Vancouver Olive Oil Company Review

Unflavored Single-Origin Extra-Virgin Olive Oils Tasting Bar

I have mentioned Vancouver Olive Oil Company when I posted my Roasted Shoulder of Lamb Recipe. VOOC is an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting bar carrying high-quality olive oils as well as flavoured oils and vinegars.

Gift Baskets

Experience:

I noticed that it was significantly busier compared to the last time I was here. What hasn’t changed, though, is the staff’s knowledge and friendliness. They don’t follow you around or pressure you into buying so I felt completely comfortable tasting everything that caught my attention.

Feel free to taste around and once you’ve decided, just tell the wonderful staff there which one you’d like and what size you’d like it in. They’ll bottle it for you right there for maximum freshness.

Make sure you store both olive oils and balsamic vinegars away from sunlight and drastic temperature changes (i.e. your stove). If you do that, the olive oil should have no problem lasting a year and the balsamic several years! But I’m pretty sure you would’ve gone back for your third, fourth or fifth bottle by then.

They switch their selections twice a year so there’ll often be new things to try.

Herb de Provence Olive Oil

Food:

Sage and Mushroom Olive Oil and Herb de Provence Olive Oil ($12 for 200ml) – 4/5

These are the two that I chose to buy but I tasted pretty much every one of their products. The thing I love about their infused olive oil is that the flavours are so pronounced and clear that you can’t possibly miss what they’re trying to do.

When I tried the sage and mushroom olive oil, no joke, I visualized a pasta right there. Here’s the Brown Butter Asparagus and Shiitake Spaghetti (recipe included) it inspired me to make!

I bought the Herb de Provence olive oil on my first trip there and it’s just perfect for chicken, lamb…etc. You can see my Roasted Shoulder of Lamb recipe if you would like a simple way of using it.

With all their oils, I would recommend using as more of a finishing oil because the more cooking olive oils undergo, the more their quality flavours get cooked off.

I have also given their pure (unflavored) olive oils a try as well. I was recently spoilt by the amazing Arbequina from Spain I tried at Ulla Restaurant in Victoria which was unbelievably green and herbaceous. So trying their Arbequina from Chile and from USA this time was not as exciting for me, but it certainly doesn’t mean they are not as good. It really depends on what you’re using the oil for. The one from Ulla tingled at the throat so much (a good thing, meaning it’s full of anti-oxidants) that if you use it on a salad or something, it could be quite distracting to the rest of the dish.

Fig Balsamic Vinegar with Bread

Fig Balsamic Vinegar ($12 for 200ml) – 5/5

I absolutely adore their Fig Balsamic Vinegar! It’s actually the primary reason for my re-visit. I ran out of my first bottle and realized I have trouble living without it. It’s sweet with assertive fig notes, simply amazing on field greens with raisins and walnuts.

Compared to the normal balsamic, it’s slightly thicker in consistency. It’s also much less astringent and fine to use as is without needing to be mixed with olive oil.

Their other balsamic vinegars are really good too; it’s just too bad I couldn’t take everything home!