Contrary to that article, and having had some very nice Texas and California EV olive oils that I assume are "the real thing"... I think there is a very definit

Contrary to that article, and having had some very nice Texas and California EV olive oils that I assume are "the real thing"... I think there is a very definitive taste difference between extra virgin olive oil and straight regular olive oil (there's a fruity / grassy note that is missing from the later). I would buy that it might be difficult to detect a product that is only somewhat cut. I also buy that perhaps some people just can't taste the difference at all. (One personal note: I can detect the difference between genuine maple syrup and the corn syrup variety... but my wife cannot.) For some applications, I doubt that these extra notes are worth it. Sometimes you don't really need the expensive stuff. One example: Most "balsamic vinegar" is not Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale. But the later would be pretty wasteful as a salad dressing.