'Tasted Like Engine Oil': Some Dollar Tree Shoppers Can't Stand This Bargain Cooking Oil

Dollar Tree stores have great bargains on a wide variety of products, like affordable glassware that mimics that from a luxury brand. That said, not everything on its shelves is a hit. You might just get what you pay for with one bargain product that some shoppers just can't stand: Pampa brand cooking oil.

The oil in question is a blend of 94% soybean oil and 6% extra virgin olive oil, currently available from Dollar Tree for $1.25 a bottle, though if you're ordering online, the website requires a minimum package of 12 bottles for a total of $15. Each plastic bottle contains 8.5 ounces of oil. In addition to Dollar Tree, Pampa is also available at some smaller grocery stores such as Piggly Wiggly, though major brands like Walmart and Target don't appear to stock it (however, Walmart does sell a sunflower-based cooking oil from the same brand).

Customers have polarizing opinions on Pampa's cooking oil blend. Some seem to love it, while others have nothing positive to say at all — and then some. At the moment, it has uncomfortably low reviews, including a 2.9 out of 5-star rating on Dollar Tree and just 2 stars on Instacart.

Disgruntled customers weren't shy about voicing their opinions on Pampa, most telling potential shoppers to avoid it in favor of some of Dollar Tree's other affordable groceries. An especially dissatisfied customer left only one star, proclaiming, "It tasted like engine oil very bad product. A hard flavor to cover." And another recalled that "the stuff they had this before was GREAT but stay away from this new stuff bring back the old olive oil!"

The flavor and overall quality appear to be one of the most common complaints, bringing an unwelcome character to some meals. As one Instacart shopper put it, "I bought this and made a chocolate cake with it as an ingredient. Cake tasted strongly of black licorice! I thought it was the cake mix itself until I made gravy with this same oil. Awful!"

Of course, not all reviews of this brand are bad; in fact, some shoppers seem to think this is one of Dollar Tree's better groceries. To quote one: "I've been on an olive oil kick lately and have bought multiple more expensive, boujee [bougie] brands and none of them compare." An Instacart shopper had this to say: "Iv had 2 dollar bottle, and 20 dollar bottle, and this stuff is by far superior to anything iv tasted!" If you're interested, try Pampa's cooking oil blend for yourself and see which side of the fence you fall on. At least you won't break the bank.