Dying to get your mitts on the best olive oil money can buy? Well head down to your local uber-economic supermarket to get premium quality extra virgin olive oil for half the price, say consumer experts Which?
Tasters on an expert panel sampled a range of olive oils and selected bottles from Aldi and Lidl as the best (and much cheaper) compared to those found at the Big Four supermarkets.
Aldi’s Evoo and Lidl’s Primadonna oils, costing 33p per 100ml were coined as ‘exceptional value’, both receiving four stars by the consumer group as well as Waitrose’s extra virgin oil, priced at 50p per 100ml.
Other supermarket extra virgin oils fared pretty badly, being described as having ‘less depth’ with Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Felippo Berio and Bertolli Original being awarded three stars, while Asda and Napolini were deemed ‘below average’ with two stars.
Brands from Marks & Spencer’s and Morrison’s came in last in the blind tasting, with the experts recommending they be left ‘on the shelf’.
Which? Said, “You don’t have to dig deep in your wallet to get good quality. Of the 12 supermarket and branded extra virgin olive oils our experts tasted, two of our best buys are from budget supermarkets and, per 100ml, they’re by far the cheapest on test - giving them both ‘exceptional value.”
On the panel were, Judy Ridgway, an international olive oil buyer; Sam Rosen-Nash, savoury grocery buyer at Fortnum & Mason; James Wierzelewski, executive chef at Harrods; and Adam Byatt, head chef and owner of Trinity restaurant in Clapham, London.
They described Lidl’s Primadonna oil as “a delicate oil that’s ideal for everyday use” and gave credit to Aldi’s Solesta Evoo’s “enticing” fruity smell.
On the other of the spectrum they termed Carapelli’s oil as smelling like “stale nuts” despite its expensive 84p per 100ml price tag, while M&S’s mid-priced range was described as “old” and Morrison’s as “fusty”.
Lidl responded saying, “Sales of our Prima Donna extra virgin olive oil have gone through the roof over the last few months. This accolade shows what shoppers have known for a long time, at Lidl you get premium quality products without the premium price,” a spokesman said.
Paul Foley, group ganaging director of Aldi UK and Ireland, said the taste test showed it was “successfully offering leading quality products at prices significantly less than the recognised brands.”
Marks & Spencer declined to respond.
Morrisons said, “We are clearly disappointed with the Which? findings in this report as we constantly review our range with a view to improving value and quality. We are already re-testing and reviewing this product with our supplier.”
