Anything food related. I’m very snobby about where I shop, what brands I buy. And the list is too long to… list.
I love saving money, but I also try and keep from purchasing national brands. If I am undecided on what product to buy, I’ll narrow it down and read where the product is manufactured. Whichever is closer to home I’ll pick.
But I’ve a thousand rules and exceptions that influence my decisions. I’m very picky about quality.
For example, I’ve researched nearly every olive oil brand available to me. Olive oil is the first place I’m willing to spluge, and the last place I’m willing to cut on quality. I’ll eat dirt foraged from the forest before I buy shitty olive oil. Bertolli is garbage and if I see it in your kitchen, I just may silently judge you with an inferior palate and lack of care for your meals. You mine as well buy canola oil at that point. I’m working on being less judgemental, but lord. I guess olive oil is the most important to me.
Most olive oil (75-80%) sold in the Americas is adulterated or outright fake. And for “extra virgin” almost all of it is adulterated, often by a large amount, and is absolutely not EVOO-grade. (This may sound shocking, but even in Italy and Spain over half the “extra virgin” olive oil is adulterated or a lower grade. This is a massive problem with organized crime.)
The problem is that EVOO is a very small fraction of olive oil production and sells at a premium (like 10-14 Euros per litre). And honestly most people can’t tell the difference anyway, so criminal gangs are adulterating EVOO with lampante (which isn’t even considered fit for human consumption, and is thus sold for next to nothing) or even worse replacing it with cheap grain oils like canola or safflower with a few added chemicals to make it kinda/sorta look and vaguely taste like olive oil. This is then sold as the premium stuff which most people can’t distinguish. (Needless to say this irritates the HELL out of those of us who can taste the difference!)
I gave up on olive oil when I returned to Canada in the '80s because I realized the odds of my ever getting what I was paying for on the sticker was basically zero.
Anything food related. I’m very snobby about where I shop, what brands I buy. And the list is too long to… list.
I love saving money, but I also try and keep from purchasing national brands. If I am undecided on what product to buy, I’ll narrow it down and read where the product is manufactured. Whichever is closer to home I’ll pick.
But I’ve a thousand rules and exceptions that influence my decisions. I’m very picky about quality.
For example, I’ve researched nearly every olive oil brand available to me. Olive oil is the first place I’m willing to spluge, and the last place I’m willing to cut on quality. I’ll eat dirt foraged from the forest before I buy shitty olive oil. Bertolli is garbage and if I see it in your kitchen, I just may silently judge you with an inferior palate and lack of care for your meals. You mine as well buy canola oil at that point. I’m working on being less judgemental, but lord. I guess olive oil is the most important to me.
Most olive oil (75-80%) sold in the Americas is adulterated or outright fake. And for “extra virgin” almost all of it is adulterated, often by a large amount, and is absolutely not EVOO-grade. (This may sound shocking, but even in Italy and Spain over half the “extra virgin” olive oil is adulterated or a lower grade. This is a massive problem with organized crime.)
The problem is that EVOO is a very small fraction of olive oil production and sells at a premium (like 10-14 Euros per litre). And honestly most people can’t tell the difference anyway, so criminal gangs are adulterating EVOO with lampante (which isn’t even considered fit for human consumption, and is thus sold for next to nothing) or even worse replacing it with cheap grain oils like canola or safflower with a few added chemicals to make it kinda/sorta look and vaguely taste like olive oil. This is then sold as the premium stuff which most people can’t distinguish. (Needless to say this irritates the HELL out of those of us who can taste the difference!)
I gave up on olive oil when I returned to Canada in the '80s because I realized the odds of my ever getting what I was paying for on the sticker was basically zero.
This is exactly what I’m talking about!
There are certs you can look for in the bottle. I only vaugly trust the certifications, but I do not trust it at all if its not got the certification.
Finding good olive oil is work!