[Auntiemogs]

Hi gang,

I'm very tempted by an offer on some lovely sounding olive oil, but it has a use by date of April '13.

Has anyone used it and if so is it worth buying or am I better off just buying my usual extra virgin?

Many thanks,

Mags 

http://www.approvedfood.co.uk/?pid=50797

[mumofstig]

It does sound nice and a great price  if you're ordering other stuff from the site .......

It must be last years oil to have a BBE April 2013 - this years harvest would last til the start of 2014, so I wouldn't expect it to last longer than the date given on the can without it tasting musty.
It'll be fine until the BB though 

[Auntiemogs]

Thanks Mum.  I shall just go for a couple then.  I tend to make up a list over a month or two and if it's still there when I come to order it justifies the delivery cost.   

[Trillium]

Even when unopened, olive oil is best used within a year of processing as the special flavours fade quickly. The oil is still edible but the flavour will be very weak.

The highly sought premium olive oils are best used within 3 months of processing.

[Auntiemogs]

Thanks Trillium, that's useful to know.

I may just get the one then.  I was going to use it for my sun dried tomato festival gifts and my sister views anything without an M&S label with suspicion so she probably won't even eat them! 

[Lawrence]

They also have a green olive version, as Trillium said the flavour fades with age.
So since the green is stronger to begin with, it might be a better buy as it will still be good past its BBE date.
I have nearly finished a 5 Litre bottle I bought back from Greece in 2001, it is still nice and makes my fried eggs wonderful.

[johnny5]

Olive oil can be frozen until required without any loss of flavour. We put it in ice cube bags  if near sell buy/use buy date and freez and defrost when required

[Glosterboy]

I've just received a message from my friend on the Greek island of Lesvos. Where there are 11,000,000 olive trees!!!

About the information you asked about the olive oil I want to inform you that there is one or none olive harvests in one year in Lesvos, but this depends on the kind of olive tree.
Some Olive trees provide harvest every single year, but other olive trees provide harvest every second year.
As far as the flavour of the olive oil is depends, the olive oil and the Virgin olive oil can be stored 2 year before it loses it's flavour

Hope this helps??



Edit to clarify quoted text

[Trillium]

Part of the storage problem is exactly that - how it's stored. Most people tend to leave the bottles out in the light and warmth, which isn't good for the oil. It needs a dark and cool (65F or less) temp to maintain its flavour. Even then there's still aging and slow loss of flavour as with any product, even canned or bottled goods.

[Jamrock]

If you intend to cook with it I wouldn't worry about a faded flavour