Olive oil: alternatives for the 'liquid gold'

Like many other everyday foods, the price of olive oil has shot up in the past two years during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. 

These "eye-watering price increases" mean that the "average bottle has gone up by 89%", said The Observer. In 2022, a two-litre bottle of own-brand olive oil from a supermarket cost about £7, but "step into your local branch today" and it "will set you back more than £16".

And disappointingly, once prices have increased, they're unlikely to drop back 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 steep price rise has been caused by last year's summer, the hottest on record, which impacted olive groves across Europe, as did heat-related wildfires. As a result, shoppers are looking for ways to cut the cost of olive oil – by using a little less, or opting for a cheaper alternative. 

As well as being "prized for its flavour" olive oil's popularity is "partly driven by its health credentials", said the BBC. A "cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet", it is credited with helping to "protect against heart disease and a range of other illnesses". 

If health benefits are your primary concern, choose a cooking oil that's unrefined and labelled "virgin", "extra virgin" or "cold-pressed". Refined oils "have been processed and treated with chemicals to extend their shelf life and remove unwanted flavours and odours", said the BBC. This means they lose some of their healthy compounds, although they generally tolerate heat better than unrefined oils.

"When taste is an important element of the dish, you could substitute butter," said Life Hacker. Although "the end result won't be quite the same", the website admitted, "it's guaranteed to be delicious". 

And if the olive oil taste "isn't a prominent feature" in the recipe, you can substitute it with a neutral-flavoured alternative such as rapeseed or sunflower oil, both of which are "cheaper and more readily available". 

Generally, rapeseed oil "is a good replacement" for olive oil, said the BBC. When British-grown it has "lower carbon emissions from transportation than imported oil", and it's nutritious too. "Rapeseed oil is an unsaturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat," Victoria Taylor, a senior dietician at the British Heart Foundation, told the website. It is also "rich in vitamin E, as well as omega 3, 6 and 9 fats, which support brain, heart, and joint function", said the website.

If the olive oil is a "finishing element", however, and its taste is key to the dish, said Life Hacker, "it's probably best to splurge on the real deal, and to use it in judicious amounts".