Cooking Oils, Finishing Oils and Speciality Oils from vomFASS UK

The best-stocked British kitchen does not own one bottle of oil. It owns four or five, each for a specific job: an everyday extra virgin olive oil for salads and low-heat cooking, a cold-pressed rapeseed or seasoned blend for searing and roasting, a flavoured oil or two for finishing a plate, and a speciality bottle like pumpkin seed or walnut for when a recipe asks for something specific. This collection brings together thirty-seven active oils across all of those categories, every one sourced directly from a small producer we have bought from for years.

If you are not sure where to start, scroll down for our buying guide. If you know what you are after, use the sub-collection links below or browse the product tiles above. Free UK delivery on orders over £75, refill from the cask in our Stamford, Lincolnshire shop, since 1994.

The Oil Categories in This Collection

Extra Virgin Olive Oils: our core single-estate range from Italy, Greece and Spain. Koroneiki from Crete, Nocellara del Belice from Sicily, Moraiolo-Frantoio-Leccino blends from Tuscany, Andalusian olives from southern Spain.
Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oils: the unflavoured estate-bottled range for everyday cooking and finishing.
Flavoured Extra Virgin Olive Oils: infusions with Jalapeño, Lemon, Orange, Basil, Rosemary, Herbes de Provence, Garlic, Smoky BBQ, Cucumber, Tomato and more.
Seed and Nut Oils: Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil, Walnut Oil, Hazelnut Oil, Sun Meadow Rapeseed Oil, Ginger Sesame Oil.
Other Oils and Speciality Oils: White Truffle Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Curry Oil, Chili Oil, Seasoned Cooking Oil, Garlic Herb Oil.
Oil and Vinegar Gift Sets: pre-paired Quadra bottle sets and sampler boxes.

How to Choose the Right Oil for the Job

Every oil has a job it does best and a job it does badly. Pairing the right oil to the method is more important than buying the most expensive bottle in the shop.

Smoke point matters more than most people think

The smoke point is the temperature at which an oil starts to break down and produce visible smoke along with off flavours and, in some cases, harmful compounds. Cook above the smoke point and you have wasted a good oil and spoiled the dish. Below it, you are fine.

Extra virgin olive oil smokes at roughly 190 to 210 °C. Perfect for low-to-medium roasting, sautéing, pan frying most proteins, and baking up to 200 °C. Not for deep frying or aggressive searing.
Cold-pressed rapeseed oil, such as our Sun Meadow Rapeseed Oil, smokes around 220 to 230 °C. Excellent for roasting, stir-frying, and searing at higher heat than olive oil allows.
Seasoned and blended cooking oils like our Seasoned Cooking Oil are formulated specifically for high-heat applications including grill-pan searing.
Walnut, hazelnut and pumpkin seed oils smoke at low temperatures and are finishing oils only. Never cook with them.
Flavoured oils, including our chilli, lemon and rosemary EVOOs, inherit the smoke point of their base (usually olive oil). Cook gently if at all. Finishing is their main use.

Full guidance on cooking oil smoke points and healthy fat choices is available from the British Heart Foundation.

Finishing oils are worth the money, cooking oils need not be

The rule that costs most British home cooks money is buying expensive extra virgin olive oil to fry chips in. The delicate aromatics that make premium EVOO worth the price are cooked off at frying temperatures. Use a mid-priced oil for cooking and save your Grand Cru, Santini or Agora for the drizzle at the end, where it will actually be tasted.

Match the oil to the cuisine

Mediterranean cooking wants olive oil, preferably Italian, Greek or Spanish depending on the dish. Asian wok cooking wants rapeseed or a neutral oil as the base, with toasted sesame oil added at the end for aroma. Central European baking often wants pumpkin seed, walnut or hazelnut. British roast dinners work well with cold-pressed rapeseed, with a flavoured EVOO drizzled at the table.

Our Most-Reached-For Bottles

If you want specific picks from across the range, these are the ten oils our customers order most often and we recommend most confidently.

Everyday Cooking

Don Carlos Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £17.95. Spanish everyday EVOO. Versatile, mild, works for almost everything at medium heat.
Sun Meadow Rapeseed Oil. £16.00. British cold-pressed rapeseed. High smoke point, clean flavour, perfect for roasting and frying.
Seasoned Cooking Oil. £12.50. A seasoned blend built for high-heat searing on a cast-iron grill pan or kettle barbecue.

Finishing and Drizzling

Agora Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £23.75. Greek Koroneiki from Crete. Peppery finish, bright green colour, the classic premium finishing oil.
Santini Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £23.95. Unfiltered Tuscan blend of Moraiolo, Pendolino, Frantoio and Leccino.
Grand Cru de la Luna. £23.50. Organic Sicilian Nocellara del Belice, hand-harvested at night. A serious drizzling oil.

Flavoured Oils for Marinades and Finishing

Chili Oil. £13.75. Our most searched-for flavoured oil. Ranks on page one for "chilli oil" queries in the UK and ready to move much higher.
Smoky BBQ Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £22.95. The barbecue-season workhorse. Brush onto meat before grilling for real smoke character without a smoker.
Jalapeño Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £19.50. Bright green-chilli warmth without the fight of chopping fresh peppers.
Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £19.25. Fresh citrus finish for fish, chicken, salads and grilled vegetables.
Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £22.00. The lazy cook's best friend: one brush replaces four cloves of garlic and the chopping.
Rosemary Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £16.50. For roasted potatoes, lamb, focaccia dough and olive-oil-based cakes.
Herbes de Provence Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £19.25. The dried herb mix of southern France infused into olive oil: thyme, savory, oregano, rosemary.
Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £19.25. Citrus-forward, excellent on duck, cakes, salads with beetroot or fennel.
Basil Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £22.00. Fresh-basil aroma for Italian dishes, tomato salads, pesto shortcuts.
Garlic Herb Oil. £12.50. The affordable everyday flavoured oil. Brush on bread before toasting, toss with pasta, dress a salad.

Speciality and Nut Oils

Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil. £23.25. The deep green, protected-origin oil from Styria, Austria. Finishing only. Drizzle over soup, vanilla ice cream, or roasted squash.
Walnut Oil. £15.50. Cold-pressed, for salad dressings with blue cheese, roasted beet salads, and baking walnut cakes.
Hazelnut Oil Vierge. £27.50. French cold-pressed hazelnut oil. Exceptional in a vinaigrette with sherry vinegar for a seasonal leaf salad.
Ginger Sesame Oil. £13.75. For Asian finishes: noodles, stir-fry drizzle, dumpling dipping.
White Truffle Extra Virgin Olive Oil. £19.50. Finishing only. Over risotto, scrambled eggs, pasta, steak. A few drops is enough.
Curry Oil. £12.50. A curry-spice infused oil for a shortcut to Indian flavours. Drizzle on lentils, stir into yoghurt, or use to temper a dhal.

Gift Sets and Sample Boxes

If you want to try several oils before committing, or you are buying for someone who cooks, the sample boxes and Quadra gift sets are designed for exactly that.

The Essentials 3x40ml Oil and Vinegar. £13.00. Small-format starter, ideal for hampers or as a taster before you buy full bottles.
Ultimate Oil Sample Set. £38.50. Eight 40 ml bottles covering the core oil range.
Ultimate Oil and Vinegar Sample Set. £38.50. Eight small-format bottles mixing oils and vinegars.
Quadra Set 3: Oils. £50.00. Four full 100ml bottles: Lemon, Orange, Chili and Hazelnut. Gift-boxed.

For the wider bundled gift selection, browse oil and vinegar gift sets.

How vomFASS Sources and Refills

Every oil in this collection is either imported from a small European producer we have bought from for years, or decanted from cask in our Stamford, Lincolnshire shop. The vomFASS refill model has been running since 1994: bring your empty bottle back, we refill from the cask, and you pay less than new-bottle prices because you are paying for oil rather than for glass. The concept is simple and old, the way wine merchants and grocers used to trade before packaging dominated retail.

For the full story on our producers, sourcing and refill process, see the about our products page.

Related Collections

All Vinegars: the companion collection covering aged balsamics, fruit-infused Stars and wine vinegars.
Balsamic Stars: sixteen fruit-infused balsamic condimentos built to pair with these oils.
Oil and Vinegar Gift Sets: pre-paired bundles for gifting or starting a collection.
BBQ Favourites: the barbecue-season bundle of flavoured oils, rubs and balsamic glazes.
Gourmet Foods: the artisan pantry range that pairs with these oils (pestos, spice blends, chutneys).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between cooking oil and finishing oil?

A cooking oil is a neutral or mild oil chosen for its high smoke point and value, used for sautéing, frying, roasting and baking. A finishing oil is a flavoured or high-quality oil drizzled on a dish after cooking, where its aroma and flavour are preserved. Extra virgin olive oil can do both jobs if used sensibly. Delicate seed and nut oils (walnut, pumpkin seed, truffle) are finishing only.

Which oil is best for high-heat cooking?

For searing above 220 °C, use a seasoned cooking oil blend, cold-pressed rapeseed oil, or a refined neutral oil. Extra virgin olive oil is suitable up to around 200 °C and is a perfectly reasonable everyday cooking oil at those temperatures. Avoid cooking at high heat with walnut, hazelnut, pumpkin seed or flavoured oils; they will smoke and lose their flavour.

Can I cook with flavoured olive oils, or are they only for finishing?

Flavoured EVOOs like our chilli, garlic, lemon or rosemary oils can be used for low-to-medium heat cooking, but their aromatic benefit is greatest when drizzled on after cooking. For frying chicken or searing steak, use a plain cooking oil. For brushing onto already-grilled meat, roasted vegetables or fresh bread, a flavoured EVOO is perfect.

How should I store olive oil and other cooking oils?

Store all oils in a cool, dark cupboard away from the hob. Dark glass bottles are better than clear. Tightly cap between uses. Extra virgin olive oil keeps two to three months once opened. Cold-pressed rapeseed and nut oils keep roughly six to nine months if stored correctly. The fresher the oil, the better it tastes.

Can I refill my vomFASS oil bottle at the shop?

Yes. Every vomFASS extra virgin olive oil, flavoured EVOO and many of the speciality oils are available for refill at our Stamford, Lincolnshire shop at a discount to new-bottle prices. Bring your empty bottle, we refill from the cask, the refill concept has been vomFASS's model since 1994.

Do you deliver oils across the UK?

Yes. Free UK delivery on orders over £75. Standard delivery on smaller orders. We ship to all of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Date Balsamic Star & Basil Extra Virgin Olive Oil

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