Ellora Farms Single Estate Traceable Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 Liter PDO Tins | 2 Pack

I was trying to order my favorite olive oil so far, also from a single area in Greece, but it's been out of stock some time.Trying to find anything that even seemed similar quality to try was a task. I am SUPER picky with olive oil, especially to use mainly for dipping bread, but I fell upon this one and decided to give it a try.It came in a small 2 pack so actually gave 1 to one of my best friends, and we tried it at her house together. It is GREAT. Nice deep green tone, fresh, buttery, a little burn or brine in the end. Just great!I did mine with a little oregano, garlic salt, black pepper, and sliced Kalamata Olives for dipping Italian bread. DELICIOUS.It's one thing to cook with olive oil. You use a little and the main food you are cooking is basically 'the main food', not the oil. I use really really good oil, which I don't mind paying for as it's obvious quality, as the MAIN taste, for dipping. That's where you can get a real feel for the taste, and you know if you do use in any dressing, or to cook with, it won't ruin your dishes and can trust will give it a great taste or enhance the other items you make. THIS is one of the best. The Kings. Worth the $$. You can trust this one.I do not write many product reviews. This may be my 4th or 5th one in years in fact. Only when I really believe in a product all around do I write one to try to help someone else seeking an honest opinion that may help them decide.Keep in mind natural items can change in taste slightly year to year based on nature (rain, soil conditions, etc.). One batch may not be exact to future or past ones. I'll likely order this again and do another review based on that, but based on what I saw this family does to maintain quality and control of their product, I'm thinking it will be another 5 star I give, and the changes if any wouldn't be notable enough to change much. Enjoy yours in good health if you order, & thank you Greek family for a great product! (I found out I'm 33% Greek in a recent ancestry test! So not betraying my Sicilian roots here, honoring my new Greek roots!!)

This is a two pack of steel cans of olive oil. I like to buy oil in these cans--the light-proof container keeps the oil from going rancid a bit longer. The spout is clever--it's the typical pull-up spout on oil cans but it has a screw cap. The oil is from Greece--Crete, reputed to be where some of the best Greek oil is grown on 1,000-year old trees. It's single point-of-origin, unlike most grocery store oils, which are multiple origin oil, generally Tunisian, Italian and other oils. The problem is, Italians consume olive oil in larger quantities than they can produce, so a lot of cheaper exported oil is mixed with North African oil to make it available.Worse yet, there is a lot of fraud in oils. I used to talk with a professor at U Mass-Lowell who was using HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) to discern if oils were being adulterated. He was finding that trendy oils, like rice bran oil, were often nothing like what was listed on the label. Fast forward a decade later, and there has been a huge exposure of fraud in Italian oils in particular. Spanish oils were also involved in a terrible tragedy in 1981 in Spain where non-food grade oils were sold in cans to households instead of the traditional olive, and 600 Spaniards died.I also like some California oils, but unless you can taste them, you don't know if you are going to get an aggressive, bitter oil or a fruity, light oil. I find California oils, due to the wildly different micro-climates there, really are quite variable.I prefer my EVOO to be a bit lighter and less aggressive. This oil is a nice lemony green-yellow with a fruity, grassy flavor that is very pleasant. It's not the most exciting oil I've ever tasted, but it's not for cooking. It makes heavenly salad dressings and drizzles. I made a lemon parsley dressing for a warm salad, and I was very happy with it.For cooking, a plain 100% oil is best. (Colavita and Trader Joes make fine ones.) I have two cruets, different colors. The EVOO is in one, the cooking oil in the other. Rachael Ray Cucina Stoneware EVOO Dispensing Bottle, Agave Blue is fairly nice--light proof and only the flap on the top is a bit annoying as it lets in air, but just don't fill it so full and use it up frequently.

I take 2 tablespoons of this every morning on empty stomach for about 6 months. It curbs my appetite, bowels move easier; skin doesn't look ashy anymore nor is it tight and stingy (especially after showers) from dryness; nails seem to be stronger and my skin looks healthy. I'm sure it's doing other wonderful things to my body but so far I'm happy with the results of my new health regimen. As for the taste, this oil has a fresh taste - kind of grassy or earthy tasting and then after you swallow you can feel a peppery burst in the back of your throat. It's not so peppery that it takes your breath or you have to cough; it's just a sudden, nice burst that fades away in seconds. Also, I've tasted other EVOOs that are so heavy and oily that I couldn't towel-scrub it off my tongue fast enough - I don't get that with Ellora's oil. Oil is oil and it's going to be oily but this is a light oil - great to drizzle on cheese and vegetables with a nice balsamic or take a couple spoons full each morning without wanting to gag. It's just me using this oil. Like I said, I take 2 T. each morning, use it in a caprese salad every day, pour it in my scrambled eggs before cooking and I go through about a litre a month. So $27 a month for better health and a tasty oil to boot is not too bad for now. I like to pair this oil with Chef Jean Pierre's aged balsamic vinegar which you can get on Amazon too - it is so delicious and like EVOO it is excellent for your health too. I may start mixing the 2 together for my morning jump-start cocktail.

This olive oil is so delicious. It’s so good it should not be used for cooking. We use it to dip bread into and as a salad dressing. It’s so different and much more flavorful than any other olive oil you can get in the states. I highly recommend, it’s a big quantity so it will last a long time.