[snotrockets]

I'm certain that there are worse olive oils than Costco/Kirkland, but theirs isn't what I'd call good olive oil. It might be good enough for large scale commercial kitchens, who need to work on a thin margin, but it's not fit for any serious home cook, or an upscale restaurant.

It may be pure, but it is a blend of tens, if not hundreds of olive oils. And it's enough for one of the oils in the blend to be not-that-great (or outright bad) to make the whole blend less than the sum of its parts.

Just like wine, the best olive oils are mostly small-batch, made from olives from just a few orchards, preferably from just one olive cultivar that is listed on the label, and have a taste specific to that and their terroir.

In California, I found not bad oils at ~$25 for half a liter, which isn't too bad of a price, considering the exceptional oils could be double that.

[idiotsecant]

I think its generally the case that people wildly overestimate how much they can actually differentiate between 'superiour, expensive' and 'pretty good, reasonably priced' quality on items like this. Once you achieve that pretty good level double blind taste tests stop showing significant differences. You're literally paying for the experience of spending more money. Nothing wrong with that, if that's your thing.

[nicoburns]

Olive oil is definitely something where you can go quite a bit higher than the cheapest brands (even the cheapest "Extra virgin" olive oil) and really taste the difference. Say, up to £10/£20 for a 1/2 litre bottle. Possibly higher, but I've not tested more expensive brands than that. Cheaper olive does have some flavour, but is mainly a carrier for other foods and tastes. Really good olive oil tastes absolutely amazing just dipping bread (or even a finger) into it.

I certainly don't buy such olive oil regularly, but I can easily tell the difference if I do.

[jjeaff]

Chef and bestselling cook book author Samin Nosrat disagrees. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/costco-olive-oil_n_5981e0abe4...

Kirkland organic olive oil has won quite a few blind taste tests and awards. Something that many small batch wines cannot even do.