Do you know what olive oil is?
Because olive oil is synonymous with quality, today we aim to help you in the purchase of olive oil.
Surely more than one of you has been for a long time in the supermarket trying to choose the type of oil we buy. Some will choose by the color, others by the design of the bottle, the price… But do we really know what are we buying when on the bottle it only appears the words « olive oil« ?
We’ve had this conversation with some curious friends and he really appreciated it, so lets take notes!
To clear up this issue, the first thing you must know is that to getting an oil category is mainly influenced by the state of the olives at the moment of the harvest, ripeness of the olives (which influences the flavor), the elapsed time between harvest and transport to the mill (should not exceed 48 hours).
Thus, one can obtain the following types:
– Extra Virgin and Virgin Olive oil: That olive oil is obtained solely by mechanical, without contact with organic solvents and the temperature during extraction should be less than or equal to 30° C.
– Refined olive oil: when the olives are damaged (fermented because of collecting from the ground) or there are problems during the process, obtained oils are current (also called « lampante ») to compulsorily be refined (losing all organoleptic and healthy characteristics because it is processed with a temperature above 300° C) and not suitable for food. This refining process removes all unwanted components, obtaining an almost colorless, odorless and tasteless liquid.
Now pay attention!
To this liquid it is added a certain amount of virgin olive oil:
– « Mild » olive oil if you added just a few drops (yes, talking about drops) of virgin olive oil.
– « Intense » olive oil if you add a few more drops.
– Pomace olive oil: It is obtained from the olive pomace (waste of bones and skins), which requires organic solvents for extraction and therefore not suitable for food. It reaches the consumers after being processed by refining and then blending with virgin or extra virgin olive oil.
What does this mean?
Summarizing, when we consume virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, we are eating pure olive juice. It is the same as comparing your own fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast or drinking carton orange juice, both are orange juice but with major differences.
Wouldn’t you like the idea of having every day natural olive juice?
Sadly the worldwide legislation allows confusion while tagging and may lead to consumers’ confusion. Let’s defend healthy products, and why not the Mediterranean diet!