Wow! Several months ago Ellen from Bari Olive Oil in Dinuba, California contacted me and offered to send along some samples of their products for me to try. The Bari Olive Oil Company was founded in 1936 and current owners, Kyle and Ryan Sawatzky are the 5th generation to farm the family estate. They strive to make sure every bottle of their oil is of premium quality and are well known for their buttery flavoured oil that is produced from late harvest mission olives.

I was pleasantly surprised, when a box landed on my doorstep with 16 (2oz) bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar! Very generous, and I've been enjoying the samples ever since.

Let me tell you, these folks have just about every kind of olive oil you could ask for and they are all wonderful. In addition to the basic organic, fruity, and delicate oils, there is lemon, orange, basil, chipotle, jalapeno, garlic, and more infused oils.

I like a robust tasting olive oil, but many people don't and shy away from olive oil because of it's sometimes strong flavour. It doesn't have to be though. Oils that are produced using particular varieties of olives or harvested late offer you a mild and healthy alternative.

I used the delicate on popcorn, the garlic with a vegetable stir fry, lemon on grilled fish, basil in my pesto sauce, etc, etc.

Bari has a nicely designed and user friendly website where you can go to learn more about and order their products. barioliveoil.com Give their products a try, you won't be disappointed.