That expensive olive oil I thought was a gimmick actually saved my pasta dishes

I bought a $22 bottle from a local shop in Portland after the owner kept insisting it was worth it. Used it for a simple tomato sauce last week and the difference was night and day. Never thought oil could make that big of a difference. Anyone else find one kitchen splurge that actually paid off?

2 comments

2 Comments

miller.susan3d ago

OH MY GOD, yes! I bought a $200 chef's knife a few years ago and felt SO stupid about it for months. But then I tried dicing an onion with my old $15 Wusthof knockoff and it was like fighting with a brick. The nice knife just glides through stuff. I timed myself making salsa - the cheap knife took TWICE as long and I almost cut my finger off twice. Now I can't go back. Some things really ARE worth the extra cash.

taylor_moore3d ago

Man, you got me thinking. My buddy Tom dropped insane money on a Japanese mandoline, like $150. I laughed at him. Told him he got ripped off. Then he came over and sliced a whole bag of potatoes for gratin in like 30 seconds. Paper thin, perfect every time. I used my cheap one after that and the pieces were all jagged and different thicknesses. Burned the thin ones, undercooked the thick ones. Now I'm saving up for one. Sometimes the splurge stuff just works different.