I tested supermarket olive oils against market leader Filippo Berio – and the best one was less than half the price

WHETHER you use it for salad dressing, dipping bread or cooking food, olive oil is a kitchen staple.

But, like most other items in shopping aisles, it’s now more expensive, having increased by around 23 per cent in the last year.

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And it looks like the price of olive oil will continue to rise as Walter Zanre, chief executive of leading brand Filippo Berio, said the summer 2022 drought and the war in Ukraine affecting olive oil production is still having an impact on supply now.

Luckily, supermarket own-brand olive oil is half the price of market leaders Filippo Berio and Napolina.

I tested out eight of them to find which was the liquid gold, rating them out of five . . . 

Filippo Berio 500ml, £5.85

★★★★☆

YOU can tell why Filippo Berio is the market leader when it comes to olive oil.

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The taste was full of herby and grassy flavour, and it gave my salad a lovely bitterness to it, without making it too soggy.

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However, it’s also one of the more expensive bottles I tried.

Waitrose Essential 500ml, £4

★★☆☆☆

WAITROSE’s offering of olive oil was disappointing, considering it is not the cheapest I tried.

It unfortunately didn’t have much of a taste at all.

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On the positive side, the consistency and colour of the oil was alright, but there are certainly better options available.

Aldi Solesta 1L, £4.99 (£2.50 for 500ml)

★★★☆☆

CONSIDERING the very low price, Aldi’s olive oil was full of flavour, packed with an unmistakable olive punch.

But the consistency was just a tad too thick, and left my salad wet and soggy, unfortunately.

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However it is excellent for dipping your bread into.

Lidl Primadonna 1L, £4.69 (£2.35 for 500ml)

★★★★★

I CAN’T believe how good this olive oil is, especially for the price.

As well as being the cheapest on the market, it’s also the tastiest with the best consistency.

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This left my salad with a lovely olive tang. My winner for sure!

Napolina 500ml, £5.85 (£4.50 with Tesco Clubcard)

★★★☆☆

THIS one is by far the most expensive – although you can get it cheaper at Tesco with a Clubcard – but the consistency doesn’t reflect that.

While the flavour was subtle, but still delicious, it was very thin and also drowned my salad too much for my liking.

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Sainsbury’s 500ml, £4.15

★★☆☆☆

EVEN from the bottle, this oil is much more yellow than the others, and it tastes very different too.

It’s got a much more grassy taste than some of the other offerings, rather than olive, but not in a way I enjoyed.

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The consistency was also quite gloopy, unfortunately.

ASDA 1L, £5.80 (£2.90 for 500ml)

★★★☆☆

SADLY, there wasn’t as as much flavour to this one, nor did it add much to my salad, as some of the others I tried.

But on the bright side, the consistency was perfect, leaving my veggies not too soggy.

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I think this offering from ASDA would go great with bread too.

Tesco 500ml, £4.15

★★★★☆

PACKED full of flavour, this was one of my favourites.

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It also had a very good consistency when poured over my salad.

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While the 500ml bottle I got isn’t much cheaper than Filippo Berio, you can get a larger litre bottle for £5.80 – worth getting more for your money!