Your Olive Oil is (probably) a Lie

How the Mafia Tricks you with Olive Oil
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Olive oil has been adored by people for millennia. It’s like the perfect food, it’s healthy and delicious. But there is also a darker side to it, a side that involves widespread corruption and Italian Mafia bosses.
How to buy legit EVOO: docs.google.com/document/d/10...
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-- Video Chapters --
0:00 The Olive Oil Heist
2:47 Ad Read
5:33 A Brief History
8:40 How to Make EVOO
9:45 MOST EVOO is a LIE
10:58 The Italian Mafia
13:48 The Science
15:45 The Problem
16:26 How to Find REAL Extra Virgin Olive Oil
17:18 Conclusion
19:26 Announcements & Outro
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About:
Johnny Harris is an Emmy-winning independent journalist and contributor to the New York Times. Based in Washington, DC, Harris reports on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe, publishing to his audience of over 3.5 million on KZbin. Harris produced and hosted the twice Emmy-nominated series Borders for Vox Media. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways.
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[@johnnyharris]

The music for this video, created by our in house composer Tom Fox, is available on our music channel, The Music Room! Follow the link to hear this soundtrack and many more: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYOnqHyXicuDbqM

[@skeleton.]

Love the sound

[@zur1cord]

woah 5 likes

[@arallskiant9923]

olive oil is not that healthy because it is just fat (9kcal per grams) deprived of nutrients (all of the nutrient is in the pulp of the olive) its fat is not unhealthy as it is mufa (still 14% sfa though) but also do not contain omega3 (unlike canola or even soy oil).

[@-grey]

Wait until you see what real Balsamic Vinegar costs. 😂

[@ceeeeee]

7:20 I really wanted you to put a footage from 'もこみち' who is a Japanese talent and is very famous for his love for olive oil. Even when you type 'もこみち' in KZbin, the first suggestion is 'もこみち オリーブオイル' the latter word means 'olive oil'.

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@homyce]

My mom's family has olive plantations in Lebanon and they make their own olive oil, and throughout my entire life, I've always wondered why the store bought "extra virgin olive oil" doesn't taste as good as their oil, not even close. Now I think I know the answer!

[@magman129]

“Virgin” is different from “extra virgin”, maybe that’s why.

[@homyce]

@@magman129 that's what I meant. Edited my original comment.

[@magman129]

@@homyce It's the same here in Italy too, I grew up surrounded by olive groves and our local oil is obviously infinitely superior to what you find in the supermarket. They are often mixtures of different olive oils (always extra virgin) so they can’t taste “pure”.

[@ayakadiri1405]

Omg me too!! Im moroccan and Mt dad's family owns land full of olive trees and I've always loved olive oil but when I tried it here in the USA and in restaurants here it was so bitter and disgusting I was like what is this...

[@ShakaZoulou77]

There is extra virgin olive oil, which from the first cold extraction pressure, then virgin olive oil, from second extraction which can be warm and in the end what is called olive oil, which is the virgin oil mixed with other oils, each brand use is own proportions. Usually the home made extra virgin olive oil is better than the comercial one, because the artisanal use lower pressures. I said better, but it is relative, the taste and aroma are really intense, not sure if someone not used to that would enjoy it, but from Jonhy Harris example i think so.

[@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!

[@marinagonzalez5617]

I'm glad that you mentioned the fact that Spanish EVOO is actually being sold as "Italian" EVOO. It's good to remember that half of the global production of olive oil comes from Spain. But well, Italians are really good at marketing and their food is also amazing.

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Evoo also shouldn't be used to cook with. It has a high amount of solid plant material still in it. Even though it's microscopic its in there. It also loses its flavor when cooked or can add a bitter flavor. Refined olive oil is good for cooking. In America its labeled olive oil or light olive oil. This stuff has been refined and is a great med temp cooking oil. In my kitchen I use extra virgin olive oil for cold dishes or as a flavor oil at the end of cooking. I use olive oil to use as a binder for meat rubs, on brussel sprouts, asparagus, potatoes, or med heat cooking. I use avocado oil for high heat cooking, normally on a pan to sear something. I would use peanut oil for deep frying if I deep fried stuff. And butter is always good on stuff too! When I buy EVOO I treat it like buying my truffle oil. I'm not afraid to spend more because I don't use it near as much as I used too since finding refined olive oil. I look for Italian origin, a brand I trust, and I'm okay spending more. I think my personal favorite would be Ellora farms. Edit: my two other oils are flavor oils. I love toasted sesame oil in things, and my newest oil is TRUFF's truffle infused olive oil. So I guess I have 3 cooking oils (butter, light olive oil, avocado oil) and 3 flavor oils (EVOO, toasted sesame, truffle) Also when I researched truffles. Black truffle tastes like a more potent white truffle. While white truffles are much more expensive than black ones. So a black truffle oil will offer more of the same flavor for less money!

[@amilcarbarca7290]

dont expect an american to understand this...

[@brandonhoffman4712]

At least 1/3 of this chat room is currently American. Seems like Italy has its head up its but like ww2...

[@sir.fuentes7642]

@@brandonhoffman4712 EVOO is excellent for cooking it has a smoke point of 375°. People have used EVOO for medium frying and cooking for centuries. That thought that EVOO can't be used for frying has been debunked years ago. Look it up.

[@jmtrevijano9160]

You are wrong. Regards from Spain a country with an average of 5 years more life expectancy than the USA cooking with EVOOil, natural cold press olive oil. The taste of food cooked with EVOOil is wonderful, much better for me and for anyone who enjoys EVOOil taste and its health qualities. Refined olive oil may be also a good oil to cook but it is obtained with chemical dissolvents and does not have the health qualities of EVOOil. Is it better refined olive oil than other seed oils, such as canola, soy, corn, sunflower, etc.? yes, as the transparent refined product obtained of very low olive oil quality that requires for human consumption a chemical treatment to take away excessive acidity, bad smell and taste of those low-quality oils obtained from olives in bad conditions, it is usually mixed in Spain with a percentage of the good stuff EVOOil to provide it with some olive color and taste, if that is the case in your country product given that when I travel to America, Asia, or Africa, olive oil in those continents, either EVOOil or other olive oil qualities, usually it does not taste as the original product. Yes, generally they are from Italy as per the label. The major advantage of refined olive oil over EVOOil is the price. It is cheaper. Then those who are not used to EVOOil taste may prefer refined olive oil because as it is a mix largely made of refined olive oil left odorless and tasteless it tastes much less olive oil than the real thing. Good marketers those Italians but better olive oils producers than Spain's they are not.@@brandonhoffman4712

[@ANTREU96]

Italian here. I love how you adressed the mafia aspect. It is truly a scourge on this amazing land that too often gets glorified in movies and media with tropes like the "gentleman thief" or "gangster's honor". These are not honorable family loving men. These are murderers and parasites

[@EiwaGreen-kc2wu]

Which Italian olive oil brand is 100% pure? Asking to you as Italian 😊

[@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!

[@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.

[@clairedunlap4367]

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. ✌🏻

[@BlipBlipBlipBlipBify]

Something to remember: Every olive oil that is produced AND bottled in Greece (especially in Peloponesse in regions like Kalamata) that says Extra Virgin on its label AND is in a DARK bottle, is at least as good as any "premium" Italian olive oil in a fancy bottle and is much cheaper, and usually much better.

[@1superlovefire]

Yes - I buy my olive oil from the same region KALAMATA and I love it !!

[@beyondalpha1072]

WHERE IS IT CHEAPER?

[@kaban84]

Tuscan and Umbrian oil is the best oil in the world. Sorry for you.

[@gerryortiz7276]

@@kaban84Morocco olive oil is the best bud

[@cucubanana4226]

chinese olive oil is superior everybody knows this.

[@barrybobert9294]

I'm just gonna eat olives

[@PanosNikolakopoulos]

As a Greek with olive trees in Peloponisos near the river Neda I can truly feel sorry for people getting scammed cause olive oil is a true health benefit! Be careful guys and girls and only buy from reputable brands.

[@aristo6796]

ελα πατριδααα

[@p0xus]

But which brands are reputable?

[@tacarub]

we have 100 tree in Spain and get roughly 100-150 liters liters every year from the first cold press . So approx 5 family uses those oil .. we dont buy anoy other oils .. everything except baking pastry is done by olive oil..

[@dimiathan]

@@p0xushonestly, it really depends on the farmer. In Greece we usually buy directly from them and taste it before we pay

[@23_Beans]

​@@dimiathanSo basically you can't be sure unless you buy it from the farmer in Greece. Super.

[@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 ❤❤

[@mrputter-rs]

I had the chance of using extra olive oil from press. Had to be left to sit for a while in order for the impurities to separate to the bottom of the jug. But the taste doesn't compare with anything i had before or after i left spain. Your videos are always more than awesome. You and your team truly deserve some awards for your hard work.

[@creeper25gaming]

The Czech food inspection just did a big test of extra virgin olive oils from stores a couple weeks back. Out of the 21 different brands they tested, only 7 passed the test for actually being extra virgin olive oil. The rest of them were all lower quality olive oil, mostly pommace oil, but 2 of the samples they tested actually turned out to be lampante oil, the lowest quality olive oil that's not produced for human consumption but instead for use in oil lamps. We do have laws stemming from the common EU law for food labeling. Still doesn't protect you from fraudulent products. Some even had the PDO seal on them. Still turned out to be cheap crap pretending to be extra virgin olive oil. These scammers will always find a way to make it work.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@ava-he9li]

Conclusion: buy Spanish olive oil

[@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.

[@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

[@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!

[@alexborcau2]

I am lucky enough to have a lot of olive trees and this year was the first year that I made my own oil. Let me tell you, harvesting those gorgeous little olives is a PROCESS! Thank you for making this video - the real stuff is well worth the cost.

[@BladeDoomer86]

My uncle in Algeria makes olive oil. I'm in Canada, and the first time I tasted it, I was floored!!! It tasted INCREDIBLE, wasn't perfectly filtered so it still had some tiny remnants of olives in it. I simply couldn't believe the difference compared to any other ''olive oils'' I bought over here.. It tasted, well, like actual olives for god's sake... We've been scammed for way too long, by greedy criminals and lazy governments.

[@jw7268]

Not lazy, complicit. Fines to individuals (not companies) involved and jail time is needed. When it comes to public health and food safety there needs to be more strict repercussions, one without fancy lawyers.

[@deequi77]

how to order online?

[@BladeDoomer86]

@@deequi77 They don't allow it! It's privately owned land, so he's not a big business..

[@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 😭

[@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).

[@thecreaturesdancedlikeus3922]

Thanks! Notice that lots of things at the grocery aren’t what they seem. Been trying to educate myself and be healthier. Was looking for video like this. The info is very helpful. Thank you very much, cheers!

[@squeezedamilo]

I am from Ukraine. About 10 years ago we used to buy olive oil in the exact same huge metal jars as shown in the beginning of the video. It was convenient to buy in an extra large size, so it lasts for long, and it was budget-friendly (back then we couldn't afford the expensive glass-bottle ones from the store). And I clearly remember how one time the oil from a newly opened jar smelled like fish and we had to get rid of the entire jar. We never bought those again. Now I watched this video and discovered why, so many years after. This is mind-blowing! Thanks Johnny for your detailed investigation and teaching the viewers to look for the real thing 🙏

[@jurgenfrohwonne]

Those "news" are no hidden secret since over 15 years.... Are you living behind the moon?

[@sampejke]

Go and protect your country! You have more important things to care about than olive oil!

[@guld1999]

​@@sampejkeshut up lol

[@muraadmasood2968]

bruh 😂@@sampejke

[@sneedler8661]

​@@sampejke lmao

[@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 😊

[@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!

[@giorgiocaroli7376]

greetings from Italy, I'm glad that my family, in Puglia, has the opportunity to produce the oil on her own❤️ (little tip: drinking the olive oil is a little bit strange, so if you want to taste it alone you can put it on a slice of bread).

[@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.

[@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

[@rynepell3280]

I love when you cover these more fringe topics that are going on in the world. I still live your political segments as they are truly informative and fascinating but the fringe topics that I don't think about all the time are really more eye opening. Please continue your content as I genuinely get excited whenever I see a new Johnny Harris posted in my subscription feed. 👍👏👏👏

[@ricoproia328]

Just read the label! They are mostly blended from olives grown from around countries around the world Mediterranean. The good oils are regional areas of Italy like Tuscany or Pugulia. If the bottle is not green keep it stored in a dark cabinet.

[@rafaelseb]

As an Spaniard, I can really tell that italians really know how to sell their products better than us, even when Spain has the biggest tradition and production of olive oil in the world...more than 40%

[@anita_fumeta_uwu5029]

Joder que si

[@miggu]

never underestimate the power of marketing and PR.

[@renderinginprogress]

the italians are great at marketing. france like spain, I find they just dont care to sell.

[@yompyz]

I agree on the Italian marketing. Up to now people still think Italian coffee is the best and they don’t even grow the plant.

[@sk8sk82512]

@@yompyz I’ve always thought that this is ridiculous 😂 just like Swiss chocolate

[@pomettini]

I'm Italian and for the last 20 years my parents have been buying extra virgin olive oil from a teacher turned farmer in Viterbo (near Rome) because it is SO FREAKING GOOD. It tastes phenomenal and it makes every food shine. I still have memories when I was little and my parent would drive from Rome to Viterbo with huge canisters to get up to 40 liters of olive oil, priced at €10 per liter. That crazy amount usually lasts for a year or two, and we continue to make this fun ritual. I encourage everyone who visits Rome to visit local farmers in the small towns near the city, because I can testify they all produce pure, authentic extra virgin olive oil with love and passion. As always, thanks Johnny for covering this story!

[@atta1798]

Buy Spanish and greek.... they have better olive oil etc

[@benjamins8082]

My Nonni would produce there own on there farm in pignano provincia di (frozinone). Man was it amazing. Man do I miss them so much. BTW my Nonna was born in Italian but she her parenti were from palestine.

[@kaban84]

Spanish and greek better oil? you don't know what you are speaking about @@atta1798

[@gerryortiz7276]

Thanks for sharing I intend to visit soon and will do just that! 👏

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Damn. My EVOO is $33 a liter... though it is transported across the Atlantic and passes through more middlemen than farm to table! Either way I understand the quality of that good olive nectar! Ellora farms is super tasty EVOO. But it ain't 10 bucks a liter...

[@saradelaguila6027]

Awesome video and so important to know!! But just to say - the US does have strict regulations about products not being labeled as something they’re not. It’s just that this can’t be enforced for imported goods in particular. I know you added a note kind of getting at that, but I feel like it’s important to clarify specifically where the issue is

[@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.

[@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?

[@georgemullens]

I'm from Puglia, the region where the Olive Oil Heist happened. Puglia produces around 40% of italy's olive oil and is the largest producer of oil in the country. You can really tell the difference between a high quality one directly from a farmer and some random producer. I always try to bring some proper stuff back to the UK where I live now. Thanks for the story Johnny.

[@joncotn]

What a lovely area of Italy you are from

[@sampejke]

​@@joncotnthe most boring, flat area

[@MerkabaVibe]

This is very helpful and answers why I was sick for so long. I started doing a new lifestyle few years ago that uses minimal or oil free foods and so I stopped buying outside organic hummus which contains different oils including the fake olive oil and as someone with asthma who has suffered symptoms since childhood despite eating healthy and the oils I used to cook with were Olive (fake), coconut, and avocado possible fake too, all cold pressed organic. So the fake oils possibly full of pesticides, seed oils and glyphosate was making my asthma worse despite how everything I bought was organic. I use olive oil minimally but I doubt it is real but people need to know that these fake oils can cause terrible inflammation. I went from using an inhaler 7 times a day to 3 on a good day to 0 times in a month and very rarely do I have asthma symptoms unless I am having something that has heavy metals like I found in O Organics brand of green tea as it would trigger asthma symptoms but Tazo and Yogi green teas did not, so asthma symptoms is now my radar. Now all I did was get rid of oils and minimize it in my cooking and I hardly use my inhaler, I can go 3 to 4 months not using it when I was using it 3 to 7 times a day since age 11....crazy how they are poisoning us. I'd like to know where I can buy the real stuff. Any recommendations?

[@jmtrevijano9160]

In origin. There is internet to buy in origin.

[@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.

[@comfortablynumber]

Olive oil is more expensive in Italy not because "it is Italy" (and the video goes along for minutes starting with this assumption), but for two specific reasons: 1) Italy has way less land than Spain (which I mention because it is the other big oil-producing country). Because of this, Spain and other countries have way more Super High Density (SHD) olive orchards, which are basically many small olive trees packed together. So Italy has less land and less SHD, meaning more extensive and traditional olive orchards, which get harvested mainly by hand (and not with big machines shaking the small trees). This means Italian farmers have way higher costs for farming and harvesting (and this makes the oil pricier); in economics, it is the difference between any capital-intensive activity (the spanish one) vs a labour-intensive activity (the italian one). Why doesn't Italy farm more SHD orchards? Simplifying a lot, they are getting more widespread, but for SHD to make economic sense, you need larger and larger land (which is why SHDs are all over the place in Spain, Australia and California) and a relatively large amount of capital to invest (and small Italian farms have neither) 2) There is a trade-off between quality and quantity even after harvesting. At the milling phase, you can choose to set a specific piece of machinery (called "gramola", or malaxer) to a lower or a higher temperature. Below 27° you get less oil, but with way better taste and more polyphenols and antioxidants. If you set the malaxer above 27° you get more quantity, but less quality and a metallic taste (because with heat it gets oxidised). The first process (at less than 27° - which you can find on the bottles labeled as "Molitura a Freddo" or "Spremitura a Freddo", meaning "Cold-Milled") is basically the only one I have seen in Italy, while abroad it is easier to find the second one (Molitura a Caldo). Mind you, they can be both labeled as "extra virgin olive oil", as long as when the oil gets analyzed in a lab and the "Acidity" parameter (that oftentimes isn't even recognized when you taste it) is less than 0.8%. This video wasn't that well researched to be honest (other parts it was a bit confusing were: the confusing description of the olive oil supply chain, or depicting mafia - which is a huge problem - as a bunch of fraudsters, or the overall alarmist tone), but I share the idea of protecting customers from frauds (which happen all the time with Italian foods abroad: Parmigiano, truffle, wine and so on and so forth)

[@GloomGaiGar]

Your points seem to be unique to Italy though...

[@xsisamsisux]

That‘s what i was about to say. Italy has great food and great olive oil for sure. But glorifying it over Spain and Greece is too much.

[@pmcmar]

Thank you for your explanation. The SHD has been spreading throughout Portugal mainly by Spanish companies investment in the south. These are high intensity farming that reshapes the terrain to fit the machinery and consumes a lot of water from damms (the Alqueva damm) ultimately it degrades the soil and natural water reservoirs and the ability of this delicate landscape to regenerate itself. I do not buy olive oil because my family harvest the olives and a very small local community mill bottles the olive oil. And can I say that is not only the USA that people do not know the real taste of it. There's a lot of scam. But you can detect it in price tag, it's expensive.

[@coleball6001]

Neat, all very good points. But, I would still agree with Johnny Harris that a degree of the price is caused by the better marketing of Italian olive oil compared to Spanish and Greek olive oils. Caused by the popularity of Italian cuisine in America and the high level of Americans of Italian descent.

[@jal051]

Spain's olive oil industry is what you describe, but extra virgin olive oil is set to a higher standard than basic olive oil. There are very strict controls in place. Also, following your logic Greece has less land than Italy, so Greek oil would be better than Italian.

[@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

[@willzyxOfficial]

A 3 minute commercial pitch, a 3 minute outro, some other small fillers, and 1/3rd of this video is gone. Here's an idea for a next video: "How KZbinrs steal 1/3rd of your life, by using unnecessary fillers"

[@Mister_Clipster]

Get Sponsorblock, it helps

[@Calebe311]

Thanks for bringing this up. Constantly during the video I had the impression that filler descriptions and commentary, dramatic pauses and just the general conduction of the video had the sole intent of making this video longer. Kind of frustrating to be honest.

[@kolliasoliveoil]

Great video! Thank you for covering this topic!

[@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.

[@kerkireos]

Feeling so lucky to have our own olive grove in a small greek island

[@user-xi2mu8uj1r]

You are lucky olive oil got expensive!!!

[@a5gamer276]

Where in Greece that sounds so cool

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

Sounds like paradise! Hopefully you guys keep your island cleaner than Crete... I've been there twice so far and LOVE the island, but the amount of trash I see all over the place breaks my heart! It's paradise, people! Treat it as such!

[@kerkireos]

@@a5gamer276 Corfu, look it up its nice

[@Volkskomissar]

OK we gonna listen to you. Random guy on KZbin. Thank you

[@RodGrom]

FDA has absolutely no standards nor shame whatsoever, and it shows!!!

[@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.

[@user-zk9cp2rs3m]

How were you able to escape morocco 😅

[@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.

[@dustyoldhat]

you were probably eating soybean oil

[@sameenwaseem4803]

Where exactly in south asia

[@dustyoldhat]

I'm guessing Indonesia @@sameenwaseem4803

[@BrewBlaster]

Step in, step on.

[@G_Kchrst]

Fun fact: mos tof Greece's Olive Oil is sold unlabeled by the litre to Italy where it is packaged and sealed as Italian 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.

[@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

[@JustSueMe]

I am from Greece, and it's pretty well known fact here that much of our olive oil is sent to Italy and rebranded as Italian extra virgin olive oil. Amazin'

[@2002alexandros]

Σπουδάζω Αγγλία οπότε έχω δοκιμάσει κάθε είδος ελαιόλαδο που υπάρχει, κ το ελληνικό είναι όντως μακράν καλύτερο από το ιταλικό κ το ισπανικό, οι Ιταλοί απλά έχουν πολύ καλό marketing ρε φίλε

[@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.

[@Majthoub]

i live in Jordan, my home has enough olive trees for the family to cover for the year (which we handpick) but even when it's not enough, we just buy the freshly picked olives and process them in any big olive squwisser

[@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.

[@juanantoniotrobajoflecha7117]

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.

[@Ethan-zi4mb]

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.

[@langsor]

This video was the tipping point for me to subscribe! What a great expose. Especially thank you for sharing the Doc!

[@rymc420]

Opposite for me. It’s all bs. Do a lil research yourself and you’ll see he is full of it.

[@georgetteroenfeldt8144]

A few months ago i read the label on my oil and was shocked and mad to see the small print added that it was olive oil with canola oil added! Now mind you this was a green bottle with a big picture of olives on the branch in the olive oil section of the cooking oil isle...now i even read my mayo to see what else when it says olive oil mayo and it also had other oils added. So now it's the expensive small company specialty brands im using. They dont lie so far. What a world.

[@ricecakeboii94]

The Costco’s Kirkland brand organic olive oil was one of the few brands that the UC Davis tests found to meet the “extra virgin” standards.

[@handlemonium]

Yup! May that never change... especially if we can prevent too much climate change.

[@jordanbloomfield]

That’s good to know!

[@Ghuttora7]

Kirkland products are what you need in your bunker

[@Oldtimeytools]

Sorry but no. I’m Spanish, grew up with the real deal, Costco is what we buy here in the US, but it’s no where near the real deal, it doesn’t smell like olive oil, it doesn’t taste like olive oil, it says it comes from 3 different countries in the label.. it’s Ok but it’s not olive oil 😊

[@ricecakeboii94]

@@Oldtimeytools Spain is notorious for being the “cheaper” Olive oil. The Kirkland olive oil is from Italy.

[@kierstyngodenzi-stanard4813]

Is it possible to make a video explaining why teeth and eyes were conveniently left out of health care? I would love to hear your take on it, honestly.

[@mysteriousu5528]

Eyes and especially mouth are the windows to your health. It makes perfect sense for the medical community to leave out these two and make money out of people just by treating and not curing. Otherwise they would all become jobless😅 Most students in pharmacy don't know a crap about chemistry and don't even understand physiology and anatomy. These kinds of people come up with drugs like the wonderpill and then you wonder why every drug has zillion side effects.

[@JmKrokY]

Ok

[@jonathanodude6660]

what are you talking about? are you a bot or what?

[@21x9Ratio]

Semi same in the UK, dentists aren't covered under the NHS unless you're under 18 or you have either a disability or are on benefits. I think it's actually a great video idea, I've always wondered why because it's still a type of medical care.

[@constancel4211]

How do you insert maps into an episode covering this topic ?

[@enjoymediterranean]

I sell real olive oil from small family farms in Europe and agree with every word you say. I get furious when I see people in the supermarket buying rubbish labeled EVOO. And what infuriates me most is that I can’t explain anything to them. It's good that you are trying to do this. Thank you so much!

[@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 !

[@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 !?

[@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.

[@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 !

[@chefshah4]

Hi it was great video I did enjoyed watching it. I’m a organoleptic olive oil tester myself and I have to tell thank you for making this video. We have group which I share it for people to watch. Maybe you should make one video about saffron as well.

[@tealcedar]

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

[@CoreDump451]

Laughs in Jordanian

[@shaygraham6925]

😂

[@grifinx]

Not really a secret. As someone that grew up around a Mediterranean diaspora, olive oil brought back from friends farms in repurposed 2L water bottles was like gold.

[@Martcapt]

That's the stuff. 5 litre white and opaque old wine jugs are the stuff

[@joshphillips9961]

Shoutout to my sister, who owns an olive grove in Italy and makes and sells her own. It’s really good if anyone’s wanting some, it’s called Della Pace Olive Oil.

[@techfoodie7089]

Thank you for your contribution to the world culinary industry. I had this olive oil at this restaurant once…. It was amazing… I never had olive oil this good no matter where I went… or no matter what bottle I bought.. now I know that the olive oil at this restaurant was the real stuff…

[@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.

[@lapharmacie98]

If you buy exclusively Italian olive oil you’re missing out. Spain, Portugal and Greece are where it’s at

[@MrJimheeren]

Nah Lebanon is even better

[@9grand]

​@@MrJimheeren french is the best , but very niche

[@hhaste]

Olives are olives, where it comes from isn't going to make _that_ much of a difference. Sure the soils and environment can slightly change them but not to a degree where the oils are going to be that noticeable.

[@MrJimheeren]

@@hhaste maybe you should try olives from different countries. Because they definitely taste different from place to place

[@juanrodriguez-ug5rb]

What brands would you recommend? My wife loves olive oil and I would like to get us the real deal

[@alishersobirov4808]

Thanks for the video, it was really useful and informative! According your research which EVOO on our shelves match the product quality now? And which brand would you recommend to use?

[@MarioSantosPT]

Portuguese olive oil is the best 🇵🇹 no bias here 😁 We still harvest every year olives with my parents to make olive oil. And yes, home made organic EVOO it's something completely different even from the legit EVOO in stores 😋

[@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.

[@hingriduehli2421]

From an olive oil fan here’s my advice : do yourselves a favor on your next trip to Italy, rent a car and drive around between Tuscany and Umbria in Italy. Go through the small villages, from the famous Chianti to the rural Umbrian countryside. Then, stop by Agriturismos; small farms that rent rooms, apartments, produce their own products including olive oil. This is, I guarantee, the best way to try and support this amazing craft and product. Most also provide Olive oil tastings and don’t skip it, the food will most probably be home made and it will be unforgettable ! I also recommend staying at Agroturismos while traveling through this part of Italy, so it’s really a great way to explore the area! Please, please please. Don’t stay only in Florence and Siena. There’s so much more to see out there. For those who can’t travel all the way, my favorite olive oil of all time is available online and ships internationally. I found it by chance while eating in a small country side restaurant in Tuscany and it was so good I drove to the farm right after to buy some bottles. It’s called Primo Raccolto from Dievole only available at the end of October / November and should be consumed as soon as possible. ( I have no links to them, it’s just that good 😂 ) A reminder that a good bottle of olive oil should cost around 15 to 20 euros with a local producer. ( 500ml ). The bigger the bottle the cheaper it becomes. Avoid cooking in high temperatures with it, use it in salads, topping fish, veggies, etc. I don’t even live in Italy, I live in Switzerland. But I do drive the 5 hours down often sometimes only to enjoy the good life of home made goods, good wine and lovely people of this country. Please, buy local.

[@AngieW-ri6qx]

Thank you for the guide! I really do appreciate it!!

[@23lizardking]

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

[@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

[@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

[@HeyDrGhost]

Dude you got to do like a video editing class or something for journalism and video essay videos. Because your videos man are soooooooo well made and beautiful

[@authenticlourdes]

It is the ONE thing I don’t know how to live without. I have lived with ALOT and very little and this is material thing in this world I appreciate deeply.

[@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.

[@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.

[@carloberruti178]

Very interesting and very well done as usual. Only thing, the plane route (displayed twice) from Italy to the US would never follow that path (!) as the Earth is not flat. Planes crossing the Atlantic go much more north (even passing above Greenland if they aim for the West Coast) before pointing south, to exploit a shorter route given the curvature of the Earth

[@joelyfpv7075]

I work with a guy from Greece and he made me olive oil and it’s the best I’ve had ❤

[@a.m.m.f]

As a spaniard it pains me that people, and by that i mean the US and pretty much any other country appreciate italian-made olive oil more than spanish olive oil. Spanish is not only incredibly better than Italian but also cheaper too.

[@diiiraq]

The portuguese it's better 😂 that's why Spanish ppl go to Portugal and buy in bulk

[@MrNathansdad]

Shhhhhh, don't tell everybody 🤫🤐😋

[@trinchuzosparty]

​@@diiiraqjust because it's cheaper. We sell it all to the Italians so we need to buy a bit from Portugal 😜

[@Astrogator1]

As I understand as Spain is biggest producer much exported to Italy and sold as Italian. A more important report would be why even here in Spain the price has gone crazy in the last year and half. We have even started to use sunflower oil.

[@tealcedar]

I mean I can come in here and say Lebanese/Palestinian oil is superior but then a war would start between all Mediterranean states

[@javi4591]

When I first started "eating clean" and learning about dieting and stuff, I came across videos from small channels about this topic. I thought it was a conspiracy of some sort back then. Thanks for proving me wrong!!

[@nevergiveup5939]

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

[@Speederzzz]

​@@nevergiveup5939the people who love us will miss us

[@emmakate2376]

same lol but i didn’t think it was an conspiracy i just thought it tasted like vegetable oil …

[@CoreDump451]

It is a criminal CONSPIRACY, but not a fake one because there's actual evidence for it

[@samiier3324]

We don't care

[@KristoSween]

Thanks for this. I've always wondered about the viability of regional agricultural products that develop demand on a global scale. My question: is it even POSSIBLE for the combined area of all the olive growing regions of the world to produce enough fruit to meet the volume required to supply the global demand for extra virgin olive oil? Did you come across any data to answer this question? Thanks again for all your great work, Johnny!

[@jonpirovsky]

Interesting. In Brazil, where there is also a small local olive oil industry, testing is conducted regularly by the local FDA and results are widely divulged in media outlets. Companies that produce or import fake olive oil receive severe punishments. Even so, we still get a lot of fake stuff as well...

[@Rebasepoiss]

The best olive oil I've ever tasted came from an actual local Greek farmer while I was in Greece. We were eating at his local restaurant and he offered to sell us the oil he had just made. It was bottled in regular plastic bottles with no labels and it tasted amazingly. You could actually just drink it, it was that good.

[@Oldtimeytools]

You probably tasted the standard stuff not the extra virgin, much better for you and tastes way better

[@dakiler2028]

@@OldtimeytoolsWhy? Because he put it in a plastic bottle? Believe me if somebody dilutes their oil in Greece, all the locals will know and he will get shunned. There is no reason to dilute the oil if you are producing a small batch for you and your family, and maybe to sell some. That's why local producers have the guaranteed best oil, and pretty much everyone in Greece is using ONLY evoo at home..

[@tihruytssgjjvsavcxtbvhj3429]

I first had real olive oil at age 29. I did research, bought real oil, took one sip, and immediately realized that I had NEVER had real olive oil before! It is spicy, extremely grassy tasting, and burns the throat slightly.

[@1superlovefire]

When is freshly pressed - it slightly burns your throat but after a couple of months it gets better

[@disarchitected]

Depends on the age of the olives when harvested too. Earlier harvests yield less but have more flavour. Later harvests yield more and taste smoother and such oils are generally cheaper. There is a really good epicurious video about this on youtube.

[@disarchitected]

I use a cheaper extra virgin olive oil when frying or cooking at higher temperatures because a lot of the volatile compounds get evaporated or cooked away. Always finish with a good olive oil for flavour however, or for making a salad dressing when it can stay cold.

[@stevenmeyer5648]

Thanks you for bringing light to this topic and those really bad practices. If you buy your olive oil from one of the many familiy businesses that ship into the EU directly from the farmers and circumvent super markets and big distribution chains you get the real green gold. Recommended greek oil, which has many wonderful varieties (remembers me of wine), each type of olive and each region has it's own distinctive taste. There are nowadays many online shops from those family farms, at least in Europe.

[@alexanderveritas]

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