A really good olive oil is, by definition, organic, extra virgin, cold-pressed and is packaged in a dark bottle. We therefore do not pay extra attention to these qualities in the comparison table below of the eight best olive oils, which you can find with Amanvida. Discover the characteristics that a delicious, good olive oil ought to have and exactly what the differences are between, for example, a Hermanos Catalan from Amanprana and a Grand Cru from Bio Orto.
8 characteristics of top-quality olive oil
Top-quality olive oil:
1. is always organic, extra virgin and cold pressed
2. is always protected by a dark, glass bottle
3. has a certification of origin
4. has low acidity: by law, the acidity of extra virgin olive oil must be lower than 0.8%. The lower the acidity, the less the free fatty acids and the better the flavour, scent and quality.
5. has a low wax content: wax (from the trees) occurs in the peel of the olives, which largely end up in the press cake. In order to harvest even more oil, this press cake is sometimes also pressed. The wax is released in this second pressing. For extra virgin olive oil, the wax content by law may only be 250 parts per million (ppm).
6a. has low peroxidation: this quality parameter indicates the degree to which the olive oil is damaged by oxygen. Top-quality olive oils come into contact with oxygen as little as possible during pressing and storage.
6b. MUFA: Monounsaturated fatty acids, expressing the share of omega 9 in olive oil. A high level of MUFA in olive oil is an advantage.
7. is pure: the label sometimes includes 'K 270'. This refers to Kappa 270 and indicates the purity of the oil. No twigs, leaves or other substances. The lower, the better. For extra virgin, the maximum by law is 0.20. Sometimes, it is even less than 0.12.
8. is cultivated, pressed and bottled in the same place: the longer the time between harvesting and pressing, the lower the quality of the olive oil. The best quality comes from medium-sized family companies or cooperatives that cultivate, press and bottle on site.
8 top extra virgin olive oils compared with each other
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| The top brands | Cortijo de Suerte Alta Coupage Natural |
Bio Orto Mono cultivars |
Amanprana Premium |
Amanprana Verde Salud |
Amanprana Hermanos Catalan |
Bio Orto Grand Cru |
Mani Koroneiki |
Mueloliva |
| Origin | Family domain near Albendín Andalusia, Spain |
Foggia region Italy |
Spain | Sierra Màgina National Park, Andalusia, Spain |
Almazara Ecologica de la Rioja, Spain |
Oldest parcels Posta dei Colli Apricena, Italy |
Region Mani, Greece |
Andalusia, Southern Spain |
| Type of olives | Arbequina olives |
1. Ogliarola 2. Coratina 3. Peranzana |
Olijven
blend
|
Picual olives | Arbequina olives |
Peranzana olives | Koroneiki olives | Picual and Hojiblanca olives |
| Quality label | ORGANIC D.O.P. |
ORGANIC | ORGANIC | ORGANIC D.O.P. |
ORGANIC D.O.P. |
ORGANIC D.O.P. |
ORGANIC | ORGANIC |
| Taste | green olives, green apple, freshly sliced tomato | 1. Fruity, velvety soft + aromatic 2. Robustly intense + aromatic, fruity 3. Mildly fruity, bitter/aromatic |
fruity, soft chlorophyll note | Fruity, with green, bitter finish and aroma of apple and wood | Aroma of sweet almonds, full and balanced finish | Notes of green tomato, basil and parsley. Delicately bitter and aromatic + sweet-soft finish | Fruity and mild. Aromas of herbs and wild flowers + slight spiciness | Fruity and nutty flavour |
| Filtered | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | No | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Heating | For cold dishes |
For cold dishes |
Cold and hot dishes |
Cold and hot dishes |
For cold dishes |
For cold dishes |
Cold and hot dishes |
For cold and hot dishes |
| Acidity | 0,16 % | 1. 0,13 % 2. 0,19 % 3. 0,17 % |
0,36 % | 0,2 % | 0,25 % | 0,16 % | < 0,4 % | 0,36 % |
| Peroxidation | 4,2 | 1. 7 2. 5,5 3. 5,4 |
6,7 | 6 | 10 | 5,4 | 10 - 12 | 6,7 |
| WAX | max. 45 ppm | < 100 ppm | 37 ppm | max. 50 ppm | max. 125 ppm | < 100 ppm | < 100 ppm | 37 ppm |
| K 270 | 0,12 | 1. <0,11, 2. <0,14, 3. <0,14 |
0,12 | max. 0,15 | max. 0,12 | < 0,14 | < 0,20 | 0,12 |
| M.U.F.A | min. 76,07% | min. 75% | 76,39% | min. 77% | min. 75% | min. 75% | 55%-83% | 76% |
| Awards | ✔ Alimentos de España Mejores Aceites de Oliva Virgen Extra 2019-2020 ✔ Premio Especial (special prize) Alimentos de España 2019-2020 ✔ Gold medal denominación ORIGEN BAENA 2007 ✔ Gold medal denominación ORIGEN BAENA 2008 |
✔ 3. Gold Award 2020 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition. ✔ World's Best Olive Oils 2019 SILVER AWARD NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition |
25 awards, e.g.: ✔ 2017: N° 1 of the Lechuza Prize ✔ 2016: N° 2 of the Lechuza Prize. Ecotrama - Silver at the XV International Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Contest ✔ 2015: N° 1 prize Alcuza for the best oil with designation of origin Sierra Mágina. Ecotrama-Gold at the XIV International Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Contest |
11 awards, e.g.: ✔ Gold medal for world’s best organic EVO oil (Biol 2017) ✔ Silver medal for best EVO oil (Cordoba, 2017, Spain) ✔ Award for best fruity green EVO oil from La Rioja (2017, Spain) ✔ 1st prize for best EVO oil (La Rioja, 2017, Spain) |
✔ Award 2015 at Biofach, Nuremberg |
Many awards: ✔ Feinschmecker Olio Award 2020, Germany ✔ Gold medal at EVO IOOC 2020. ✔ Best of Greece” award at the EVO IOOC 2020 ✔ Berlin Global Olive Oil Competition 2020, Germany |
100 awards in 16 different countries including World's Best Olive Oil (4 years in a row) | |
| Price | 250ml: € 8,95 500ml: €13,95 |
100ml: € 6,60 250ml: € 9,95 |
500ml: € 7,95 | 750ml: €18,95 | 500ml: € 18,95 | 500ml: € 37,50 | 250ml: € 4,99 500ml: € 8,99 1000ml: € 16,99 |
1 L: € 9,95 |
Special types of extra virgin olive oil: with polyphenol or with Boletus
MANI is the first to market an organic extra virgin olive oil with a very high polyphenol content (350 mg/kg) with a powerful antioxidant effect. The careful harvest and processing of the young olives ensures the high polyphenol content. At the same time, this Greek olive oil charms with its fruity, intense flavour. Also well worth a try is the mild Spanish olive oil from Amanprana with Boletus or porcini mushrooms. These mushrooms have been marinated for a period in the olive oil, so that the oil acquires the flavour of the porcini mushroom. This process is called infusion and results in a mild olive oil with delicious, earthy aromas. Each bottle also contains Boletus for extra flavour.
Discover in the video below how the Hermanos Catalan from Amanprana is produced.