This week, Value for Money tests the quality of olive oil

Tesco Finest Umbrian Olive Oil, €11.12 for 500ml, €22.24 per litre

Highs:This golden-coloured oil is well balanced and will improve the taste and texture of almost any salad. It is quite smooth and nice and light, with a discernible fruitiness. It will also be very easy to track down, presuming you live within striking distance of a Tesco. It is the cheapest of the olive oils we reviewed and while it doesn't make some of the extravagant claims to authenticity to be found on some of the other bottles, it looked and tasted pretty authentic to us.

Lows:The purist may be disappointed as it lacks the complexity of a really fine oil. While its subtle flavours may appeal to many, others might find it a little on the dull side.

Verdict:Good value

Star rating: ****

Cobram Estate Olive Oil Nevadillo Gold, €15.99 for 500ml, €29.98 per litre

Highs:Perhaps the most (in fact, only) interesting thing about this is that it comes from Australia rather than the more traditional oil-producing regions in southern Europe. Despite having to travel such a long distance, by all accounts it does well when it is pitted against oils from Spain, Greece and Italy. It certainly does have a nice velvety texture and a fairly robust earthiness to it.

Lows: If anything, it might just be a little too earthy. Whether or not an olive oil is good is very much down to personal taste; we found this just a little too bitter and we'd be afraid it might overpower some salads. It was also on the pricey side.

Verdict:Too rough

Star rating: ***

Casa Loreto Olive Oil, €26.50 for 500ml, €53 per litre

Highs:This Tuscan oil, available in Dublin's Fallon Byrne, is certainly pretty classy, with its understated description, minimalist design and stylish plastic drip running down the front of the bottle. It has a slightly cloudy appearance and complex, fruit-heavy flavours. which linger long on the palate. It is smooth-textured and quite light and should complement the most delicate of salads.

Lows:While there can be no complaints about the quality on offer here, we do have real concerns about the price and, in sheer value for money terms, it fails miserably. There is nothing that makes this stand out as significantly better than some of the competition, yet it is nearly twice the price and we can't help thinking we're being asked to pay for the design more than the taste.

Verdict:Nice but not at this price.

Star rating: ***

Le Magnolie Olive Oil, €17.50 for 500ml, €35 per litre

Highs:This is a very good organic olive oil and while we initially thought it was too expensive, it's actually not bad value when compared with some of the other options available. It is sharp and bitter and very, very strong and while it might not be to everyone's taste we were quite taken with it. It works particularly well when dipped in bread rather than used to make a dressing. The design is nice, from its square bottle to the wax-sealed presentation box it comes in, and it might make for a nice housewarming present.

Lows:It is not widely available and, while it was not the most expensive oil we tried, you certainly would not be frying your sausages with it in the mornings unless you were particularly flash.

Verdict:Very good

Star rating: ****

Santa Teresa  Olive Oil, €14.90 for 500ml, €29.80 per litre

Highs:This is the greenest oil we tried and not just because it is also organic. It was so dark in colour that we could almost see the green olive skins floating in it. It wins out for offering top quality at a comparatively low price. It combines lemony and peppery flavours beautifully and is perfect for almost any class of salad. It is subtle without being bland and rich, beautifully textured without being thick and greasy, and upmarket without being prohibitively expensive.

Lows:The entire label and accompanying mini-booklet is in Italian and while this speaks volumes about its authenticity, it didn't do a whole lot for our understanding of the product. And, like Le Magnolie, it might be hard to find - we got both in La Botega de Paulo in Dublin's Italian quarter.

Verdict:Top notch

Star rating: *****