Originally Posted by CFrance (Post 1010065)

If you like the taste of your oil from Aldi's and it passes the test, stick with it. As for the taste, there are many different olive oil tastes, depending on soil conditions, type of oil and country of origin. I use a fruity Olive oil in salad dressings, a more pungent, grassy oil as a finishing oil, and a more bitter finish oil for dipping. But that's just my taste.

As for solidifying in the fridge, this is from an article on same, from the question and answer, as to why fridge test is not reliable.

Paul: No, you can’t. Some olive oils can have as little as 55% monounsaturated fat, and lots of linoleic acid (a polyunsaturated fat), similar to soybean oil: olive oils made from the Arbequina (a popular one for California oils), Chemlali, or Chétoui cultivars (the later two being the dominant ones in Tunisia) are especially prone to low monounsaturated fat levels. Unless they also have a lot of waxes, these oils probably wouldn’t freeze up. And a friend of mine in the olive oil business recently did an experiment where she put a very high-oleic-acid (83%) oil into the fridge, and it didn’t freeze up, for reasons not known: maybe the very low level of saturates, maybe a very low level

Olive oil is a natural product, made from >700 different varieties of olives, each with their own characteristics, grown under different conditions, picked at different levels of ripeness, and processed differently. There are just too many variables affecting waxes, fatty acid ratios, and the distribution of these into triglyceride structure to make the fridge test reliable as a positive or negative screen for authenticity (let alone quality).

Originally Posted by CFrance (Post 1010623)

VPL, is it this one?
Wild Oats Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Directions for Me

It says lightly filtered, but looks to be a good product.

Originally Posted by CFrance (Post 1010065)

If you like the taste of your oil from Aldi's and it passes the test, stick with it. As for the taste, there are many different olive oil tastes, depending on soil conditions, type of oil and country of origin. I use a fruity Olive oil in salad dressings, a more pungent, grassy oil as a finishing oil, and a more bitter finish oil for dipping. But that's just my taste.

As for solidifying in the fridge, this is from an article on same, from the question and answer, as to why fridge test is not reliable.

Paul: No, you can’t. Some olive oils can have as little as 55% monounsaturated fat, and lots of linoleic acid (a polyunsaturated fat), similar to soybean oil: olive oils made from the Arbequina (a popular one for California oils), Chemlali, or Chétoui cultivars (the later two being the dominant ones in Tunisia) are especially prone to low monounsaturated fat levels. Unless they also have a lot of waxes, these oils probably wouldn’t freeze up. And a friend of mine in the olive oil business recently did an experiment where she put a very high-oleic-acid (83%) oil into the fridge, and it didn’t freeze up, for reasons not known: maybe the very low level of saturates, maybe a very low level

Olive oil is a natural product, made from >700 different varieties of olives, each with their own characteristics, grown under different conditions, picked at different levels of ripeness, and processed differently. There are just too many variables affecting waxes, fatty acid ratios, and the distribution of these into triglyceride structure to make the fridge test reliable as a positive or negative screen for authenticity (let alone quality).

Originally Posted by Villages PL (Post 1011297)

Cindy: This was suggested in my link on page 1 "How to Pick Real Olive Oil / Mark's Daily Apple". But yours is much more detailed, thanks. Still, I think I would prefer olive oil that solidifies. Mark says it's necessary but not sufficient. If it solidifies and then tastes like olive oil, I will feel more confident that it really is olive oil. Although it's possible that it may be mixed with something else.

BTW, I called Wild Oats and they said the olives are picked in Argentina and then shipped to the U.S. for processing into extra virgin olive oil. Once the oil is made, it then gets tested to be USDA certified organic. (So much for "fresh picked" olives.)

Originally Posted by CFrance (Post 1009513)

If you're buying unfiltered olive oil at $3.99 for 16 ounces, and you believe it's for real, you should do some more reading on the olive oil fraud.

Here's a good article for you to read. They were mentioned as trustworthy olive oil producers in the article on the fraud, along with other companies, and you can get their oil at Publix. They don't filter any of their oils.
Filtered vs. Unfiltered Olive Oil: What’s the Difference? | California Olive Ranch EVOO – Consumer News, Info and Recipes

It is a decent price for the real thing, and you get what you paid for, plus excellent taste as well. We use it, and it holds up a long time, as long as you say it takes for you to finish yours. Really, VPL, give it a look-see. I was sold on only oil from Italy till I read the article about the fraud that mentioned this as one of the trustworthy companies.

Originally Posted by Go-Bucks! (Post 1019598)

I have recently been using coconut oil for cooking and skin moisturizing. I love it. And it's now being recognized by the medical community for it's health benefits. The cheapest organic, unrefined, virgin oil is from Aldi. Yay!

Originally Posted by Villages PL (Post 1022710)

Health being the main concern, I don't think it's a good idea to do any frying. I have heard that heat makes oils more saturated. Also, frying adds more calories as the oil soaks into the food or the breading.

Yes, Aldi's olive oil is only $3.99 for 17 ounces.

Here's the problem with coconut oil: It's only sold in health food stores and the price is about $13 dollars for 10 ounces. And when you stop to consider it's essentially the same type of oil as olive oil, it hardly seems worth it. Olive oil is an excellent source of medium chain triglycerides just as coconut oil is.

Originally Posted by kellyjam (Post 1008136)

Unfortunately the Olive Oil industry is rife with fraud. [/url]

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1010082)

Butter is a natural product too. And so is lard.

Originally Posted by Shimpy (Post 1023320)

Fraud ? Oh No!...
.....you mean my cold pressed olive oil that was pressed by bare butts of Greek monks isn't the very best for which I paid a premium price for?