For an all around best seller and kitchen essential, consider Sitia Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Crete. We carry this olive oil in a variety of sizes. I personally use the 5 liter container for all my cooking, it will last months for most families. Sitia has wonderful flavor and consistency, it can be used for everything from dipping and drizzling to sauteing and roasting. It is smooth, green, buttery and very well balanced, it is also a great value for it’s quality.
Should I worry about oil going rancid?
I get a lot of questions at the shop about how to store and cook with olive oil. All oils have a smoking point and it is true that olive oil has a lower smoking point than many other oils. This just means that it can’t be cooked at extremely high heat. However, in Greece (which is always my reference) families have been cooking with olive oil forever. Most often in the more rural parts of Greece this is the only oil that is cooked with.
Olive Harvest & Olive Oil Storage
The olive harvest takes place once a year during the winter. The oil that is yielded from this harvest is kept in barrels and stored in a cool, dry place (the celler/basement) until the next year’s harvest creates new, fresh olive oil.
It’s such a treat in a Greek home to take a trip to the cellar. Among many things, barrels of liquid gold are stored there, barrels of olive oil. Usually, smaller containers (1 gallon in size) are filled up for kitchen use and then refilled in the cellar when depleted. The idea is that you store your big container in a cool, dry place with an airtight seal (it doesn’t have to be the basement) and keep your smaller container of oil handy, in the kitchen.
If you find it more cost and time efficient, invest in a big container of olive oil, it will make your life so much easier! You have it in the house in case you run out, but you know that it’s stored properly to keep it fresh.
Our 5 Liter Container of Sitia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
