Editor’s Picks: This Olive Oil Is So Delicious, It Inspired Me to Learn How to Cook

Food & Beverage

Editor’s Picks: This Olive Oil Is So Delicious, It Inspired Me to Learn How to Cook

Picked, pressed, and bottled to perfection. This olive oil is for anyone that cooks.

11/17/2022

Finally, Olive Oil That Actually Makes Me Want to Cook

Every time I’m cooking something, I always reach for the bottle of olive oil I keep in my kitchen. At the grocery store, I’m familiar with the olive oil aisle, and I have the brands that are my go-to’s. As a result, whenever a new olive oil comes onto the market, I’m immediately interested.

After seeing a few Instagram influencers post about Graza’s olive oils, I was intrigued. It was like being dragged to a bottle of wine with an exciting label, thanks to the bright green bottles and cheerful packaging. However, there were two things about this new olive oil that caught my eye.

In a departure from the bulky glass bottles, Graza olive oils are packaged in squeezable bottles with pointed spouts. As someone who uses a squeeze bottle exclusively in her kitchen, this piqued my interest. That’s why I was skeptical when my Graza oils arrived in a squeezable bottle that I didn’t have to deal with messy refilling. I had to put them to the test. 

From Spain to Your Kitchen, Graza Brings the Olive Oil

Andrew Benin and Allen Dushi founded Graza, a direct-to-consumer olive oil company, in January 2022. “Blended from old, low-quality oil” is a claim made on the company’s website, according to the company’s statement. Graza’s mission is to provide high-quality oils at a reasonable price that are never blended. Their olives come from Spain’s most important producer of olive oil, Jaen. Because of their high smoke point and long shelf life, Picual olives were selected for this recipe.

Drizzle or Sizzle? The World May Never Know.

One oil is known as “Sizzle,” while the other is labeled with the moniker “Drizzle.” The names of these oils indicate the best way to use them. It is best for cooking and baking because it is made from more mature olives that were harvested in early winter. If you’re looking for olive oil that can be used as a salad dressing, bread dip, or drizzle, you should look no further than Drizzle, which is made from hand-picked olives harvested in October.

Olives picked during the first week of October yield this vibrant oil, which is a neon green color due to the higher levels of chlorophyll retained during pressing. An oil that is packed with antioxidants and polyphenols is produced by these. Drizzle is best eaten raw (you can heat it, but Benin says “it’d be a waste to cook with it”), as it is peppery, vegetal, and just spicy enough for drizzling on food items. 

You can think of salad dressings and avocado toast as well as pasta and charcuterie boards, sandwiches, and popcorn as examples. As a result of the large number of underripe olives required to make a single bottle (approximately 5,000), the product is more expensive for a smaller quantity. As a result, a bottle of Sizzle will likely last you just as long as a bottle of dipping sauce.

Sizzle is made from olives that are at their peak in December when they begin to change from green to purple and are full of oil. It has a more subdued flavor, and the oil has a mellow, delicate, soft, and slightly sweet flavor. The high heat it can withstand means that you can sear, roast, sauté, and fry with it. Think cooked salmon, roasted vegetables, skillet steak, and crispy schnitzel.

Is Graza the Right Oil for You?

You should be excited about Graza, which you can purchase directly from their website. Products created by the company help you learn how to use olive oil more effectively in the kitchen at an affordable price.

It’s definitely worth the price you’re paying for the quality of the product you’re getting. Drizzle is the best option if you only need olive oil to top off a salad or dip some bread into. I’m a fan of the vibrant hue and grassy taste. But if you love healthy cooking and using heat, you can also go for Sizzle. Overall, it’s best if you order a duo: Drizzle & Sizzle. The more the merrier!