When shopping for chopped garlic at my local grocery store, I noticed that although there were several brands there were basically two price points. Looking more closely, I saw that the less-expensive brands were all packed in olive oil while the more-expensive brands were not.
Does the fact that the garlic is packed in oil somehow relate to its quality and therefore price, or is the olive oil just an inexpensive filler that brings down the price per weight?
Edit
Brands and ingredients:
Botticelli and Badia:
Garlic, water, extra virgin olive oil, citric acid, sodium benzoate
Victoria:
Garlic, filtered water, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, natural flavor
Bellino:
Natural garlic, water, phosphoric acid
I didn't see Joe's comment in time to check whether some are imported.
Best Answer
Olive oil isn't cheap enough to be an inexpensive filler, and the garlic has to be in something -- either another (cheaper) oil or vinegar. Garlic and olive oil is a common combination.
The sort packed in vinegar also has its uses and keeps well. It's the only chopped option I can easily find without added salt. But when the proportion of garlic in the dish is high the vinegar flavour isn't always desirable (so I use fresh then).