OLIVE OIL for Salad Dressing - brand recommendations?

Need to buy Olive Oil for salad dressing.... but they sell all sorts of olive oils. Can anyone please shed some light on what we should be looking for on the label (aside from hechsher)

I tried making israeli salad dressing using olive oil-- the brand I use for lighting shabbos candles, and I couldn't eat the salad, didn't like the taste. Therefore asking you ladies for suggestions on which brand or what kind- extra virgin etc. (not sure what they all mean either).

THANK YOU
Smile

There is one in a can it has an italian name (cant remmber)

The healthiest is cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and it is pretty light too. When oil is made and heat added, tons of the nutrients you would expect from olive oil are lost, when it is made without heat, the nutrients remain. Extra virgin means that it is the first drops of the olives and clearest and tastiest. The problem is it is hard to find in Jewish stores plus very expensive. I buy it at Costco, where a big bottle is about ten bucks and I use it for dressing, potatoes in the oven and a ton of other things. If you can't get that, just make sure that you use a light version and I suggest not using the Jewish brands, they make a lot of good things, but they haven't got olive oil or mayo yet IMO. And I can totally imagine why the oil for your candles wouldn't taste good.

Silver Member Joined: Jan 08 2006 Posts: 997

Bertolli's Extra Light (extra light, not extra virgin)

is my favorite for salad dressing. It has the most mild flavor I've tasted. (you can even bake with it!)

Gold Member Joined: Mar 23 2005 Posts: 1737

I generally use the Trader Joe's Extra Virgin olive oil. I've also tried their regular olive oil and it was good. Is it possible you just don't care for the taste of olive oil? If so, I would suggest the extra light olive oil that Red Ruby recommended.

Posted: Mon, Aug 11 2008, 10:16 am Post subject:

the best tasting would be extra virgin because it is full-bodied taste whereas anything else wouldn't be as good ... not sure if a brand makes a difference but you can see the color is more greenish than yellow when extra virgin ...
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Posted: Mon, Aug 11 2008, 10:18 am Post subject:

Gold Member Joined: Jun 08 2007 Posts: 1331

Mommyluv's EVOO tips: Smile

1-Don't buy the kosher brands extra virgin olive oil. There are way better choices on the market.

2-the best EVOO comes in tin cans. They protect the oil from light and heat, both of which make the oil deteriorate quicker. Plastic bottles are your worst choice, since the plastic leaches into the oil, and glass containers are better, but cans are your best bet.

3-EVOO has the most nutritional value compared to regular (refined) olive oil. A really good EVOO should be a fresh green, not yellow.

4-'Light' olive oil is more versatile because its been ultra-refined. It does not have the same health properties as a good quality EVOO.

(Can you tell I'm a EVOO nut? Laughing

)

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Silver Member Joined: Feb 07 2008 Posts: 977

I actually use the really kosher ones with the hebrew lettered hechsher and the ones that are lightest in color are the best tasting-no aftertaste so the kids eat the salad too!

I second Fabulous's suggestion about cold pressed olive oil. It's very healthful, and the flavor is delicious, it tastes more like olives than other olive oils.
I only use it for non-cooking (like salad dressing, drizzling over cooked couscous, etc...) because the nutrients in cold pressed olive oil get broken down when heated. So when I cook and bake, I use regular extra virgin and/or extra light olive oil. Bertoli or Filippo Berio brands... Italian's really know how to make good olive oil Razz

I second the Bertollis suggestion.
Extra virgin is going to be a richer taste. If you dont like the taste of olive oil or you think its too overpowering (in some foods it really is) dont get extra virgin.
They should sell bertollis at the Seven Mile Market store, like for sure.
If not try whole foods...I love whole foods, I got addicted to it when we came to baltimore and got my whole family into it...
also, If you GO to whole foods, and describe to them what tasted so gross about the candle lighting olive oil (thats a bad idea btw of course its gross, its probably years old stale lol!!), and you are looking for an olive oil that is more....rich....salty....thick...wahtever, they can match u up with the right one...theyre really good with that type of stuff in whole foods.

My favorite, favorite, favorite olive oil is extra-virgin unfiltered olive oil. It's taste is just..... swooningly (is that a word???) yummy. I used to buy an Israeli brand at the Middle Eastern grocery store by our house, but they don't carry it any more. Sad

Haven't found a replacement around here yet... Unfiltered is slightly cloudy because it has very small bits of olive sediment in it. It doesn't last nearly as long as filtered olive oil, but then it also gets consumed quickly anyway, so who cares? Now I'm hungry. I loaf of crusty french bread dipped in unfiltered olive oil with minced garlic and sea salt....... OY. Better go to sleep. Smile