As food gifts go, olive oil is surely one of the finest. Although most home cooks use olive oil regularly, not all varieties are created equal, and a nice bottle isn’t something we’re always willing to splurge on for ourselves. But a high-quality olive oil, the kind that tastes good enough to eat on its own with a little bit of bread, is a true treat, and it enhances everything it touches—including the countertop it sits on, since most nice olive oil comes in pretty bottles.
If you’d like to bring joy to the food lovers in your life this holiday season, here are five olive oils that are good enough to gift.
Lorenzo Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Lorenzo No. 1, No. 3, or No. 5)
I recently happened upon Lorenzo olive oil while shopping in an Italian market in Western Massachusetts. I was there on a whim and hadn’t intended to buy a $25 oil, but it stood out from the rest because, frankly, it looks like a bottle of cologne. I bought the Lorenzo No. 3, and I can report that it is dark, peppery, and extremely delicious in every application I’ve used it for thus far, which includes sautéing, dipping bread, and making salad dressings. The No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 are available as a gift set, or you can purchase them individually.
Frankies 457
Frankies 457 functions simultaneously as an olive oil gift and a “taste of Brooklyn” gift—not because the olive oil is sourced there, but because the purveyors of this olive oil are also restaurateurs. Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli own Frankies Sputino, a restaurant at 457 Court Street in the heart of Carroll Gardens. Bottles of Frankies’ olive oil range from $21 to $35. On the higher end of that spectrum is the company’s classic extra virgin olive oil, which is touted by the company as “the one that made us famous” and comes in an attractive green can with a red top. Other offerings include Calabrian chili oil (spiced with Peperoncini Lunghi, Diavolicchio Calabrese, and Peperoncini Tondi dell Etna), and Frankies’ “everyday oil,” which is contains a blend of three types of Sicilian olives.
Olio2go Olive Oil Sampler Set
For the would-be olive oil connoisseur who hasn’t quite figured out their tastes yet, this olive oil sampler set is a good option. It contains oils from six regions of Italy, including Veneto, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Puglia, and Sicily. At $55.95, the price point on this box is reasonable, and it will arrive packaged in a holiday box, so you don’t have to do much to dress it up.
Brightland (The Duo)
As pretty bottles go, this Brightland Duo is an eye-catching bundle. But more than adding some cute bottles to your loved one’s kitchen, this set is nice because it delineates which of the oils you should use for various applications in the kitchen. Awake is a “bold and robust cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil designed for roasting, sauteing, soups, stews, and bread,” while Alive is “our smooth and grassy cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil ideal for salads, hummus, baked goods, fresh greens, and bread.” At $74 for the two bottles, the per-bottle price point here is admittedly a little higher than the others in this guide, but given the look of the bottles and the versatility of the two products together, you could probably get away with making this your main contribution to a foodie couple, maybe paired with a fresh baguette for extra cuteness.
Graza Olive Oil Duo
Okay, okay, I know, this stuff is everywhere. It’s made the leap to stores, and it’s all over social media. Still, the fact that it comes in a squeeze bottle is laudable, and as The Takeout has noted before, giving someone a kitchen gift is best when that gift is actually useful. This product blends high-quality oil with a high degree of utility by being easy to use. It’s good enough that even Reddit users on a subreddit dedicated to foodie snark chatter couldn’t help but sing its praises when one of their own tried to question its integrity.