companies label their bottles properly. These regulations are especially strict in tegards to companies that mix olive oil with soybean oil. They can't label it as olive oil and rather have to sell it under the term: "mixed oil." Great video and great insights into something I had never put much thought into.

[@trinchuzosparty]

So, basic tip for 'Muricans: BUY SPANISH OLIVE OIL 😅 even the good proper and expensive Italian olive oil has a big chance of being Spanish olive oil just bottled and labeled as Italian 😉

[@JamieW-o7b]

Now take a look at the cinnamon sold in our stores, some aren't even cinnamon!!

[@eckartdeseke8418]

"Extra Virgin" means as you stated briefly, not being acidic. Meaning, if one presses the olive oil a second time or even more often and then treats with chemicals so it’s under the required acid level, it is still "extra virgin". The thing one needs to pay attention to on the bottle is, if the oil comes from the first pressing or was mechanically produced to tell if it its good oil or not.

[@SultanMahmood0071]

Can totally relate to this, the difference between good extra virgin olive oil and a lot of the olive oil we find in the supermarkets is worlds apart, only realised the difference on how good it can be when living in Tunisia where the process of producing olive oil on the farms results in the freshest lightest thing that you put on everything

[@mohasyd3942]

We used to have a farm in Syria where we had olive trees, and we produced our own olive oil. The real olive oil is dark golden with a hint of green color in it, and the taste is strong, rich, and can almost bites your mouth back when you taste it. Merchants used to cheat by mixing olive oil with vegetable oil or seed oil in order to make the taste lighter and the costs lower. There's even an episode of a comedy series where a merchant decides one day to be honest and stop selling cheated olive oil because he was having a bad feeling about it. To his surprise, his costumers came back to him complaining about the "bad" bitter taste and accused him of not selling them a quality oil. Of course, because they've never tasted the pure real thing. Anyway, I'd take Greek olive oil over Italian olive oil any day of the week.

[@Albanian_crusader]

As a person who makes his own olive oil. I see this as an absolute win

[@nonyobisnes5638]

I went to the local health food store. I found some quality evoo. Brought it home and taste tested it against a cheap phony evoo. I'm a changed person, Johnny. I also find myself craving the good stuff. Thank you so much for this video. It is absolutely worth it to buy the good Evoo.

[@hamoudi-zg2gz]

So if olives are fruit does that mean that olive oil is fruit juice?

[@Masquerademasque]

Shower thoughts

[@HighBeanz]

Underrated comment

[@joaquimllera3544]

Fun fact to this, my father use to have a olive press here in Portugal (50 years ago), and on the beggining people will not buy the Extra virgin oil (the first one explained on the video) because it was to strong they prefer the "3rd crush" where you basically use some chemical to mix up the seed and the leftover skin and that one was "smoother". So i will probably understand if someone dont know the taste, you will even prefer the less quality oil. The solution is easy (and is not), i think you need regulation on the USA to put the same labels as Europe in that way you at least will taste oil with only the mechanical procedure, as intended, and then you have a decent oil to taste, but even this will not make you taste the best virgin extra oil because for me is easy to know wich brands are better or worst (because not all are the same, some have biggest production so they need to do everything fast and so the oil is going to be more acid (greener olive) and usually are not the big brands that have the better oil).

[@shannahsnyder5653]

I hate commercials delivered by a person i am taking advice from, it makes me feel everything is a lie bought and paid for by someone with an agenda to make money off me.

[@leandropiccionenter]

I grew up in Sicily (south Italy) myself, my grandpa still has a few olives trees. Every year I remember the olives collection and then we would bring them to the industry in front of us to press the olives. You could barely trust them that they would give us back our oil and not a mixiture with impurities. We struggle even in the first part of the chain. Our oil was fantastic but the shelf one, doesn’t even get close already in Italy.

[@PjPjPaul]

A few weeks my wife and I got a different brand of olive oil. We didnt like it because it was too "Olive-y". Looking back, that was probably the 1st time we tasted real olive oil.

[@amauryrivera8717]

Traveling through Italy 🇮🇹 tasted extra virgin oil and paused. The aroma, the flavor, the color and the balance was just right. Perfect. That was a decade ago. Since then have an appreciation for the real McCoy. As with a good wine paying extra is worth it.

[@nattyophelia7879]

The oddest part of all this is my husband literally ran to dollar general last night and grabbed me some olive oil for making some popcorn and he grabbed the store brand, I looked at it and looked at the ingredients and thought to myself, there is NO way this is 100% olive oil. Not for four dollars, dollar general brand. Lol.

[@juanjosedelrio]

I can be olive oil, but the 5th press with high heat and chemicals In the mediterranean countries you can buy "refined" olive oil, not "extra virgin". It is 100% olive oil, but it's not cold pressed, but uses other mechanisms to extract more oil after the cold press which changes the flavour a bit because it oxidises it with the high temperatures, etc. So, to summarise, you may have got 100% olive oil, but it's not "extra virgin"

[@Danielle_1234]

It's probably refined olive oil, not extra virgin olive oil.

[@nattyophelia7879]

@@juanjosedelrio thank you for the clarification!

[@ridingincircles]

I was taught years ago when working for an importer that “imported from Italy” is a mix of olives from different countries bottled in Italy. Usually you can see the countries in the label somewhere. “Product of Italy” is all Italian olives.

[@onee]

*Italian olive oil is a scam.

[@TheJubess]

This is why I watch you more than any geopolitical topic you do. Other people do those and often there is a lot of dispute about the way of telling it or omitting things you tell about it. But this kind of thing is unique to your channel. The weight of this topic is a little less heavy but still very interesting to me. keep it up!

[@DanaosV5]

Exactly my thoughts as well !

[@yiannis_p]

I am Greek and have seen first hand olive oil from Zante being shipped to Italy… Amazing video as usual, just feel like you understated how difficult and physically demanding picking olives is! Have seen it done and unfortunately there is a massive industry of undocumented workers who are being taken advantage of working for hours upon hours for very little income. I feel like something about that industry should have been mentioned in this video!

[@rscaht]

The beauty of EU common market !

[@danielcruchaga]

We are all very aware in the Mediterranean region of how important quality food has in our lives, olive oil being one! I feel I need to stress though that Spain is the major producer of olive in the world and has as good or better quality olive oil that Italian has. In many cases, good Italian olive oil has been produced in Spain and relabelled in Italy. You mentioned in you video that cheap Spanish olive oil is sold by the Italian mafia, however Italy can sale their own cheap olive oil to unaware buyers. I think we need to clarify that not because the oil comes from Spain is cheep. I love your videos by the way. Keep it up. Can we have more on food orígenes? The banana video was excellent !

[@minikame2272]

Holy shit the timing of this video haha, so I was in Croatia a month and a half ago and went to Pula's Olive Oil Museum on a whim with my fiancee, and learned SO much about it and had the opportunity to taste test the different types side by side. I swear to God guys you NEED to listen to Johnny on this one, good olive oil legitimately tastes incredible and you'll wonder how you ever coped with the fake stuff. In the off chance you see this comment JH, might I suggest an addition to your buying guide that we were taught at the museum? Under Section 5, buyers should also be looking for olive oils that are 'produced and bottled' at the same site by the same company, usually with an address. When you see that on a bottle, it means that the olives are processed immediately and in their freshest state, and since it's all handled within a single location by a single pair of hands the risk of supply chain tomfoolery is slashed many fold. It's so strange that I've become so passionate about olive oil. There was something in my brain that just broke when I learned that the olive oil we buy in supermarkets is the stuff the Romans used to set their lamps ablaze (and give to slaves).

[@Dablus]

my grandfather used to have a field of olive trees in northern algeria, olive oil was literally everywhere and i remember the food at my grandparents house tasting way better than what we had in the city, damn i miss those days

[@ImadHadjersi]

My family from my mom side actually produce olive oil in the region of Béjaia in Algeria, so I often get it for free. And yes, I can confirm that real olive oil is something precious. We call it "zit zitoun".

[@dmfouge]

If you replace mayo in your sandwiches with some good genuine extra virgin olive oil than it’s a million times healthier and better

[@eduardogomezruiz9505]

We Spaniards always complain about what you said in 12:45. Its really hurtful to know that some Italian people are making big profits from Spanish olive oil of AT LEAST good quality and produced with a lot of care, though Spanish producers don't get nearly enough of this profit. Like you said at the start of the video, Italian Olive Oil is much more expensive than that from Spain or Greece just from coming from Italy. And in reality it's not even better, I mean it doesn't even have to. Cheers and remember to vote with your wallet.

[@x--.]

I think the beauty of a fair system is the fakery would also out the high-quality stuff from other producers. If the stuff from Italy was ridiculously expensive but high quality was possible from other places, those other places would have a chance! That would be awesome but as it is.... we get this world of fake garbage and race to the bottom.

[@AzulMistico]

THIS! El aceite andaluz 😍

[@ashutoshsrivastava303]

I am blessed to live in northen CA region which produces a lot of olives and I am able to easily get a good quality from local producers. Even the local supermarkets are able to give us very good quality. I am always hesitant to try italian one since I cant say if it is legitimate stuff. Till then, locall northcal olive oil will do it! Thanks for covering this.