Bariani Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 33.8-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 2)

The problem with most of today's olive oil is that it is rarely produced in the old way, which is more time consuming and expensive. Due to the increasing demand for olive oil, the trend has been to reduce production costs by moving toward more automation and concentration of production in ever larger installations. These modem factories extract more oil more cheaply, but their processing methods substantially reduce the nutritional quality of the oil.To reduce costs, olives are machine harvested along with leaves and twigs. Olives that have dropped on the ground, which can be said to contain bad oil, are often mixed with the good ones. They are shipped in all kinds of containers, many of which are poorly ventilated, and heaped in large piles where the olives are stored for too long and often become moldy. The oil is then extracted in a continuous centrifuge where hot water is used to help separate out the oil.Antioxidant polyphenols are soluble in water and are washed away in this process, thereby lowering the shelf life and the nutritional quality of the oil. Italy alone produces 800,000 cubic meters of waste water per year from this process. Because substantial amounts of antioxidants are washed away, factory produced olive oils have a short shelf life of only months, whereas real olive oil lasts for two to three years.Most people think that by purchasing "extra virgin" olive oil they are getting a high quality oil. Unfortunately, in most cases, this is not true. It's more complex than that. A label reading extra virgin is no guarantee of quality. For one thing, nowhere does it say that extra virgin olive oil has to be made 100% from olives.Lower quality oils can be refined to bring the acidity down so they can be labeled as extra virgin. But now the oil has been refined, and that's not what you want. That's why being labeled extra virgin is no guarantee of getting high quality oil, which has not been processed in ways that reduce its nutritional value. To complicate matters even more, the term "extra virgin" has no official meaning in the United States. The U.S. is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council. So, olive oil sold here can be labeled extra virgin without meeting the accepted international standards.Another reason why you can't trust extra virgin olive oil is exemplified by a problem that manifested last year, and may turn out to be the biggest food fraud of the 20th Century. Despite the fact that details of this scandal have been published in Merum, a Swiss-German magazine, and in Italian journals such as Agra Trade, and the newspaper Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, this information has been successfully suppressed and is known to only a handful. Investigators are gathering evidence indicating that the biggest olive oil brands in Italy have for years been systematically diluting their extra virgin olive oil with cheap, highly-refined hazelnut oil imported from Turkey. International arrest warrants have been issued and so far documents indicate that at least ten thousand tons of hazelnut oil are involved. As much as 20% hazelnut oil can be added to olive oil and still be undetectable to the consumer. In fact olive oil labeled "Italian" often comes from Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, and Greece. Considering what has happened in Europe, where there are strict regulations, imagine what can happen in California where there are no regulations. Apparently, more oil is "produced" in California than there are olives available. The truth is, most of the extra virgin olive oil on the market does not supply all the nutritional value and health giving properties that we have a right to expect from olive oil.The bottom line is that modem, factory-produced olive oil has been stripped of its health enhancing nutrients, and the task of selecting a high quality oil has been made very difficult.Bariani olive oil is produced by the Bariani family on a small farm in the central valley of California. Their olives are grown without pesticides. They are hand picked from the trees, carefully washed and dried, and milled with a stone wheel within 48 hours of harvesting. It is pressed in a hydraulic press, collected in stainless steel vats, decanted, and bottled. This first cold pressed oil is the real stuff and retains all the natural flavor and goodness.

EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY and AMAZING TASTE! I researched this product thoroughly before buying it. Even went so far as to contact the manufacturer personally. The owner spent at least 30 minutes with me and I learned so much about his family company. While it is not certified... IT IS ORGANIC! I learned a while back that the certification process for organic foods is so expensive for businesses, hence why the typical "certified organic" item is priced well above the conventional item in its category. This company's product does NOT use GMOs and the olives ARE organic! I was so happy to learn this and even happier to finally find my "go-to" organic EVOO from now on. Kudos Bariani!

Love this olive oil. It is a staple for my everyday cooking. I did a lot of research into cold-pressed olive oils, trying to find a healthy option. Cold-pressed is the traditional method of extracting oil from olives. Cold-pressing is a much slower process than most producers use, and is done at lower heat. This is what helps the oil retain more of its nutritional value, color, and taste. Cold-pressing also yields less oil than modern extracting processes, which is what makes this olive oil more expensive. When it comes to food, you get what you pay for and Bariani is totally worth it.If you're looking for a GREAT olive oil, this one is all you could want and more. It's made in California at a relatively small, family-owned operation. Support a farmer, and enjoy better tasting and more healthful food. The only thing you'll have to get used to is the taste - it's not bad, but it's different (how olive oil should taste). It's like when you start cutting processed sugar out of your diet; it tastes funny at first, but once you get used to it you'll never go back.The green olive oil is interesting, though not my favorite. It's very potent and is to only be used sparingly. I do, however, highly recommend the Bariani Balsamic vinegar. Very tasty!

I have been a Bariani's customer for couple years I think, don't even remember where I got the recommendation that it was a high quality olive oil, but I ordered directly from their website until now and have only used their olive oil ever since. I placed this order recently with amazon because it was actually cheaper than using Bariani's own website, go figure. As any extra virgin olive oil, this is not a product to use for cooking, it is very sensitive to high temps, so use it on you salad dressing, smoked salmon, to top off you pizza or anything you like. It is a very light and tasty olive oil.