Like many other everyday foods, the price of olive oil has skyrocketed over the past couple of years due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.
These “stunning price increases” mean “the average bottle has increased by 89%,” said The Observer. In 2022, a two-litre bottle of own-brand olive oil from a supermarket cost around £7, but ‘walk into your local branch today’ and it ‘will cost you over £16’.
And unfortunately, once prices rise, they are unlikely to return to previous levels, so “even if inflation falls to zero, olive oil is unlikely to return to £6 a bottle”.
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The sharp rise in prices is due to last year’s summer, the hottest on record, which affected olive groves across Europe, as did heat-related wildfires. As a result, shoppers are looking for ways to reduce the cost of olive oil – by using a little less or opting for a cheaper alternative.
As well as being “loved for its flavor”, olive oil’s popularity is “partly driven by its health benefits”, the BBC said. A “cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet,” it is credited with helping “protect against heart disease and a range of other illnesses.”
If health benefits are your main concern, choose a cooking oil that is unrefined and labeled “virgin,” “extra virgin,” or “cold-pressed.” Refined oils “have been processed and treated with chemicals to extend their shelf life and remove unwanted flavors and odors,” the BBC said. This means they lose some of their healthy compounds, although they generally tolerate heat better than unrefined oils.
“When taste is an important part of the dish, you can replace it with butter,” Life Hacker explained. Although “the end result won’t be quite the same,” the website admits, “it’s guaranteed delicious.”
And if the taste of olive oil “is not an important element” in the recipe, you can replace it with a neutral-tasting alternative such as rapeseed or sunflower oil, both of which are “cheaper and more readily available.
Generally speaking, rapeseed oil “is a good substitute” for olive oil, the BBC said. When grown in the UK, it produces “fewer transport-related carbon emissions than imported oil”, and it is also nutritious. “Rapeseed oil is an unsaturated fat and high in monounsaturated fats,” Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, told the website. It’s also “rich in vitamin E, as well as omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids, which support brain, heart and joint function,” the website says.
However, if olive oil is a “finishing item” and its taste is key to the dish, Life Hacker said, “it’s probably best to splurge on the real deal and use it in judicious quantities”.
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Like many other everyday foods, the price of olive oil has skyrocketed over the past couple of years due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.
These “stunning price increases” mean “the average bottle has increased by 89%,” said The Observer. In 2022, a two-litre bottle of own-brand olive oil from a supermarket cost around £7, but ‘walk into your local branch today’ and it ‘will cost you over £16’.
And unfortunately, once prices rise, they are unlikely to return to previous levels, so “even if inflation falls to zero, olive oil is unlikely to return to £6 a bottle”.
To subscribe to The week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple angles.
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
Subscribe to free weekly newsletters
From our morning news briefing to our weekly Good News newsletter, get the best of the week delivered straight to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to our weekly Good News newsletter, get the best of the week delivered straight to your inbox.
The sharp rise in prices is due to last year’s summer, the hottest on record, which affected olive groves across Europe, as did heat-related wildfires. As a result, shoppers are looking for ways to reduce the cost of olive oil – by using a little less or opting for a cheaper alternative.
As well as being “loved for its flavor”, olive oil’s popularity is “partly driven by its health benefits”, the BBC said. A “cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet,” it is credited with helping “protect against heart disease and a range of other illnesses.”
If health benefits are your main concern, choose a cooking oil that is unrefined and labeled “virgin,” “extra virgin,” or “cold-pressed.” Refined oils “have been processed and treated with chemicals to extend their shelf life and remove unwanted flavors and odors,” the BBC said. This means they lose some of their healthy compounds, although they generally tolerate heat better than unrefined oils.
“When taste is an important part of the dish, you can replace it with butter,” Life Hacker explained. Although “the end result won’t be quite the same,” the website admits, “it’s guaranteed delicious.”
And if the taste of olive oil “is not an important element” in the recipe, you can replace it with a neutral-tasting alternative such as rapeseed or sunflower oil, both of which are “cheaper and more readily available.
Generally speaking, rapeseed oil “is a good substitute” for olive oil, the BBC said. When grown in the UK, it produces “fewer transport-related carbon emissions than imported oil”, and it is also nutritious. “Rapeseed oil is an unsaturated fat and high in monounsaturated fats,” Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, told the website. It’s also “rich in vitamin E, as well as omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids, which support brain, heart and joint function,” the website says.
However, if olive oil is a “finishing item” and its taste is key to the dish, Life Hacker said, “it’s probably best to splurge on the real deal and use it in judicious quantities”.
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