Courtesy California Olive Ranch

But until recently there hasn’t been much middle ground (other than the occasional farmer’s market find), which is why I was happy to come across a bottle of California Olive Ranch at my local Safeway.The olives are grown on around 10,000 acres, mostly in the Sierra Foothills, using a high-density farming method from Spain. The trees were planted in densely packed hedge rows to allow quicker harvesting.

The Everyday California extra-virgin costs $10.50 per 500-ml bottle and is made from cold-pressed, all California olives. It’s fantastic for cooking and salad dressings. This weekend I tasted the Miller’s Blend olive oil and Arbequina (both are around $14 per 500-ml bottle), which are less widely available. I loved the Miller’s Blend especially, a fruity blend of arbosana and arbequina olives, with the peppery finish favored by Tuscan olive oil makers. It added the perfect finishing touch to a bowl of pasta e fagioli (soupy pasta and beans). The Arbequina was a more mild, delicate oil with grassy, vegetal notes that I plan to drizzle over the first of the asparagus from the Delta.

You can also find the oils at Whole Foods, Lucky, Mollie Stone’s and some neighborhood stores and at CaliforniaOliveRanch.com.