Olive oil is expensive and intricate in its definition. For ease we will focus only on Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is what I use for everything except deep frying (boiling point is too low and, if you try to fry with EVOO, it will splatter in your face).
Olive oil containers can say 'Product of Italy,' but could essentially have little to no Italian-grown olives. Most olive oil containers will tell you on the back or side label where the olives come from.
Olive oil, especially from Italy, can be really expensive. I compare olive oils by comparing their dollar/oz (Dollar per US fluid ounce). Most, if not all, olive oils are packaged in metric volume (Liters, mL, etc...). It is good to remember that 1 Liter = 33.81 (or rounding, 34) US Fluid Ounces.
Some of the cheapest, OK-quality extra virgin olive oils are around 0.17 dollars (17 cents) per US fluid ounce. These can be found at COSTCO (Filippo Berio brand) and Wegmans (Store Brand).
The most expensive and most delicious extra virgin olive oil runs at 1.17 dollars per US fluid ounce. This is the 'Carapelli: il Numerato' from Florence. Unfortunately, this price is simply unreasonable.
I ran across the brand Colavita, which offers two reasonably priced and delicious extra virgin olive oils.
The first of which is priced at 0.37 dollars (37 cents) per US fluid ounce and is a blend of olives from around the Mediterranean, but is still pleasant in flavor. This is sold in 3 Liter containers on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Colavita-Extra-Virgin-Olive-101-Ounce/dp/B001DTIIY2/ref=sr_1_3?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1311734998&sr=1-3
The second is priced at 0.53 dollars (53 cents) per US fluid ounce and is made from 100% Italian olives. This is sold in 1 Liter containers on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Colavita-Extra-Virgin-Olive-34-Ounce/dp/B001ELLB16/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1311734998&sr=1-1
Choose wisely, my friends...
Interesting post. I tend to cook with cheaper olive oil — as it tends to be less heavy and won't leave the cook item a greasy mess — and use the more expensive oil for food items that won't be cooked that much such as salad or as a dipping sauce.
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