Pro Chefs Swear by This Innovative Olive Oil Brand—Here's Why (2024)
Olive oil is one of the most crucial and versatile cooking ingredients there is. Whether it’s sauteeing it with garlic, drizzling it on salads, putting it in desserts, or just dipping it with a crusty piece of bread, the possibilities are endless. But no matter what we’re cooking, we all want the freshest possible olive oil in our kitchens. That’s why several chefs swear by this family-run olive oil brand, which uses a special process to lock in flavor.
Located in northern California, Corto prioritizes freshness right from the harvest. It picks olives off the trees at their peak ripeness, then loads them onto trucks to mill the fruit through tanks in a climate-controlled cellar on-site. But what differentiates Corto from other olive oil brands on the market is its special packaging process, which vacuum seals the oil into bags and to keep oxygen out and preserve a depth of flavor. We spoke to two expert chefs who use Corto in their restaurant kitchens on a day-to-day basis.
To buy: Corto Truly 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3-Liter Pantry Size, $70 at corto-olive.com
Silvia Barban, chef at the Italian restaurant LaRina Pastificio e Vino in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, has been using Corto’s products since she opened her restaurant in 2016. She opts for Corto’s 51-49 Blend, an olive oil and canola oil mixture that lends a subtle taste without overpowering her dishes.
“I love the texture Corto’s oil gives when you make pasta,” she said. “The last part of the pasta-making process is called Mantecare [in Italian], and the Corto Olive Oil just emulsified perfectly with the fat and the pasta and made it [the] perfect texture with my pasta.”
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Barban visited Corto’s headquarters and said she fell in love with the brand when she witnessed the oil-making process firsthand. “Something that is great about Corto is the flavor of olive oil never changes. Sometimes, I’ll open up a different bottle of olive oil and the taste will change and go rancid, but this is where Corto’s quality is superior,” she says.
Barban’s go-to 51-49 Blend is reserved for professional kitchens, but she’s also a fan of the brand’s other oils, including its Calabrian chili olive oil. “Corto’s Agrumato-Method Calabrian Chili Oil is perfect to use over a raw fish dish,” she said. “For example, take scallops, crudo, Castelvetrano olives, and lemon juice, and then add the oil.”
Barban isn't the only chef who uses Corto in her day-to-day life. Holly Gale, pastry chef and owner of Hearth Patisserie in Cleveland, Ohio, uses Corto’s Truly Extra Virgin Olive Oil in several of her breads, cakes, and pastries.
She first learned about the brand back in 2018, when she was a pastry sous chef at a two-star Michelin restaurant. “As a pastry chef, I look at my ingredients as a series of combinations that have connected reactions to each other. Corto olive oil goes great with dark chocolate, and the bitterness of the cocoa powder is lovely with the green and slightly earthier elements of the oil,” Gale said.
To buy: Corto Truly 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 500-Milliliter Bottle, $24 at corto-olive.com
She uses Corto's 3-liter FlavorLock Box, which has a small drip-free spout and a tightly sealed internal bag that keeps oxygen out and preserves the oil’s color and freshness. “The fresher pressed olive oil has a nice ‘green’ flavor to it. When you use Corto’s olive oil and it’s this rich, viscous green hue that you know came from a good place,” she added. Outside of the kitchen, Gale’s favorite way to enjoy Corto is by tearing off a piece of focaccia and dipping it in.
Gale’s favorite Corto pick is a bit of an investment at $70, but you can snag a 500-milliliter bottle of your own for just $24. Both boast the same chef-approved fresh flavor, so if you’re in the market for a quality olive oil to elevate both sweet and savory dishes, consider trying Corto for yourself.
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But no matter what we're cooking, we all want the freshest possible olive oil in our kitchens. That's why several chefs swear by this family-run olive oil brand, which uses a special process to lock in flavor. Located in northern California, Corto prioritizes freshness right from the harvest.
An olive oil-rich diet didn't appear to help reduce the thickness of plaque in a study. In fact, eating a lot of olive oil may even be a problem: when scientists fed monkeys a monounsaturated fat-rich diet for 5 years, the monkeys developed extensive atherosclerotic plaques in their coronary arteries.
Real Italian extra virgin olive oil. In Italy, a truly good EVOO is used for EVERYTHING: a quality extra virgin olive oil is perfect for cooking, for seasoning, for dipping, for finishing. How to recognize fake olive oil from pure extra virgin that is 100% made in Italy?
Top 7 olive oil companies providing pure and authentic quality
Deoleo. Founded in Spain, Deoleo is a prominent leader in the olive oil market globally, boasting a portfolio that includes well-known brands like Bertolli, Carapelli, and Carbonell. ...
Olive oil has a lower smoke point than some other oils. The smoke point is the point at which an oil literally begins to smoke. Olive oil's smoke point is between 365° and 420°F. When you heat olive oil to its smoke point, the beneficial compounds in oil start to degrade, and potentially form health-harming compounds.
These potent molecules mean that even a little bit of the right olive oil consumed daily is good for your heart, and can protect from cardiovascular disease and reduce existing damage to the heart and arteries. This is why cardiologists recommend switching to high-phenolic olive oil.
'Olive oil is a staple within the Mediterranean diet, a diet known for its positive effects on many aspects of health.' 'However, when you dig deeper, it's clear extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest choice as it's made from cold-pressed olives, which means it's less processed than regular olive oil.
1. California Olive Ranch. California Olive Ranch is a renowned name in the world of olive oil, known for its commitment to quality and sustainability. ...
Greek EVOO is perfect for complimenting food instead of driving the flavor of the food. Determining which type you want to use is really up to what impression you want to make with your food. Italian EVOO is more assertive, acting as one of the main flavors of the food, a defining aspect.
Sakellaropoulos' Masterpiece Blend EVOO, the product which was awarded the first place worldwide for 2022, broke a new record of points in its category, gathering 652.13 points, when in 2021, in the first year of its release, it was awarded the second place worldwide.
Labeled with the USDA Organic seal, Bertolli® Organic Extra Virgin is made from organic olives and produced using organic farming standards. Its intense, full-bodied flavor is great for dips or as a finish on meats, pasta and vegetables.
Within our world-class bottling facilities, our craftsmen regularly conduct sensory testing of all of our extra virgin olive oil to ensure our select line of offerings is always of the finest quality. Pompeian olive oils carry the Non-GMO Project Verified Seal and the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) Seal.
While a spoonful of olive oil might not change your life on day 1, consistent consumption of EVOO is proven to provide a multitude of long-term health benefits, such as better cardiovascular health, a reduced risk for cancer, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Is a Spoonful of Olive Oil a Day Good for You? Yes, a spoonful of olive oil each day may actually benefit your health. As you may know, extra virgin olive oil is one of the most common ingredients in the Mediterranean diet.
EVOO is a great way to start the day because of its anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidants, and vitamins. According to the National Olive Council, studies have shown that the fatty acids in EVOO are the primary reason it's so good for your immune system.
While there is some truth to this (olive oil does appear to cause relatively less damage than saturated animal fats), it is important to note that 'less damage' is still damage. The scientific evidence clearly shows that olive oil plays a role both in damaging blood vessels as well as forming atherosclerotic plaques.
Side effects of olive oil includes acne (if used excessively), can show acute allergic reactions in people sensitive to it, skin rashes, breaking the skin's natural moisturizing abilities in case of dry skin, blackheads, inflammations, gall bladder stones, minor to moderate diarrhoea.
Extra virgin olive oil, or EVOO, is the purest and least processed form of olive oil. EVOO is "generally healthier with more antioxidants, polyphenols (and) heart-friendly monounsaturated fats,” Jones says. As a bonus, EVOO's tend to be made with higher-quality olives, Richter says.
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