How big of a difference is there between a high quality extra

>>8434940
Very different. EVOO has a strong flavor and a very low smoke point. Refined has a very mild flavor and a high smoke point.

>>What do you buy?

Both. They're different ingredients for different jobs. EVOO for dressings and sauces. Refined for general-purpose use (pan-frying, sauteing, etc.)

>>8434956
Sounds like you rarely need EVOO then. Don't make a whole lot of dressings. Sauces occasionally

I get the cheap because the "real" isn't real anyway. Never buy any my thing from Italy because the place is a corrupt (beautiful scenery) shithole and the olive oil business is a ducking scam

All OO is EVOO
However not all OO is the same. A rule of thumb is the lowest acidic percentage, the better quality oil. Also never get OO that comes in light bottles, always dark.

>>8434940
It's not a meme, the difference is huge.

>>8435396
1) nobody asked if it was a meme
2) why don't you give examples?
fucking useless post

>>8434956
This. If you're cooking with it, use regular olive oil. If you're using it for a dressing or dip or whatever, use EVOO.

I cook with high quality EVOO, I feel it represents my high income and ability to have it represented in my food inspires me to cook better and enjoy life more in general.

>>8434981
Lower acidity is not necessarily better, but will likely be more expensive.

Scams aside, price is determined by production volume, obviously.

Finest oil will be the oil pools on top of olive mush on its own, with no mechanical or chemical coercion. You can't really buy this unless you know a guy, production volume is very low. The one after this is when they hang to mush in sacks and whatever oil drips down without any pressing.

Then you get different mechanical pressing methods with different yields, then "wet pressing" which is when they use hot water to increase the yield and finally industrial blenders kinda things. Almost every bottle you can buy from a regular supermarket is this industrial kind, no matter how expensive or fancy the label is. They are essentially marketing scams. I've tried a lot of the brands in super markets, only one that was actual evoo was california olive ranch, and it's one of the cheaper ones.

All this work is done because what makes olive oil delicious are pretty volatile, so least amount of processing, heating etc. means more of these compounds. This is also you should go for dark colored bottles because sunlight also breaks these compounds down. If the manufacturer puts its oil in a clear bottle, it means that they already know their oil is shitty. This also means, if you are going to heat the oil, don't go for the super nice ones or all that work is down the drain.

There are also different filtering methods but that's for another thread. Good unfiltered oil tastes like you are eating a fist full of olives.

>>8434940
Not really but if you yourself are a virgin you must use EVOO by law here.