Bulk olive oil for cooking

[maisymouser]

Looking for recommendations for the best price you've seen for EVOO (or similar) and where you got it. I'm exploring bulk options but it's complicated out there (and I haven't found anywhere that's actually cheaper than our current EVOO). We go through a lot of it and it's probably our #1 grocery bill killer.

Has anyone ever bought through a wholesale store as a business and/or worked with a restaurant to get large-ish quantities for cheap?

We usually get Carlini from Aldi for $2.75 for a 16.9 floz container, which ends up being 16.2 cents per floz.

[former player]

What cooking are you doing? Extra Virgin Olive Oil isn't something I'd normally waste on cooking and I wouldn't cook on high heat, such as frying, with any olive oil.

[Metalcat]

What cooking are you doing? Extra Virgin Olive Oil isn't something I'd normally waste on cooking and I wouldn't cook on high heat, such as frying, with any olive oil.

This, it's not a great cooking oil, I only use it in recipes that require it for the taste, like salads, tortillas, sauces, etc.

[rosarugosa]

We get organic EVOO from Costco.  It's consistently rated as one of the higher-quality ones that is truly EVOO. I looked online and see the current price is 15.49 for a 2-liter bottle.

[expatartist]

OP that's incredibly cheap - we can only dream of those kinds of prices here.

[GuitarStv]

My understanding is that most of the cheaper EVOOs, aren't actually EVOO . . . they're a blend of cheaper oils and 2nd or 3rd press olive oil for flavouring (regardless of what the package says).  This isn't necessarily a bad thing as they tend to last much longer before going bad, but something to be aware of.  You may be comparing apples with oranges when looking for lowest price.

[maisymouser]

My understanding is that most of the cheaper EVOOs, aren't actually EVOO . . . they're a blend of cheaper oils and 2nd or 3rd press olive oil for flavouring (regardless of what the package says).  This isn't necessarily a bad thing as they tend to last much longer before going bad, but something to be aware of.  You may be comparing apples with oranges when looking for lowest price.

Good point- I didn't realize this until I looked but the stuff I am getting now is a blend of "olive oil" and "extra virgin olive oil". This explains the difference in price I'm seeing for the Aldi oil versus EVOO's I was comparing online. The blend suits our purposes just fine though. Maybe the best approach would be to get regular olive oil or another oil for most dishes but have EVOO on hand for salads, etc. We've typically gone for olive oil over others based on health benefits we haven't researched well; there is probably a more optimal strategy that better optimizes health/cost.

What cooking are you doing? Extra Virgin Olive Oil isn't something I'd normally waste on cooking and I wouldn't cook on high heat, such as frying, with any olive oil.

This, it's not a great cooking oil, I only use it in recipes that require it for the taste, like salads, tortillas, sauces, etc.

Also good point. What do y'all typically use for cooking oil? I've got cast iron skillets and oil them lightly pretty much every time I want to have sauteed veggies, eggs, etc. We don't do any deep frying or anything like that, typically we use 1-2 tablespoons to prep our skillets for full dishes (e.g. curries).

[mountain mustache]

I switched to avocado oil and coconut oil for cooking, since they both have a higher smoking point. If you're cooking with olive oil at high heat, you aren't getting any health benefits from it anyway. I use mostly cast iron for cooking and find avocado oil to be amazing for most things...
I also sometimes cook with leftover bacon fat and/or butter...which works great too!

The Kirkland brand organic EVOO is super good, $15 for 2L and should last at least a year when using it just as a finishing oil or for salad dressings.

[Kl285528]

I do most of my cooking with coconut oil - takes the heat.

[Metalcat]

I use avocado, grapeseed, coconut, and canola oil.

[Model96]

EVOO should be available in 4 quart tins quite readily, and should be a lot cheaper by volume as a result. Ask some Greek friends what they buy, they will know what is best value!

[TheFrenchCat]

EVOO should be available in 4 quart tins quite readily, and should be a lot cheaper by volume as a result. Ask some Greek friends what they buy, they will know what is best value!

Seconding this.  And also wanted to pile on that I don't use EVOO for sauteing.  I use it for pasta and marinades.  I use canola for cooking.

[expatartist]

I tend to use rice bran oil for the little hot cooking that I do that requires oil. EVOO I use on the many cold Mediterranean style dishes I make at home, for pasta after cooking, or drizzled on open faced sandwiches in the toaster oven.

[jeninco]

I use avocado, grapeseed, coconut, and canola oil.

Which for what? I tend to have a bottle of olive and a bottle of canola around, and I'm noticing that we're going through the OO pretty quickly. If I want to make, say, sautéed potatoes with garlic and chard (cook potato cubes in a very large skillet in a fair amount of oil until they start to brown, add garlic and chard stems, cook, then add greens and cook briefly until cooked), what would be a sensible oil to use for that? (Recipe chosen because it uses a fair bit of oil, compared to most of what we make.)

[mountain mustache]

You didn’t ask me, but I would personally use coconut or avocado oil for that recipe. I love the flavor of coconut oil, but some people don’t. Avocado oil basically has no flavor, but high smoking point

[jeninco]

You didn’t ask me, but I would personally use coconut or avocado oil for that recipe. I love the flavor of coconut oil, but some people don’t. Avocado oil basically has no flavor, but high smoking point

Thanks for the suggestion!

I checked, and the other thing I have around is actually sunflower oil.

In either case, coconut oil is at least as expensive as OO. (I keep it around for making granola and soap).

Not sure about avocado. Also, I don't think the coconut flavor would pair especially well with the northern Italian origins of that recipe.

[mountain mustache]

Yes the price difference of coconut oil, avocado oil and olive oil are really not much different. I personally don't use olive oil for cooking things at high heat because the smoke point is lower...but I will often drizzle some over whatever I cooked at the end for that flavor. I will use it when making a nice tomato sauce that I'm simmering for hours, or in soups, etc I just try to be careful with the temp when I am browning/sautéing veggies/potatoes and such because I just don't want things to burn. I would say, if you aren't having issues with burning using olive oil currently, then I can't see a reason to switch.

[Metalcat]

I use avocado, grapeseed, coconut, and canola oil.

Which for what? I tend to have a bottle of olive and a bottle of canola around, and I'm noticing that we're going through the OO pretty quickly. If I want to make, say, sautéed potatoes with garlic and chard (cook potato cubes in a very large skillet in a fair amount of oil until they start to brown, add garlic and chard stems, cook, then add greens and cook briefly until cooked), what would be a sensible oil to use for that? (Recipe chosen because it uses a fair bit of oil, compared to most of what we make.)

I use avocado oil when the flavour of the oil is part of the dish, like lightly sauteed vegetables. I'll use coconut for desserts, or for Asian dishes where that flavour is called for. Grapeseed is very light and almost flavorless, so there are a few delicate dishes where that's what's best, but I don't always have it on hand.

Canola is my heavy lifter though, and what I use 90% of the time.

[brooklynmoney]

You can buy peanut oil to cook with which is also a healthy oil, it has no flavor and is cheaper than EVOO which as others stated is not really for cooking but good for making dressings etc

[markbike528CBX]

All high heat cooking gest toasted sesame oil. That includes sauté ( may add butter late) ,frying,and spray on for grilled veggies.

[Metalcat]

All high heat cooking gest toasted sesame oil. That includes sauté ( may add butter late) ,frying,and spray on for grilled veggies.

Ugh...I can't cook with sesame oil, especially not toasted. The smell makes me ill. I use it in a lot of Asian noodle recipes, but cooking with it makes my whole house smell for days.

[former player]

Sunflower oil or rape seed oil are both OK for cooking on high heat.  But the best route for healthy eating is to limit frying, and particular high heat frying, as much as possible.  That goes double for something like potatoes because of the creation of acrylamides.

[markbike528CBX]

All high heat cooking gest toasted sesame oil. That includes sauté ( may add butter late) ,frying,and spray on for grilled veggies.

Ugh...I can't cook with sesame oil, especially not toasted. The smell makes me ill. I use it in a lot of Asian noodle recipes, but cooking with it makes my whole house smell for days.

Well, I cook outside when I can.  :-).  Never noticed any ill smells though.

[Metalcat]

All high heat cooking gest toasted sesame oil. That includes sauté ( may add butter late) ,frying,and spray on for grilled veggies.

Ugh...I can't cook with sesame oil, especially not toasted. The smell makes me ill. I use it in a lot of Asian noodle recipes, but cooking with it makes my whole house smell for days.

Well, I cook outside when I can.  :-).  Never noticed any ill smells though.

Oy, I can smell when my neighbours cook with it.

[seattlecyclone]

I love the smell of toasted sesame oil, and it goes especially well with certain Asian dishes, but I've never found it at a budget-friendly price. We use canola oil for most cooking.