Is yours Extra Virgin?

April 5, 2017

Olea europaea – Hippocrates called its oil “the great healer” and Homer “liquid gold”, Galen praised it for its positive effects on health, Zeus chose it over the Poseidon’s horse and King David hired guards to protect them. Its leaves were used to crown the heads of victorious athletes, generals and kings. Its oil gave fuel to lamps, was rubbed over the muscled bodies of ancient Greek athletes, was added to all food dishes, used for perfumes and soaps, and even anointment for the dead. This tree, native to Asia Minor, is not only a staple in the Mediterranean diet but a valuable export throughout the distant past and present.

 

Whether you agree it’s a vegetable or a fruit, it sure gets more complicated than that. Its varieties are probably as many as its uses. Extra virgin, virgin, light, pomace, filtered, cold pressed, stone milled, organic. With so many grades and definition, what meaning are they to a consumer? There is so much more to selecting a good oil than a good-looking packaging.

What should you choose?

The type of oil you choose really depends on what you are going to do with it. Before that, it will be good to know the types of olive oils available because being aware of the different grades of olive oil and their characteristics will help you make sense of what you read on labels.

Types of olive oils – Hierarchy for grades

1. Extra-virgin olive oil
2. Virgin olive oil
3. Olive oil and refined olive oil

“Virgin” means made with physical processes, not with chemistry. Olive oils are graded based on their extraction process and the acidity of the pressed oil. All virgin olive oils is obtained from the olive only, using solely mechanical or other physical means, in conditions, particularly thermal conditions, which do not alter the oil in any way, have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decantation, centrifugation, and filtration. It also meets a set of grade and organoleptic standards. No additives of any kind are permitted.

 

Extra Virgin olive oil is the highest grade of olive oil. It is, in fact, fresh olive juice. It must come from fresh olives that are milled within 24 hours of their harvest. The chemical characteristics of extra virgin olive oil (as with all vegetable oils) reveal the level of diligence with which it was made and stored – from how the fruit was grown, to transportation, harvest, milling, and finally bottling and packaging. Chemical testing will also determine if the oil is adulterated. The chemical standards for extra virgin olive oil are the highest of all the grades and as such, offer a minimum guarantee of quality. It does not have taste defects but this neither means it’s flavourless nor taste good to everyone.

However, there are huge differences among extra virgin olive oils in terms of their quality, taste, aroma, colour, health benefits, shelf-life, packaging, and of course price. Extra virgin olive oils can be anything from very delicate and mellow to quite bitter and pungent in taste. Their anti-oxidant content, and therefore health benefits, also vary considerably.

Packaging-wise, look for olive oil that comes in a bottle made from dark green glass or other material that protects it from light. Transparent glass bottles are not ideal to store extra virgin olive oil as their nutritional components are prone to degradation in the presence of heat and light. With that said, the oil should be stored in a cool, dark area to preserve its nutritional benefits.

Virgin olive oil

It is produced through the same processes as Extra Virgin olive oil but have modest taste defects and meets somewhat less strict chemical parameters. However, virgin olive oils that have no taste defects and pass strict tests in terms of chemistry can be labelled ‘Extra Virgin’. Unfortunately, you don’t see ‘Virgin’ oils for sale because too often producers market ‘Virgin’ oils as ‘Extra Virgin’ to command higher prices. Until standards enforcement follows up with the practice, real ‘Extra Virgin’ will be hard to ascertain.

 

The International Olive Council (IOC) is the worldwide body that sets quality standards for the olive oil industry and clearly defines the difference between Extra Virgin and Virgin olive oil as such:

Extra virgin olive oil is virgin olive oil which has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams, and the other characteristics of which correspond to those fixed for this category in the IOC standard.

Virgin olive oil is virgin olive oil which has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 2 grams per 100 grams and the other characteristics of which correspond to those fixed for this category in the IOC standard.

 

And according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grading manual:

U.S. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is virgin olive oil which has excellent flavour and odour (median of defects equal to zero and median of fruitiness greater than zero) and a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams, and meets the additional requirements as outlined, as appropriate.

U.S. Virgin Olive Oil is virgin olive oil which has reasonably good flavour and odour (median of defects between zero and 2.5 and median of fruitiness greater than zero) and a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 2.0 grams per 100 grams, and meets the additional requirements as outlined, as appropriate. Olive oil that falls into this classification shall not be graded above “U.S. Virgin Olive Oil” (this is a limiting rule).

 

The difference in a nutshell: Extra virgin olive oil has low acidity (1 per cent or under) and a high rating (6.5 plus) for organoleptic qualities – meaning how good it smells, tastes and looks. So if an oil only scored 3.5 or 4 on the organoleptic scale and had an acidity of 3 per cent, it would qualify as virgin oil rather than extra virgin.

 

Refined olive oil is obtained by treating low quality or defective virgin olive oil with the use of charcoal and other chemical and physical filters, but no solvents should be use in the refining process. An obsolete equivalent is “pure olive oil”.

Though it may be confusing, be aware that the term olive oil, when used alone, refers to a blend of refined olive oil and virgin olive oil.

Pomace is the ground flesh and pits left after the extraction process. According to the IOC, all olive-pomace oils are obtained by treating it with solvents or other physical treatments. Within the olive-pomace oils category, oil specifically labelled as olive-pomace oil is a blend of virgin olive oil and refined pomace oil.

 

With their differences in perspective, decide which type of oil will best suit your intended purpose in the kitchen

The main type of fat found in olive oils is monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), primarily oleic acid (named after the olive oil itself). MUFAs are considered healthy dietary fats. Choose MUFA-rich and PUFA-rich foods such as olive oil in place of saturated and trans fats in fatty foods, but not in addition of them and of course, in moderation. Even though it’s made of healthy fats, olive oil is still high in calories. Lastly, you can’t make unhealthy foods healthier simply by adding olive oil to them.

Olive oil exhibits various smoke points (which should be avoided) ranging from 160 degrees Celsius as Extra Virgin Olive, 220 degrees for Virgin, and 240 for Light and Extra light accordingly. Generally, the lesser processed oils exhibit lower smoke points.

For browning or sautéing, extra virgin or virgin olive oil is suggested.

As heat destroys most of the special flavours and complexities associated with the unique selling point of more expensive oils, you can confidently choose a flavourless, value-for-money olive oil blend for frying. Or even consider other oils with a high smoke point, like canola, soy or peanut oil.

As a condiment, to be enjoyed raw: Premium-priced, high-quality, single-estate-bottled oils are excellent for such purposes. As the oil is left unheated, you reap the full benefits of its flavour and aroma, as well as its health benefits. Drizzle over fish, meat, steamed vegetables or baked potatoes, in salad dressings, as the base for mayonnaise and uncooked sauces or served as a bread dipper, are just some ideas on how to make the best out of the more expensive extra virgin olive oil. Use a mild to medium strength oil for salad dressings or as a condiment over mild food, such as mozzarella. Switch to a robust olive oil to drizzle over fresh tomatoes or a hearty dish.

 

There is a place for every type of olive oil available – whether you seek them for cooking, for delighting your taste buds or for nourishment. Find the best fit for its intended role and peruse evidence for its worth.

Lastly, if the price is too good to be true, it’s probably not… extra virgin.

A pure and untainted product’s journey from start to sale demands earnestness from producers to preserve its state as original. True extra virgin olive oil is not easy to come by and costly to produce. Many ways to decrease production costs and increase yield in the process of making olive oil have been uncovered. The result is the lowering of the quality of the product. This explains the wide difference in the price per ml of extra virgin olive oils available. While there seems to be no upper limit to what some producers charge for their oil, a very rough rule of thumb is that if the oil is less than $20 for a 750ml bottle, the chances are high that the oil is not extra virgin.