This is surprisingly one of the best olive oils I’ve tried. It’s about the equal of my favorite, Trader Joe’s Spanish extra virgin olive oil.
February 27, 2016
Soft, buttery, not bitter, with a gentle taste of olives, this is an exceptionally good olive oil. Previously, several olive oils were compared head-to-head. Trader Joe’s Spanish extra virgin olive oil came out on top. It is then natural to do a head-to-head comparison between this and the Trader Joe’s (TJ) olive oil.
Carlini is a shade lighter in color. The TJ oil seems to be slightly more viscous. They’re about equal in mouth feel. Both have a very nice buttery smoothness. Neither is really bitter at all, especially when compared to some other oils. Both have nice gentle faint olive tastes. I’ve had the Carlini olive oil in salads with a balsamic vinegar, in tomato sauce and on bread. For this comparison the oils were compared straight up, that is licked from my clean finger (I was the sole licker).
Which one should you pick up? To me, they’re so equal, it doesn’t matter. Carlini comes in a 500 ml bottle, half the size of the TJ olive oil. Per 500 ml, Carlini is about 80 cents less (the TJ oil is currently $7.99 per liter). If you don’t use a lot of olive oil, the 500 ml bottle is probably a better size to buy, as it won’t sit in your cabinet or refrigerator for extended periods of time. Although it’s never been a problem for me, olive oil (in fact any oil) can go bad during storage. The other potential consideration is that according to the bottle label, the Carlini olive oil is sourced from Italy, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. Will the oil change from bottle to bottle if the proportion of oil from each country changes over time? Only a few more purchases will give us that answer.
Calories 120 per Tbsp (15 ml) Price $3.19 (500 ml)
Tags: aldi, calories, carlini, extra virgin olive oil, food, olive oil, price, review
02/06/2023 at 05:41 |
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11/11/2021 at 16:05 |
Aldi is the parent company of Trader Joes, so it is no surprise that the Oils are so similar.
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11/12/2021 at 07:20 |
Thanks for adding your thoughts.
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10/05/2020 at 12:19 |
Carlini olive oil is not 100% olive oil because when refrigerated it should jell completely and it does not. Very Dissatisfied!
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08/05/2020 at 15:48 |
I bought carlinis at Aldis. It’s terrible, smells, is bitter and watery
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08/10/2020 at 08:27 |
If you take it back to your Aldi, they should refund your cost. You can also contact ALDI directly at https://www.aldi.us/en/contact-us/. I have a recently purchased bottle here, which still seems like a very good olive oil. I did notice that 3 additional countries are listed as sources, Morocco, Argentina and Portugal, since the 2016 review.
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03/26/2020 at 16:28 |
I bought 16.5 oz Carlini olive oil in a plastic bottle at Aldi. I can’t get the lid off. It just keeps going around and around. I have bought this many times before with no trouble.
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03/26/2020 at 17:43 |
Try returning to your local ALDI. They’ll probably replace the product or refund. You can write to ALDI directly at https://www.aldi.us/en/contact-us/
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03/01/2018 at 09:22 |
My cousin was telling me Goya has a lite Olive Oil – have you tried it? I really buy Trader Joe’s for everything.
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03/01/2018 at 13:49 |
No, I haven’t tried the Goya. I generally don’t use lite oils. TJ’s Spanish EVOO is the best I’ve tried. The ALDI Carlini EVOO is very close.
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09/06/2017 at 12:09 |
I was told recently, to only buy the ones with the stamp, because they are the purest. Is this true?
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09/06/2017 at 12:55 |
It’s always helpful to have some sort of certification for any product we buy to help insure we’re getting what we pay for. Although some companies may have quality products without participating in a certification program. The International Olive Oil Council conducts one such program. There are others.
http://www.internationaloliveoil.org
Here’s a list from a different certification authority.
http://blog.aboutoliveoil.org/21-olive-oil-brands-certified-for-authenticity
Keep in mind that things change over time.
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08/25/2017 at 01:49 |
Doing some research on olive oil, came upon your review of Carlini at Aldi. I have bought this before. Glad to know it not Fake. According to Internet sites, up to 70 percent of olive oil are not pure. Fyi
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08/25/2017 at 08:28 |
Thanks for commenting. I hope your research found this one to be just olive oil. For consumers, like us, it’s mostly a matter of trust when we pick up anything off the shelf.
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03/15/2023 at 10:44
You stated or some said that Carlini didn’t Gel, it dose,the one in the green glass bottle , name Carlini on red♥️ back ground Carlini in white letters The Extra Virgin olive OIL. TANK YOU. please explain to me , if you. Think that I may not have. Comprehended what was really said.
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06/04/2017 at 00:53 |
Hi my dear friend,
If you have no trouble opening my site you can ignore this message.
I messed up my site link. I made a little change and got in big trouble.
My old site (deleted, that’s why you can’t find me anymore)
My new site is The Shower of Blessings (the “s” is in different place, so is the link)
The new link is https://theshowerofblessings.wordpress.com
You may have to click the new link and follow my new site again in order to see me show up in your Reader.
Sorry for the trouble. Miriam
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04/01/2017 at 15:20 |
Since Aldi and Trader Joe’s are owned by the same company …they could be the same only different labels for each store….
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02/09/2017 at 06:44 |
whereas the label has changed… no longer says 100%, I don’t know that contents have changed… I have some of the old bottles in the basement… I will compare them.. so far I have not noticed a change in taste or anything else other than the label change.
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08/01/2017 at 08:09 |
ALDI and Trader Joe’s are NOT owned by the same company. While they may share a similar heritage, they have been separately owned and managed since the 1960s. How do these rumors get started and sustained in these days of Google?
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08/01/2017 at 19:37
Here’s the wiki entry for Trader Joe’s, for anyone interested in learning more. Also click on the link for Theo Albrecht to get a better be understanding.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trader_Joe%27s
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01/24/2017 at 18:03 |
steveo, i appreciate your thanks. I posted my second one because I didn’t notice the picture the first time around. I only wish people on other sites could point out a mistake as politely as you did and I mean that seriously.
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01/24/2017 at 20:14 |
Cool. No problem. Sometimes I think the manufacturers put out all these variations just to add confusion. It’s pretty easy to overlook the smallest thing and end up taking home something we didn’t want. I know I’ve done that more times than I’d like to admit to. And then add to that some of the terms they use have no real standards behind them and where are we? Bottom line however on this olive oil, it was better than most I’ve tried and reasonably priced.
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01/24/2017 at 22:45
I’ve used Carlini quite often. I’m a fan myself. I’m not a brand person like I once was. Mostly due to a fixed income now. I find the oil good and affordable, two things that work really well for me!!!
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01/25/2017 at 00:04
Me too! ☺️
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12/19/2016 at 23:37 |
Bought Carlini olive oil at Aldie’s last week. Arriving home, I realized that my new bottle did NOT say, “100% virgin olive oil”. 100% was not on the front. Also, it did not have cold-pressed. Please explain. Thank you.
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12/20/2016 at 01:11 |
First, I’m just an ALDI customer. I have no connection with ALDI. I believe Carlini is just their store brand for several types of oil they sell. If you haven’t opened it, the store may take it back? They can also help find the 100% extra virgin olive oil I wrote about or explain if they don’t have it.
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01/24/2017 at 13:25 |
Many olive oils are blended oils. You are responsible for checking whether it says 100% olive oil or not. Blended oils vary in composition of olive and any other oil(s). In a blended oil, there can be a very small amount of olive oil. This is not a case of ALDI being duplicitous, every store sells blended olive oils. If it contains olive oil, it can be sold as olive oil, it just can’t be sold as 100% olive oil.
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01/24/2017 at 14:10
Thanks for commenting. The review was for a bottle labeled as 100%. See the picture included in the review. ALDI sells several different grades of olive, as most stores do. Some of those may not labeled 100% or extra virgin. As consumers, based on the label and other information we may come upon, we make decisions for what best fits our needs.
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01/24/2017 at 13:31 |
However, if the bottle said 100% virgin olive oil and you know it is not 100%, it’s an issue I would take up with the company and possibly the FDA if you want to waste your time, literally, but ALDI is wonderful about returning and all other aspects. The vast majority of my shopping is done there. I live on a limited budget and you can’t beat their price and quality. I have found many things I prefer from them than from stores such as Mariano’s, which I love. I won’t even get into my feelings about Whole Foods. I’m sure they don’t allow the language.
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01/24/2017 at 13:59
Thanks for adding to the discussion.
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05/13/2016 at 11:38 |
Awesome find. I was looking at designer olive oil at a celebrity restaurant this week – it was a crazy price !! This will work. Will check it out. Thanks for the tip.
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05/13/2016 at 08:13 |
I saw Dr. Oz program 5/12/16 showing that the buying public is not getting Olive oil but a mixture of oils. We trust Carlini Olive oil and want verification we are getting pure unadulterated olive oil. What say Carlini?
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05/13/2016 at 09:22 |
An interesting question. I don’t know. I just shop at ALDI and write my own reviews of their products. Here’s the ALDI customer contact url, https://www.aldi.us/en/contact-us/ If you’d like to write them, they are pretty good about answering quickly.
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09/24/2016 at 10:23
I am 63 year old Italian American and never thought much about olive oil, until my wife brought home some carlini olive oil,it was so good I had to find the bottle to investigate more. I was a little disappointed because it was from Spain and not Italy, but it was udeniable the best tasting Olive oil I ever had,.
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