Costco Connection - February 2013

inside costco

Olive oil is an important ingredient in delicious ribollita, a traditional Italian white bean soup.

What’s pressing

IRIDIO PHOTOGRAPHY

Kirkland Signature cooking oils

By Tracy Schneider

WHEN THE CEO of Costco’s grapeseed oil supplier told me that his mother-in-law had switched to grapeseed oil to fry the eggplant for the family specialty, Moroccan eggplant salad, I was intrigued. I knew nothing about grapeseed oil, and I wanted that recipe. (You’ll find it on page 80.)

Tracy Schneider fills February’s consumer reporter slot with a behind-the-scenes look at a popular Kirkland Signature product. Send your questions about this article to: buyingsmart@costco.com. BuyingSmart

This supplier (who, for competive reasons, must remain anonymous) has been working with Costco buyer Shauna Lopez and her team to develop two new offerings in Costco warehouses right now: Kirkland Signature™ Grape Seed Oil and Kirkland Signature Mediterranean Blend Oil.

Grapeseed Oil

It’s hard to imagine how many minuscule grape seeds it takes to fill the trucks driving up to the processing plant in Bezier, the only factory of its kind in France, where much of Costco’s Kirkland Signature Grape Seed Oil is pressed.

As you might already have guessed, grape seeds are a byproduct of the winemaking industry. Costco’s supplier carefully sources his grape seeds from vineyards in France and Argentina. The oil is first extracted from those tiny seeds and then refined. The result is an oil with a light flavor and a very high smoke point—perfect for frying.

“Many Costco shoppers deep-fry their holiday turkeys in our Kirkland Signature Peanut Oil,” says Shauna, “and they’re familiar with the term ‘smoke

point,’ the temperature at which an oil begins to
smoke and then burn. Because of peanut oil’s high
smoke point, 450 F, it’s great for frying.”
Grapeseed oil’s higher smoke point of 485 F
makes it even better for frying. And its light, neu-
tral taste allows the delicate flavor of foods such as
eggplant to come through.

Mediterranean Blend Oil

The Costco buying team wanted to offer members a cooking oil that echoed the health benefits found in the Mediterranean diet, which includes numerous servings of fish (rich in omega-3s), generous use of olive oil (monounsaturated fats) and a large variety of fruits and vegetables (antioxidants). Kirkland Signature Mediterranean Blend Oil was the result. It’s a health-conscious oil containing canola oil for heart-healthy omega- 3, extra virgin olive oil for monounsaturated fats and grapeseed oil for powerful antioxidants.

But the Costco team didn’t stop there. The canola oil in this blend was very carefully chosen. You may know that canola oil comes from one of several varieties of the rape plant. For the Mediterranean Blend Oil the team stipulated that it be made from traceable, non-GMO (genetically modified organism) rapeseed and insisted that it was to be expeller pressed— extracted by a chemical-free, mechanical process so no solvents are involved.