Israel Romero / Wednesday, January 22, 2025 / Categories: Blog Fun Facts About Extra Virgin Olive Oil The best gastronomic product — the most versatile and the healthiest — isn’t as well known as it should be, so we feel “obliged” to share with you how wonderful Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is. Where does the best olive oil come from? How do you choose the best? Find out when the olives were harvested What’s this about fake extra virgin olive oil? Why would anyone lie about that? Doesn’t most olive oil come from Italy? Where does olive oil actually come from? So, what does “extra virgin” mean? What does a good olive oil taste like? How do you know if it’s high quality? What do those words mean? Is olive oil as healthy as people say? What is a smoke point? Should I avoid cooking with olive oil? Can olive oil go bad? How should I store it to avoid that? Where does the best olive oil come from? The best extra virgin olive oil is the freshest, regardless of origin. And Spain is full of extraordinary EVOO. How do you choose the best? Find out when the olives were harvested You can go to your kitchen right now and check your olive oil. Does it say when it was bottled? That doesn’t matter. Look again. Do you see a use-by date? That might mean something, but probably not. If the bottle tells you when the olives were harvested, you can trust it will be delicious. That date is called the harvest date, and ideally you should buy olive oil within one year of the harvest. That’s because real Extra Virgin Olive Oil (yes, there are many fake oils out there) is essentially a cold-pressed juice that has been separated from the rest of the olive by a specialized mixing process called malaxation. As a raw product, EVOO begins to change the moment it leaves the tree. Olive oil is full of complex flavor compounds like aldehydes, phenols and even chlorophyll that start to change and break down the moment each olive leaves the tree. Wait. What’s this about fake extra virgin olive oil? Why would anyone lie about that? Calling your olive oil “extra virgin” sounds sexy. But oil that is 100% premium extra virgin is usually not cheap; the ancient Greeks called it liquid gold. Because it’s so prized, olive oil fraud has been going on for thousands of years — it’s incredibly lucrative (scammers can make a 700% markup just by lying about their oil) and it’s widespread across the industry. Doesn’t most olive oil come from Italy? Most “Italian” olive oil isn’t even grown there. It’s all marketing. In reality, Italy produces only about 15% of the world’s olive oil. Its olive production has recently been threatened by everything from climate change to an unpleasant bacterium called Xylella fastidiosa, which limits Italy’s supply and drives up the price of its oil. Seriously, read the fine print on the bottle of olive oil in your pantry right now. Your “Italian” olive oil was probably bottled in Italy, not grown there. This odd legal loophole lets producers in other countries take advantage of Italian prestige, which is pretty misleading on a deli shelf. So, if you can’t trust that “Italian” olive oil is even from Italy, where does olive oil actually come from? Most of the world’s olive oil is grown in Spain The Spanish supply around 45% of the olive oil industry, but olive groves thrive across the Mediterranean in places like Greece, Tunisia and Morocco. The Spanish have been growing olives and making olive oil since Roman times; there are olive estates in Spain with trees 2,000 years old! At Made in Spain Gourmet we’ll keep you informed about everything. So, what does “extra virgin” mean? Extra virgin is just a fancy term for the first press: the olive oil with the best flavor from any batch is the first oil produced. But to earn the extra virgin certification, the oil must have “excellent taste and aroma” and undergo testing to ensure it contains exactly what the producer claims. EVOOs like Isbilya, Jacoliva and Oro La Senda are certified extra virgin in Spain, which means they meet incredibly strict standards. That said, olive producers use everything from heat to presses and centrifuges to squeeze every last drop from their olives. There is nothing wrong with heat-treated oil, known as pomace oil, although it’s not as beneficial for you, and in fact it can be even better for frying and other high-heat applications than extra virgin olive oil. That said, some companies sell a blend of pomace oil and EVOO while trying to trick you into thinking it’s 100% EVOO. Pay close attention to the label on your next bottle of olive oil. It may not be what you think. What does a good olive oil taste like? How do you know if it’s high quality? Olive oil can taste grassy or peppery, fruity or buttery, bitter, astringent or nutty. Sometimes it’s all of those things at once. The list of adjectives goes on and on — because there are more than 270 olive varieties in Spain! Each olive variety has a different flavor, just as every olive oil is different. But it should always be complex and layered. If your olive oil doesn’t taste appealing on its own, it won’t be appealing in your food. I see words like blended, pure and light on other bottles of olive oil. What do those words mean? A “blended” oil is mostly not olive oil at all. It may sound crazy, but many blended “olive oils” use a neutral (highly processed) oil — like soybean, grapeseed, or even the controversial canola oil — along with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil for flavor. “Pure” and “light” olive oils are also a bit dubious, but less so. Legally, pure olive oil must contain 10% extra virgin olive oil and light olive oil contains no extra virgin. In those cases, it’s all real olive oil and any form of olive oil is nutritious. None of these impart all the health benefits of true extra virgin olive oil. They don’t have as much flavor and they’re not as tasty as the real thing. If you’re going to eat fat in the first place, it should taste like something. Is olive oil as healthy as people say? Yes! Of course. Extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest fat worth buying. Olive oil is full of monounsaturated fats like oleic acid and antioxidants like vitamins E and K. All of these are excellent for reducing inflammation, but the nutritional superpowers of olive oil only begin there. Olive oil consumption reduces the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes, and early research suggests it may help prevent cancer. Some doctors even use olive oil to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Living longer is important, but want to know the best part? Olive oil contains an antioxidant called oleocanthal, and oleocanthal mimics the effects of painkillers. It’s similar to ibuprofen. So, if you eat high-quality olive oil, you’re ensuring a less painful existence. What is a smoke point? Should I avoid cooking with olive oil? Oh, time for some chemistry. First, the smoke point is the temperature at which an oil begins to smoke. It starts to taste acrid and nobody wants that. Fortunately, even if you exceed an oil’s smoke point, it’s totally safe to eat unless you reuse the oil multiple times. As long as you’re not running a fast-food operation, you’ll be fine. Also, contrary to popular belief, extra virgin olive oil has a fairly high smoke point. The smoke point is technically around 200°C, so in your home kitchen you can use it for almost anything. Can olive oil go bad? How should I store it to avoid that? Olive oil may seem stable in storage (and it is), but it can go rancid fairly quickly if stored incorrectly. Why? Because light, heat and, above all, oxygen are the enemies of excellent olive oil. AUTHOR: Israel Romero, CEO of Made in Spain Gourmet. Beat the January slump with Made in Spain Gourmet deals Casa Santoña: Anchovy Specialists Print 3 Rate this article: No rating Please login or register to post comments.