Olive oil

Olive oil has been popular as a dip for quite some time.
I usually sprinkle some dried herbs (basil or rosemary) plus salt and pepper and use it as a dip for bread or baguette, along with other food.
You can also dip feta cheese or queso fresco (fresh cheese) in spiced olive oil.
There are ready made herb mixtures to be used with olive oil, here in Stockholm sold at Oil & Vinegar shops (I think they are a Belgian or Dutch chain).

We have been dipping bread in olive oil sprinkled with parmesan cheese in Italian restaurants. But you don't smell the olive oil doing that. The flavor of parmesan cheese overpowers the olive oil. Although I suspect if the olive oil is not fresh you will still sense it. Dipping it in fresh olive oil to sense the different flavors of olives is a new experience.

Extra virgin isn't necessarily from the first pressing, it just has the lowest acidity.

Also, which is the best - that's sort of up to you as there are so many brands. Italian olive oil has a very good reputation but a lot of the olive oil bottled in Italy is grown in other countries, especially Spain.

Try lots and find what you like is my (slightly patronising) advice.

I'm not sure why you would feel guilty eating any food. But if you think that olive oil is a low-calorie food, you're kidding yourself. Fat has 9 calories per gram whether it's from olive oil or butterfat.

My BMI is 25. I do not kid myself loading it up with butter. It also makes me sick if I eat that much of it the way I dip my bread in olive oil.

A couple cloves of smashed or finely diced fresh garlic,a squeeze of fresh lime/lemon juice or wine vinegar,a sprinkle of coarse sea salt and crushed pepper corn in a cup of evo makes an excellent dip for crusty bread.Quite addictive.

There are all sorts of olive oils, with all sorts of different flavors. And I'm just talking about extra virgin, not the milder stuff you use for cooking. Just like wines, oil made from a single variety can have very distinct flavors. I found this list in a university publication:
ripe olive fruit, nutty, floral, buttery, tropical, banana and berry; or green olive fruit characteristics such as: fresh cut grass, artichoke, herbaceous, green apple, green banana, green tea, mint, eucalyptus, tomato leaf, spice, wood- hay-straw, or other.

So you do need to so some tasting to figure out what styles you like best. And it might be more than one. A buttery oil might be great for dipping or sauteing, but I wouldn't want it on a green salad. Some people really like spicy, peppery oils; others prefer a mellower one.

Me? I buy local. There are a hundred or so olive oil producers in California. My everyday oil, that I use both for cooking and simple salads is Bariani which is available in a lot of places outside of California. It's pretty neutral in taste. I buy it at the farmer's market because it's cheaper than buying at a supermarket--most markets here carry it.

I like Sciabica"s Fall Harvest Manzanillo for a very fruity oil for salads with a lot of bold flavor (not a delicate butter lettuce) or for dipping. They grow pretty much organically, but are not certified, as they sometimes use herbicides. I buy it at the local gourmet grocer.

Apollo has a couple of very good Italian style oils. They've even done well in competitions in Italy. I like Sierra, which is the Mission variety. I buy at a couple of local grocers or a farmer's market.

Others I've enjoyed include Tehama Gold and McEVoy,

If I want the really, really good stuff and I have the money, I go to Scittino's. A local carry out restaurant and Italian market near me. Then, I also take a look at their varieties of olives, breads and cheeses. If you have a local Italian (or Greek, etc, etc) market, it's the way to go.

Cretan EVOO is my fave-big grassy flavours of distinction.

Am going to try some of the Palestinian stuff soon.