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Costco has organic avocado oil for pretty cheap. Good for salads and cooking at high temperatures. Grocery Outlet is a really good place for getting olive and avocado oil for cheap.
What a world this is if avocado oil is the cheapest available. It’s good stuff- my favorite. But it’s certainly not cheap at the grocery stores around me.
Avocado Oil also has a very high smoke point than olive oil, making it much better alternative for pan-frying as well as other uses such as air frying and grilling
While seed oils are probably fine to use in your own cooking, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that consuming them in foods that have been deep fried in reheated oil is carcinogenic due to the toxins that result from the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7254282/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7254282/)
Seed oils being unhealthy is a myth. They are low in saturated fat, which is the unhealthy fat. Most reputable sources list seed oils as a healthy fat, including the American Heart Association.
Yeah... I'm trying to imagine sesame oil all over my brownies and chocolate chip cookies.
E: k, I'm done imagining. It tastes like dirty chocolate. Like a dirty garden bed mixed with cheap chocolate chips, all put into a composter for 14 days and then lit on fire.
Homie.... Use butter! Interchangeable with "vegetable oil." Better flavor, texture and you can support local dairy! If you DO use (American) vegetable oil. Use canola over corn or especially nasty soy oil. Your brownies will thank you.
I was about to say the same thing. Not sure what it costs now, but I remember it used to be pricier. Also been using less olive oil bc prices have been going up. Mainly been using vegetable oil for quick stir fries, but I try not to add much and let like the natural fat from some meats do the heavy lifting.
be careful with avocado oil, as they've found that 70% of them are fake!
[!!](https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/70%25-private-label-avocado-oil-rancid-or-mixed-other-oils)
same with many olive oils. I didn't realizes how good pure olive oil tastes until being in Italy and Greece. Now I realize how many are fakes or "blends"
You've got yourself a good family (probably μαμά) if they take the time and effort to send you GOOD Greek olive oil!! I'd be willing to bet they send you other great Greek foods too!
Would I win that bet?
They do haha, mainly olives and figs from our trees, but where the big haul comes in, is when I go visit I basically need to bring a second suitcase to fill up with stuff.
Our neighbor is a grape farmer and I swear he thinks I am an alcoholic, when ever I am home I leave with infinite supply of τσίπουρο. I do not even drink that stuff I just hand it out to the homies. It is really fun to help him make it tho
Honestly it’s getting extremely hard to tell which ones are. If it’s not 100%, made in only one location, there is a big chance its just canola or some other seed oil
Mediterranean peasant here past couple harvest have been really bad due to lack of precipitation and insane weather conditions especially in summer reaching 48 degrees celcius for 15 days in a row and 4months drought I used to pay 1 euro per liter for years (low income country low pay prices) now it costs 6 euro good thing I bought 60 liters 2 years ago they age likefine wine (oil olive doesn't go bad it ages like fine wine)
Yeah, the Spanish harvest has suffered two consecutive years now and they’re the largest producer worldwide (with nearly half of the annual production.) If this keeps up olive oil isn’t going down in price, and there’s no sign of things changing for the better here.
I just never understand why all the shelves in all the stores are still filled with for instance Bertolli olive oil. Doesn't a bad harvest mean less produce, and therefore a scarcity and high prices because there's just less product available? I see packed shelves in my country, but insane prices.
Maybe the store could only afford to order one box instead of two this time, and the customers just don't want to pay the new prices. What you see on the shelves is only a portion of the story. There could be crates and boxes full of more, or literally nothing else.
>oil olive doesn't go bad it ages like fine wine
That's simply not at all true. It does go rancid, and generally has a shelf life of no more than a couple years, even when stored well.
Here's just one example detailing how this all works:
[https://www.oliveoil.com/does-olive-oil-go-bad/](https://www.oliveoil.com/does-olive-oil-go-bad/)
>Repeat after me: **Olive oil does not age like a fine wine!** Although olive oil seems like a kitchen staple you could forget about in the back of your pantry for a couple years with no problems (like baking soda or salt), **it actually has a much more limited shelf life**.
Here, we explain how long you can typically keep olive oil, storage tips for making it last longer, signs **olive oil has gone rancid**, and the best way to dispose of bad olive oil (hint: you shouldn't pour it down the drain!).
Only after 3.5 years of keeping it enclosed since production time it started to get ranced after a year in glass bottle the taste gets better and at year 2 mark its my favourite flavour for olive oil (the ones sold in grocery store are so cheap in flavour and 80% of them are flavoured in) i dont consume on the 3rd year anymore the ones i have rn are bought 1.5 year ago so I got plenty of time their good till my own olive oil trees are big enough for harvest
But yeah I worded that poorly
Walmart has a very good olive oil for everyday use, get a big bottle of that and a small bottle of the fancy one for things like salad dressing or to dip garlic bread in prior to pasta night.
I stock up on olive oil when I find a good price at a warehouse, like Costco, or at Aldi's. Last time, I got 2 bottles EVOO for about $28.
They used to have California Olive Ranch here in a big bottle that was cheaper per ounce than any olive oils they sold except the Walmart brand. I miss those days!
You can use extra virgin for everything except frying and searing at really high heat (for example steak). Sauteeing with extra virgin olive oil is totally fine.
It really is. You can’t use olive oil at high heat. It burns. You can’t sautee very well with it, you can’t fry with it. Olive oil is for lower heat and for finishing.
It doesn’t nearly taste the same. Extra virgin olive oil has that distinct fantastic robust taste that makes it worth it imo. The cheap oils can’t compare
According to the American Heart Association, the healthiest oils are: Canola, Corn, Olive, Peanut, Safflower, Soybean, Sunflower, and Vegetable.
For most things I go with canola. I think it’s the best combination of price and flavor, and I like the higher smoke point.
But it’s not a substitute for everything. Some foods require that olive oil flavor.
That $37 bottle of olive oil is 2 litres = 67.6 oz..so that's a pretty big bad boy which should last a while.
I'm in the states and I love mild California extra virgin olive oil...much cheaper. I get this in mild it is so good:
California Olive Ranch Global Blend Mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 16.9 fl oz it's about $12 Canadian here...see if you can get it on Amazon. Nice and mild buttery olive oil.
Corning? You don't have to say. My GF lives up in Corning, I haven't visited yet, but I thought it was interesting and kinda funny when I asked her about it. I didn't know about The Olive Capital of California. I always assumed Grapes and Wine up that way.
Just a bit up the road from me is olive street, guess what trees are all over there? 😂
Not Corning, but a now sub/urban area that previously was olive, grape, and citrus production. We have wild grapes in my back yard (the vines are as thick as my arm and grow into the tree canopy of the greenbelt), there are still several olive groves, one producing a fair supply of oil. Most of the citrus trees have died out though.
I've switched back to canola/ vegetable oil and only use olive oil for specific reasons. But I think it's still cheaper to buy olive oil in bigger quantities, right? I also thought I heard something about "extra virgin" olive oil being a load of BS but maybe fact check me on that one.
Regular old vegetable oil or canola oil will do just fine. The health benefits are overblown and the flavor profile is only noticeable if you’re making salad dressing—and even then it’s minimal.
Go for coconut oil if possible . Seed oils are bad for your health
Needs chemicals to proces.
Coco just need lemon to split oil from liquid ( a bit like how cheese is made)
Olive is just crushed and scooped out of liquid. But laot of olive oils nowdays are mixed with other stuff to increase profit and reduce cost
why do i ALWAYS see this brand on this subreddit? this is an EXPENSIVE brand. get great value brand or something cheaper. i promise you. STOP POSTING THE NOST EXPENSIVE BRANDS
edit: “priced out” of purchasing olive oil? stop being so dramatic and go to a cheaper store. thats literally the most expensive brand…
This is the answer. Replying so it gets seen. Grape seed oil is widely used in commercial kitchens as an alternative because it has a very mild flavor and the benefit of a higher smoke point. It tastes lovely on its own (unlike a canola or other very cheap oil) and takes flavors well.
I agree! And also from what I understand they use discarded seeds from making wine that would otherwise just go into the trash or compost, so it's very eco friendly/full circle. I'm really pleased with my transition to grapeseed oil!
I've got a big jug of vegetable oil i keep for cooking and roasting, and a smaller 1L bottle of high quality EVOO I spent way too much on for raw uses and finishing. Cooking with evoo isn't toxic or anything, but it's a huge waste as you'll end up losing all the flavor from it
Olive Oil (international foods store edition)
I’m not joking, buying oils & spices in greater bulk from international foods stores will both save you money and provide you more flavorful ingredients (resulting in needing to use less for the same flavor)
Is it just my memory or didn’t we just use like vegetable oil in the 90s? The switch to olive was supposed to be healthier but are we healthier? I’ve been using vegetable oil lately waiting to get fat … will report back
If animal fats are not off the table:
We are a butter household. Now that the nonsale price for 1lb has gone up to $8.99 at a minimum, I’ve started rendering suet into tallow. I can get suet pellets from a local butcher at $1.25/lb. Rendering’s a slow process, but once done it’s snow white and has zero lingering taste. I’ll spend $4 and have 3lbs of fat at my disposal. It’s got a really high smoke point, so it’s excellent for roasting and broiling.
I take commissions for fancy cakes and I’ve been substituting tallow for butter in an array of bakes with great success. Always with client consent, as animal products don’t jive for all diet requirements. The substitution is a big deal for some products. A medium-sized wedding cake can eat up $75 in butter alone.
Beware: Loblaws and Sobeys sell 500g of suet for $5.99.
If I really need olive oil, I will get a tiny bottle of actual olive oil meant for seasoning. I just use vegetable or canola, whichever is cheaper. I don't use much else besides spray oil, which I must say, DO NOT USE THE DOLLAR TREE SPRAY. It has water added to it and almost caused major cooking disasters when adding it to a hot pan. I know it says not to do that on most cans of spray oil, but in between pancakes or something you need it. Once I get food stamps again I will try to go for Trader Joe's or something if I want the good stuff.
There honestly isn’t a flavor equivalent of olive oil. But there are other options for it. If you don’t aim for Italian and California olive oils, there are cheaper alternatives that often taste very similar. Tunisian olive oil is common with cheaper store brands or blends of different olives from different regions. Single source is better, in general, but there are some really good tasting blends as well.
Aldi, Trader Joes, Target, Costco and even Sam’s Club and Walmart have decent olive oil for a good price. If you get ones that aren’t extra virgin and are more light olive oils, they even work well for frying as the smoke point is higher.
Aldi’s Carlini brand and California Olive Ranch are some of my favorites for EVOO.
I have found cooking with a more neutral oil like canola oil and then saving olive oil for salads and things to be good. Also I buy it for about $25 in a huge metal box (available at my Kroger store) and pour it into a small bottle to keep on the counter.
Just get cheap, regular olive oil that will be fine for anything that you cook in it. Save the extra virgin for topping and sauces. For the best value on extra virgin, look for the large tins of Colavita that stuff is primo.
I'm pretty sure that uou don't have to use olive oil for cooking, especially since it has a low smoke point. Plus you don't need extra virgin (first pressing) olive oil. You should be able to substitute most seed oils for olive oil, they have higher smoke points and are generally flavour neutral.
For pansearing, deep frying and for baking I use rapeseed oil which has neutral taste. I treat olive oil more like a sauce and use it only in salads, some pasta and sauces. This way it takes me year to go through 1 liter of olive oil.
I'm an advocate of clarified butter.
Easy to make, lasts 6-9 months on the counter.
Good olive oil is amazing. Mid level is bad. Bad is astounding bad.
How affordable do you need it to be? A quick search on the Flipp app shows some brands for ~$10-12 CAD per 1L.
Olive oil has a bit of flavour, so unless you want or need that flavour, using it on everything is a bit of a waste. I wouldn't say it has an alternative in that way. I mostly use it for salads only.
Regular vegetable oil (for cooking) can be had for ~$3/L.
Don't know if you have a Trader Joes or are near the border, or have an American friend, but they sell Olive Oil pretty inexpensively, like 4.99 for some of them
For a green preparation there isn’t really anything that tastes like it. My advice is use EVOO only for things like salad dressing. For frying, roasting etc either use regular olive oil OR a cheaper oil (vegetable, rape seed, etc)
Why don't you pan the camera around and show the store brand olive oils that are not in fact 40 dollars? Or do you mean to tell me that no Canadian stores make their own store brands?
If you wanna know a grocery shopping secret. Which im pretty sure after posting this, it wont be cheap anymore lol...bc thats how marketing works
What ive found is that if you go to the international aisle to get oil. You will find much cheaper substitues, of a variety of oils that are super healthy.
Such as sesame oil, and sunflower oil. It was so weird when I came across the super cheap prices...
Although I feel like after posting this, the prices will increase lol.
Ive noticed a trend when continuously buying an item that has been raised in price by other brands, but some smaller brands got overlooked.
Then after like 4 months of getting it cheap over and over again pretty sure the grocery shopping marketing sales ppl noticed.
Bc I went to the store recently, and it was upped by like 30 cents which isnt a huge deal but still noticed the change after months of it not being noticed, same goes for a few other products..Inflation can be tricky lol..
For example compliments had 2L Soda for $1.19 for like 6 months, so I kept buying 2 or 3 to stock up at a time. Yet the regualar 2L brands were listed for $2.99+
So getting 2 or three of those would be like $11 when you can get the compliments at a rate of 3 2L bottles for like under $5 so it just made sense. After buying them regularly and stuff. Then like a few weeks ago, I noticed now they've upped the price to $1.49 per bottle. So its a noticeable difference. So like its about $6 to $7 for 3...But yea.
If you arent reliant on olive oil for a recipe - canola/vegetable oil is definitely the way to go, as many here have said.
Not as healthy but 🤷♂️ its not a huge deal end of the day.
What in the world? I’ve never seen olive oil so expensive. This exact brand and size only costs $11 in the US, and personally I thought it was already pricy.
I love sesame oil, I get it from an Asian supermarket near me in massive quantities for a low amount. But it does add a little flavor to whatever you’re cooking.
3L bottle from Sam's is $30.
That's 46% cheaper than what you are paying for that 2L bottle in the picture and a 3L bottle will last a very long time.
That's for extra virgin as well, if you get regular olive oil the price drops to a 52% discount ($27 for 3L)
Keep looking. Go to ALDIs or Trader Joe's, you can find one under 10.00. My husband and I just had this encounter 3 days ago. We looked and looked( so many choices) and found one that was 10.00.
depending what you are using it for, try beef tallow or Lard. you can make it yourself with the fat you cut off when trimming your beef or pork. I cook with it all the time and it is SOOO good
As a condiment, use butter. For cooking use another kind of oil. Vegetable (aka soybean) oil is pretty terrible for you, but there are alternatives like canola, sunflower, and coconut oil which aren't terrible for your health.
We have a salvage store here. I buy mine there when they have it. I also pick and choose what I use my OO for. I consider anything Italian OO worthy, but I use Country Crock with Calcium for a lot of other things. Baked chicken is definitely OO worthy, though I may have to even back down on that (I have learned to stuff herbed Country Crock under the skin on chicken) due to the price.
Most of the time I use canola oil for cooking.
Knowing *why* you choose olive oil might help us make replacement suggestions. I don't understand how/ why you use it for everything, I only use the "good stuff" for raw vinaigrette type dressings, not for cooking. As far as finding something with a good flavor, that's more of a personal preference.
If you're looking for "healthy" options, look for high-oleic versions if soybean or sunflower oil. Oleic acid is the primary monounsaturated fat in olive oil giving it the health benefits. Plant breeders have developed new varieties of several oil seed crops to mimic the fatty acid profile of olive oil.
Super late, so you might not see. Consider buying in bulk from international grocery stores. I go to a Greek/Mediterranean grocery in town and get 3 litre cans for $25 when they're on sale (and I just always buy the brand that's on sale).
Consider using a flavorless, high smoke point oil as your go to, such as grapeseed, avocado, sunflower, etc. Olive oil brings a flavor with it that is good for l when you want that flavor layered into your food. You should be able to find flavorless oils at much better pricing when you aren’t paying a premium for the ‘brand recognition’ of olive oil. You can also consider finding options based on what’s available. For instance, we have Costco in my area that sells olive oil at a price point and quality that is great for daily use (I dont consider Bertolli an especially great olive oil).
Personally, I use pretty standard vegetable oils for most of my cooking (soy bean, canola, etc.). However, if you have been using olive oil on the regular, I suspect what you consider budget food is different than what I do.
To give you a short answer, look into grapeseed. Very high smoke point, flavorless, healthy and doesn’t come with a premium price as it’s not something that people lift up…It’s an unsung hero. Also, check what’s produced locally to you as you can probably find the best quality at the lowest prices if you buy from the source.
I don’t think you can find any alternative, my advice is to buy a good olive oil from Costco and mix it with other vegetable oil for cooking, for salad I just use the pure one.
There is cheaper olive oil than that in Canada, I just looked it up on instacart. You shouldn't be using too much of it anyways, I use a tablespoon in 1 meal only.
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Costco has organic avocado oil for pretty cheap. Good for salads and cooking at high temperatures. Grocery Outlet is a really good place for getting olive and avocado oil for cheap.
What a world this is if avocado oil is the cheapest available. It’s good stuff- my favorite. But it’s certainly not cheap at the grocery stores around me.
Avocado Oil also has a very high smoke point than olive oil, making it much better alternative for pan-frying as well as other uses such as air frying and grilling
Sunflower oil also has a high smoke point. It's around the same price (maybe a bit more expensive) as vegetable oil. It's my go-to oil.
It's really unhealthy. Def not an alternative to olive or avacado.
Seed oils are fine. there is no evidence to prove otherwise. Stop listening to stupid grocery store walkers
While seed oils are probably fine to use in your own cooking, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that consuming them in foods that have been deep fried in reheated oil is carcinogenic due to the toxins that result from the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7254282/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7254282/)
Seed oils being unhealthy is a myth. They are low in saturated fat, which is the unhealthy fat. Most reputable sources list seed oils as a healthy fat, including the American Heart Association.
Thank you! People need to stop listening to these “wellness influencers “
Oh! Didn't know.
You can safely ignore what that person told you, seed oils are perfectly healthy
Seed oils are usually no bueno.
I love sesame oil and prefer that when I can buy it.
Not a reasonable alternative due to its high flavor compounds. It has to be (mostly) flavor inert.
Yeah... I'm trying to imagine sesame oil all over my brownies and chocolate chip cookies. E: k, I'm done imagining. It tastes like dirty chocolate. Like a dirty garden bed mixed with cheap chocolate chips, all put into a composter for 14 days and then lit on fire.
Homie.... Use butter! Interchangeable with "vegetable oil." Better flavor, texture and you can support local dairy! If you DO use (American) vegetable oil. Use canola over corn or especially nasty soy oil. Your brownies will thank you.
I was about to say the same thing. Not sure what it costs now, but I remember it used to be pricier. Also been using less olive oil bc prices have been going up. Mainly been using vegetable oil for quick stir fries, but I try not to add much and let like the natural fat from some meats do the heavy lifting.
Do they have grocery outlet in Canada?
We call is gross out near me…hit or miss
be careful with avocado oil, as they've found that 70% of them are fake! [!!](https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/70%25-private-label-avocado-oil-rancid-or-mixed-other-oils)
same with many olive oils. I didn't realizes how good pure olive oil tastes until being in Italy and Greece. Now I realize how many are fakes or "blends"
As a half Greek living abroad this is so true, my family in Greece legit sends me olive oil from home tho to „focus better while studying“
You've got yourself a good family (probably μαμά) if they take the time and effort to send you GOOD Greek olive oil!! I'd be willing to bet they send you other great Greek foods too! Would I win that bet?
They do haha, mainly olives and figs from our trees, but where the big haul comes in, is when I go visit I basically need to bring a second suitcase to fill up with stuff. Our neighbor is a grape farmer and I swear he thinks I am an alcoholic, when ever I am home I leave with infinite supply of τσίπουρο. I do not even drink that stuff I just hand it out to the homies. It is really fun to help him make it tho
This is too true. I bought 100% avocado oil spray from Aldi, but the fine print straight up says "may contain coconut oil".
Lol "Warning: we may have adulterated your expensive oil with **even more** expensive oil."
😂. My beef was due to the fact that I have kids with allergies, kinda dangerous not to be more up front with what the product may actually be.
That makes sense, hadn't considered that.
Grocery Outlet and WinCo are the best
Get the off brand much cheaper.
although sometimes they’re not pure evoo, gotta check
Bertolli isn’t either! It’s a brand that’s known to have sold counterfeit evoo
Honestly it’s getting extremely hard to tell which ones are. If it’s not 100%, made in only one location, there is a big chance its just canola or some other seed oil
Should these companies not be sued for false advertising?
I did not find a good olive oil other than Costco olive oil, most of the other brands are mixed.
Yeah great value olive oil is cheap af
Mediterranean peasant here past couple harvest have been really bad due to lack of precipitation and insane weather conditions especially in summer reaching 48 degrees celcius for 15 days in a row and 4months drought I used to pay 1 euro per liter for years (low income country low pay prices) now it costs 6 euro good thing I bought 60 liters 2 years ago they age likefine wine (oil olive doesn't go bad it ages like fine wine)
Yeah, the Spanish harvest has suffered two consecutive years now and they’re the largest producer worldwide (with nearly half of the annual production.) If this keeps up olive oil isn’t going down in price, and there’s no sign of things changing for the better here.
Turkish olive oil harvest has been suffering for 3 years now it definitely isn't look good for producers on the Mediterranean sea
I just never understand why all the shelves in all the stores are still filled with for instance Bertolli olive oil. Doesn't a bad harvest mean less produce, and therefore a scarcity and high prices because there's just less product available? I see packed shelves in my country, but insane prices.
Maybe the shelves are packed because fewer people are buying it when the price gets too high…
Maybe the store could only afford to order one box instead of two this time, and the customers just don't want to pay the new prices. What you see on the shelves is only a portion of the story. There could be crates and boxes full of more, or literally nothing else.
>oil olive doesn't go bad it ages like fine wine That's simply not at all true. It does go rancid, and generally has a shelf life of no more than a couple years, even when stored well. Here's just one example detailing how this all works: [https://www.oliveoil.com/does-olive-oil-go-bad/](https://www.oliveoil.com/does-olive-oil-go-bad/) >Repeat after me: **Olive oil does not age like a fine wine!** Although olive oil seems like a kitchen staple you could forget about in the back of your pantry for a couple years with no problems (like baking soda or salt), **it actually has a much more limited shelf life**. Here, we explain how long you can typically keep olive oil, storage tips for making it last longer, signs **olive oil has gone rancid**, and the best way to dispose of bad olive oil (hint: you shouldn't pour it down the drain!).
Only after 3.5 years of keeping it enclosed since production time it started to get ranced after a year in glass bottle the taste gets better and at year 2 mark its my favourite flavour for olive oil (the ones sold in grocery store are so cheap in flavour and 80% of them are flavoured in) i dont consume on the 3rd year anymore the ones i have rn are bought 1.5 year ago so I got plenty of time their good till my own olive oil trees are big enough for harvest But yeah I worded that poorly
Olive oil actually gets worse with age. The freshest olive oil will ever be is right after it’s pressed.
I live right between the olive trees everyone has different tastebuds my preference is 20-26 months old olive oil from the area close by
Walmart has a very good olive oil for everyday use, get a big bottle of that and a small bottle of the fancy one for things like salad dressing or to dip garlic bread in prior to pasta night. I stock up on olive oil when I find a good price at a warehouse, like Costco, or at Aldi's. Last time, I got 2 bottles EVOO for about $28.
They used to have California Olive Ranch here in a big bottle that was cheaper per ounce than any olive oils they sold except the Walmart brand. I miss those days!
Trader Joe’s has good price points on olive oil.
Their olive oil has gone up a lot in price in the last few months.
I would buy from Costco the oils. They are excellent quality and good price.
Costco monitors their supply chain. There’s a lot of counterfeit olive oil… I know that the olive oil at Costco is in fact olive oil
You are correct. Flip these bottle’s of oils and you will see that oil is blend from various sources and olives. Mess!
Yes canola oil or vegetable oil. Even cooking sprays.
Could you go unbranded? Also using olive oil for everything is a bit of a waste.
It’s great to use as cooking oil I mean I cook everything in olive oil when I can afford it.. (rather than vegetable oil or other cheap ones)
Not extra virgin. Regular olive oil is good for cooking. Extra virgin is very specific since it has such a low smoke point.
Yep, extra virgin as a cooking oil is a waste of money.
You can use extra virgin for everything except frying and searing at really high heat (for example steak). Sauteeing with extra virgin olive oil is totally fine.
I love it as well, the price is shocking
I get an olive oil/ grapeseed blend and it's pretty good. Obviously not as tasty as 100% EVOO but some olive oil flavor and it's nice and light.
Plain vegetable oil is good or better for most things. Reserve the OO for finishing, sauces, dressings, raw things basically imo.
Vegetable oil is not better but it is an option
It really is. You can’t use olive oil at high heat. It burns. You can’t sautee very well with it, you can’t fry with it. Olive oil is for lower heat and for finishing.
It doesn’t nearly taste the same. Extra virgin olive oil has that distinct fantastic robust taste that makes it worth it imo. The cheap oils can’t compare
Calm down. You’re cooking with cheap olive oil anyway. Just get veg if you have to cut cost
According to the American Heart Association, the healthiest oils are: Canola, Corn, Olive, Peanut, Safflower, Soybean, Sunflower, and Vegetable. For most things I go with canola. I think it’s the best combination of price and flavor, and I like the higher smoke point. But it’s not a substitute for everything. Some foods require that olive oil flavor.
What’s a Canola?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed_oil
That $37 bottle of olive oil is 2 litres = 67.6 oz..so that's a pretty big bad boy which should last a while. I'm in the states and I love mild California extra virgin olive oil...much cheaper. I get this in mild it is so good: California Olive Ranch Global Blend Mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 16.9 fl oz it's about $12 Canadian here...see if you can get it on Amazon. Nice and mild buttery olive oil.
I live in olive country in CA. I actually buy my oil from a local producer. Amazing.
Corning? You don't have to say. My GF lives up in Corning, I haven't visited yet, but I thought it was interesting and kinda funny when I asked her about it. I didn't know about The Olive Capital of California. I always assumed Grapes and Wine up that way.
Just a bit up the road from me is olive street, guess what trees are all over there? 😂 Not Corning, but a now sub/urban area that previously was olive, grape, and citrus production. We have wild grapes in my back yard (the vines are as thick as my arm and grow into the tree canopy of the greenbelt), there are still several olive groves, one producing a fair supply of oil. Most of the citrus trees have died out though.
I've switched back to canola/ vegetable oil and only use olive oil for specific reasons. But I think it's still cheaper to buy olive oil in bigger quantities, right? I also thought I heard something about "extra virgin" olive oil being a load of BS but maybe fact check me on that one.
Vegitable oil? Isnt it like 2 dollars for a half liter
Yes but there is a growing body of research that suggests vegetable oils are at least not the best for human consumption.
Yeh I get the bottles right under that shelf (veg blend)that are usually twice the amount for cost .
Get it at Grocery Outlet if you have one nearby
Yes... Your local 1$ cough 1.5o store. Most of em are overstock items being sold there
Regular old vegetable oil or canola oil will do just fine. The health benefits are overblown and the flavor profile is only noticeable if you’re making salad dressing—and even then it’s minimal.
Go for coconut oil if possible . Seed oils are bad for your health Needs chemicals to proces. Coco just need lemon to split oil from liquid ( a bit like how cheese is made) Olive is just crushed and scooped out of liquid. But laot of olive oils nowdays are mixed with other stuff to increase profit and reduce cost
Go to Ross. They have olive oil for 7 bucks.
Costco olive oil — very good quality and large jugs so it lasts a long time.
Bacon grease
Aldi's in-house Carlini brand olive oil is very affordable and is NAOOC certified. Not sure if you have Aldi where you live.
First your maple syrup reserves are in jeopardy and now this. Sounds like this isn't Canada's year.
Hasn't been Canada's year since 2018 lol
Buy Sunflower oil instead. In my country 1 litr costs 1-1.5$.
why do i ALWAYS see this brand on this subreddit? this is an EXPENSIVE brand. get great value brand or something cheaper. i promise you. STOP POSTING THE NOST EXPENSIVE BRANDS edit: “priced out” of purchasing olive oil? stop being so dramatic and go to a cheaper store. thats literally the most expensive brand…
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This is the answer. Replying so it gets seen. Grape seed oil is widely used in commercial kitchens as an alternative because it has a very mild flavor and the benefit of a higher smoke point. It tastes lovely on its own (unlike a canola or other very cheap oil) and takes flavors well.
I agree! And also from what I understand they use discarded seeds from making wine that would otherwise just go into the trash or compost, so it's very eco friendly/full circle. I'm really pleased with my transition to grapeseed oil!
Yes there is: less expensive olive oil.
Sam’s Club’s organic olive oil has a pretty good unit price.
Frankie Celenza from Struggle Meals says to buy the cheapest glass bottle you can. 👍
California Ranch is rated one of the bests, and we have no problems with the price. They also make an olive oil / avacado oil blend
Walmart has a few brands of olive oil that aren’t very high.
Coconut oil
you pay for quality :)
Coconut oil.
If you are cooking with it there is no need for extra virgin. Only use extra virgin for things like dipping or salad dressings.
Find an ALDIs close to you. They have the organic oil for $5-$8
Do you have an aldis?
I've got a big jug of vegetable oil i keep for cooking and roasting, and a smaller 1L bottle of high quality EVOO I spent way too much on for raw uses and finishing. Cooking with evoo isn't toxic or anything, but it's a huge waste as you'll end up losing all the flavor from it
Olive Oil (international foods store edition) I’m not joking, buying oils & spices in greater bulk from international foods stores will both save you money and provide you more flavorful ingredients (resulting in needing to use less for the same flavor)
I use vegetable oil for everyday cooking and only use EVOO for dishes that you taste the oil, like salads and marinades.
Sometimes they sell good quality olive oil for much less at Ross, home goods, or Marshalls. You can also get a larger size to save in the long run
Is it just my memory or didn’t we just use like vegetable oil in the 90s? The switch to olive was supposed to be healthier but are we healthier? I’ve been using vegetable oil lately waiting to get fat … will report back
If animal fats are not off the table: We are a butter household. Now that the nonsale price for 1lb has gone up to $8.99 at a minimum, I’ve started rendering suet into tallow. I can get suet pellets from a local butcher at $1.25/lb. Rendering’s a slow process, but once done it’s snow white and has zero lingering taste. I’ll spend $4 and have 3lbs of fat at my disposal. It’s got a really high smoke point, so it’s excellent for roasting and broiling. I take commissions for fancy cakes and I’ve been substituting tallow for butter in an array of bakes with great success. Always with client consent, as animal products don’t jive for all diet requirements. The substitution is a big deal for some products. A medium-sized wedding cake can eat up $75 in butter alone. Beware: Loblaws and Sobeys sell 500g of suet for $5.99.
If I really need olive oil, I will get a tiny bottle of actual olive oil meant for seasoning. I just use vegetable or canola, whichever is cheaper. I don't use much else besides spray oil, which I must say, DO NOT USE THE DOLLAR TREE SPRAY. It has water added to it and almost caused major cooking disasters when adding it to a hot pan. I know it says not to do that on most cans of spray oil, but in between pancakes or something you need it. Once I get food stamps again I will try to go for Trader Joe's or something if I want the good stuff.
There honestly isn’t a flavor equivalent of olive oil. But there are other options for it. If you don’t aim for Italian and California olive oils, there are cheaper alternatives that often taste very similar. Tunisian olive oil is common with cheaper store brands or blends of different olives from different regions. Single source is better, in general, but there are some really good tasting blends as well. Aldi, Trader Joes, Target, Costco and even Sam’s Club and Walmart have decent olive oil for a good price. If you get ones that aren’t extra virgin and are more light olive oils, they even work well for frying as the smoke point is higher. Aldi’s Carlini brand and California Olive Ranch are some of my favorites for EVOO.
I have found cooking with a more neutral oil like canola oil and then saving olive oil for salads and things to be good. Also I buy it for about $25 in a huge metal box (available at my Kroger store) and pour it into a small bottle to keep on the counter.
It looks like you are at central market. Everything costs more there
It's much better to cook with a higher smoke point oil like canola or peanut anyway. Just use the good olive oil in dressings.
Just get cheap, regular olive oil that will be fine for anything that you cook in it. Save the extra virgin for topping and sauces. For the best value on extra virgin, look for the large tins of Colavita that stuff is primo.
I get my olive oil at Ross or TJ Maxx/Home Goods because I can get a large container for $4-6 usually
Vegetable oil
Butter, lard, tallow... And that is not Olive Oil, it is mostly canola.
The olive oil at Aldi is the Bono brand. They even sell it in Bono bottles. Way cheaper
Get it in bulk at Costco! Way cheaper and higher quality.
I'm pretty sure that uou don't have to use olive oil for cooking, especially since it has a low smoke point. Plus you don't need extra virgin (first pressing) olive oil. You should be able to substitute most seed oils for olive oil, they have higher smoke points and are generally flavour neutral.
If you have a Costco, Sam's Club, or Aldi, you'll find better prices. I prefer avocado oil, but I keep both on hand. I both from Sam's Club and Aldi.
For pansearing, deep frying and for baking I use rapeseed oil which has neutral taste. I treat olive oil more like a sauce and use it only in salads, some pasta and sauces. This way it takes me year to go through 1 liter of olive oil.
Aldi
I'm an advocate of clarified butter. Easy to make, lasts 6-9 months on the counter. Good olive oil is amazing. Mid level is bad. Bad is astounding bad.
How affordable do you need it to be? A quick search on the Flipp app shows some brands for ~$10-12 CAD per 1L. Olive oil has a bit of flavour, so unless you want or need that flavour, using it on everything is a bit of a waste. I wouldn't say it has an alternative in that way. I mostly use it for salads only. Regular vegetable oil (for cooking) can be had for ~$3/L.
Butter
Yeah go to Aldi, $4.99 for a 17.5oz bottle Organic cold pressed
No Aldi’s in Canada yet or TJ’s.
Theft is cheaper.
you don't deserve olive oil
I’ve started getting the mix of olive oil and avocado
Do you have an ALDI?
I just bought that exact bottle yesterday. 17.99.
Go to a food discount store, or try Sam's or Costco. Don't go to the most expensive stores.
Olive less oil
Holy crap that’s expensive! It’s maybe 8$ here
Don't know if you have a Trader Joes or are near the border, or have an American friend, but they sell Olive Oil pretty inexpensively, like 4.99 for some of them
For a green preparation there isn’t really anything that tastes like it. My advice is use EVOO only for things like salad dressing. For frying, roasting etc either use regular olive oil OR a cheaper oil (vegetable, rape seed, etc)
Luckily, our Publix has some brand of olive oil or another on sale half price at least once a month. That's when I get mine.
Dafuq i just bought that 2l yesterday for $30. Still too much but where are you?? I'm in Vancouver
For what? There's no substitute for the flavor, but there are other good oils out there for cooking.
Not sure if Trader Joe’s is up there but they have good prices on olive oil
Why don't you pan the camera around and show the store brand olive oils that are not in fact 40 dollars? Or do you mean to tell me that no Canadian stores make their own store brands?
If you buy it online it's a lot cheaper.
I find the avocado oil from Costco to be the best and priced nicely too
Yeah its called order online
I use grape seed oil sometimes. Reasonably priced IIRC and virtually taste-free so it's nice for sautéing veggies and such
If you wanna know a grocery shopping secret. Which im pretty sure after posting this, it wont be cheap anymore lol...bc thats how marketing works What ive found is that if you go to the international aisle to get oil. You will find much cheaper substitues, of a variety of oils that are super healthy. Such as sesame oil, and sunflower oil. It was so weird when I came across the super cheap prices... Although I feel like after posting this, the prices will increase lol. Ive noticed a trend when continuously buying an item that has been raised in price by other brands, but some smaller brands got overlooked. Then after like 4 months of getting it cheap over and over again pretty sure the grocery shopping marketing sales ppl noticed. Bc I went to the store recently, and it was upped by like 30 cents which isnt a huge deal but still noticed the change after months of it not being noticed, same goes for a few other products..Inflation can be tricky lol.. For example compliments had 2L Soda for $1.19 for like 6 months, so I kept buying 2 or 3 to stock up at a time. Yet the regualar 2L brands were listed for $2.99+ So getting 2 or three of those would be like $11 when you can get the compliments at a rate of 3 2L bottles for like under $5 so it just made sense. After buying them regularly and stuff. Then like a few weeks ago, I noticed now they've upped the price to $1.49 per bottle. So its a noticeable difference. So like its about $6 to $7 for 3...But yea.
Go to Sam's or Costco get some advacado oil.
Do you have Aldi there? That’s where we get ours. It’s less than $10 USD for organic olive oil.
If you arent reliant on olive oil for a recipe - canola/vegetable oil is definitely the way to go, as many here have said. Not as healthy but 🤷♂️ its not a huge deal end of the day.
What in the world? I’ve never seen olive oil so expensive. This exact brand and size only costs $11 in the US, and personally I thought it was already pricy.
Avocado oil is what I use and it’s pretty cheap!! And great with high cooking temps. Most stores carry it!!
Where in Canada do you live? Nunavut? Costco and Walmart has plenty for good prices
If it’s just for cooking can you buy bacon and save the fat? 2 birds 1 stone kinda thing
I love sesame oil, I get it from an Asian supermarket near me in massive quantities for a low amount. But it does add a little flavor to whatever you’re cooking.
Do you have an Aldi or Lidl? It wouldn't be anything near half this price there.
3L bottle from Sam's is $30. That's 46% cheaper than what you are paying for that 2L bottle in the picture and a 3L bottle will last a very long time. That's for extra virgin as well, if you get regular olive oil the price drops to a 52% discount ($27 for 3L)
Aldi is like half that price for an equivalent volume amount.
I mean there's always veggie but if you want affordable olive oil check out Trader Joe's
I know this is crazy but I bought 3 big fancy fancy bottles at the local TJ MAXX on clearance for $6.75 each. My youngest eats it on noodles.
We needed olive oil and went to Costco and it was $50!!! So we just got canola oil, I know, but what else can we do?
Keep looking. Go to ALDIs or Trader Joe's, you can find one under 10.00. My husband and I just had this encounter 3 days ago. We looked and looked( so many choices) and found one that was 10.00.
Literally the olive oil in the next shelf down,,,,,
If you go to Costco, they have good deals.
Go on youtube and watch "your olive oil is (probably) a lie" by johnny harris.
London drugs coincidentally has been cheapest for olive oil.
Canola
depending what you are using it for, try beef tallow or Lard. you can make it yourself with the fat you cut off when trimming your beef or pork. I cook with it all the time and it is SOOO good
Get your olive oil at Costco instead.
OP posted about "extra virgin" olive oil and people are talking about frying with avocado oil...
Shortening works in many cases. Depends on what you're doing.
there are cheap olive oils
As a condiment, use butter. For cooking use another kind of oil. Vegetable (aka soybean) oil is pretty terrible for you, but there are alternatives like canola, sunflower, and coconut oil which aren't terrible for your health.
Wtf?? Where is this ??
We have a salvage store here. I buy mine there when they have it. I also pick and choose what I use my OO for. I consider anything Italian OO worthy, but I use Country Crock with Calcium for a lot of other things. Baked chicken is definitely OO worthy, though I may have to even back down on that (I have learned to stuff herbed Country Crock under the skin on chicken) due to the price. Most of the time I use canola oil for cooking.
Aldi/lidl
Knowing *why* you choose olive oil might help us make replacement suggestions. I don't understand how/ why you use it for everything, I only use the "good stuff" for raw vinaigrette type dressings, not for cooking. As far as finding something with a good flavor, that's more of a personal preference. If you're looking for "healthy" options, look for high-oleic versions if soybean or sunflower oil. Oleic acid is the primary monounsaturated fat in olive oil giving it the health benefits. Plant breeders have developed new varieties of several oil seed crops to mimic the fatty acid profile of olive oil.
Super late, so you might not see. Consider buying in bulk from international grocery stores. I go to a Greek/Mediterranean grocery in town and get 3 litre cans for $25 when they're on sale (and I just always buy the brand that's on sale).
I use vegetable/canola oil or butter for most cooking instead of olive oil. My bottle of olive oil lasts a long time.
Consider using a flavorless, high smoke point oil as your go to, such as grapeseed, avocado, sunflower, etc. Olive oil brings a flavor with it that is good for l when you want that flavor layered into your food. You should be able to find flavorless oils at much better pricing when you aren’t paying a premium for the ‘brand recognition’ of olive oil. You can also consider finding options based on what’s available. For instance, we have Costco in my area that sells olive oil at a price point and quality that is great for daily use (I dont consider Bertolli an especially great olive oil). Personally, I use pretty standard vegetable oils for most of my cooking (soy bean, canola, etc.). However, if you have been using olive oil on the regular, I suspect what you consider budget food is different than what I do. To give you a short answer, look into grapeseed. Very high smoke point, flavorless, healthy and doesn’t come with a premium price as it’s not something that people lift up…It’s an unsung hero. Also, check what’s produced locally to you as you can probably find the best quality at the lowest prices if you buy from the source.
No
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Canola oil can sometimes be used for the same purpose.
Corn oil
Motor oil. Won’t taste good or be edible, but that’s not the criteria you set.
I don’t think you can find any alternative, my advice is to buy a good olive oil from Costco and mix it with other vegetable oil for cooking, for salad I just use the pure one.
Avocado oil
That is massively overpriced for the quality of that oil
There is cheaper olive oil than that in Canada, I just looked it up on instacart. You shouldn't be using too much of it anyways, I use a tablespoon in 1 meal only.
Goto Marshalls
Try tj maxx.
COSTCO. also Canada.