Grades of Olive Oil
Oils ain't oils...
The best olive oil is called
"Extra Virgin," traditionally derived from a cold pressed process that involves
only pressure to extract the olive oil, and results in a natural
level of low acidity. Today, this level of quality is still able to
be achieved using more modern pressing methods.
Climate, soil, variety of
olive tree and time of harvest account for the different
organoleptic properties of different extra virgin olive oils. "Organoleptic"
properties refers to the olive oil flavour, bouquet and color. The
term comes from the Greek organon (tool) and leptos (fine), and
usually refers to the instant when all the senses are employed in a
food's assessment.
Extra-virgin olive oils must
have an acidity of less than 0.8 percent. Virgin olive oils,
on the other hand, may have an acidity
between 0.8 and 2 percent.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is
virgin olive oil that has a minimum organoleptic rating of 6.5 out
of 10, and acidity under 0.8%. It is the olive oil of the highest
quality, and boasts a perfect, fruity taste, and with a color that
can range from champagne to greenish-golden to bright green. (Colour
is not an indication of quality.) Extra
Virgin Olive Oil can be used in various ways in the kitchen, and in
Italy it has been a traditional ingredient in everything from
antipasti to desserts.
Because of the time-consuming process
required to manufacture extra virgin olive oil, and its limited
production volume, true extra virgin olive oil is expensive. Thus,
any inexpensive olive oil labeled "extra virgin" has probably been
blended with a lesser quality olive oil or even canola oil, and is
probably not authentic extra virgin olive oil. It is true that
when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!
What is the difference among the different grades of olive oil?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the top grade of olive oil and is
the most natural and flavoursome of all oils. It is a virgin, or
unprocessed, oil which must have an acidity level of not more than
0.8 per cent. The oil must also have perfect aroma, flavour and
colour and free from defects. The lower the acidity of the olive
oil, the higher the quality and the more distinctive the flavours
and aromas.
Extra virgin olive oil is more
expensive than olive oil because it is produced in smaller
quantities from select olives, and offers the widest range of
tastes. In extra virgin olive oil, as in wine, flavour and aroma
depend on a number of variables: the variety of olive, growing
conditions, the time and method of harvest, and finally the care
with which the olives are turned into the finished product, bottled
and stored.
Olive Oil is the product of
blended oils which have been refined to balance acidity, aroma, and
taste. Refining makes the oil colourless, odourless and flavourless.
Virgin olive oil is then added in small quantities (typically 5 to
25 per cent) to give the oil some character. Olive oil must have an
acidity of less than 1.5 per cent. While less flavourful and
aromatic than extra virgin olive oil, olive oil is high in
monounsaturated fat and remains a healthy choice of cooking oil.
Olive-Pomace Oil is extracted
from the "pomace" (the remaining portion of the olive after
pressing) through the use of solvents. The resulting oil is refined
to produce a colourless, odourless and flavourless oil.
(Source: International Olive Oil Council)
Beneath Extra Virgin Olive
Oil comes Virgin Olive Oil. Like extra virgin olive oil, it is also
cold-pressed. It has an organoleptic rating of 5.5 or more and an
acidity of max 1.5 percent. Quality olive oils are obtained when the
olives are crushed as quickly as possible, since any storage would
trigger a fermentation process in the fruit, making the oil produced
increasingly acidic and undesirable in both flavor and aroma.
Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
What do first pressing and cold pressing mean?
These terms are interchangeable and were used in the past when
initial pressure applied by hand powered presses produced only a
limited amount of olive oil from the olive paste. To extract more
oil, hot water was applied to the olive paste to improve the flow of
oil - that's how the term cold pressing and first pressing came
about. Today, some producers use these terms on their labeling to
reaffirm that extra virgin olive oil is an unrefined, natural
product that has undergone very little processing and will retain
it's nutritive value.
(Source: International Olive Oil Council)
Simple Tests for True Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Place a small quantity of
the oil in a glass bowl and refrigerate it for a few days. If it
becomes crystalline, the chances are good that it is a true extra
virgin olive oil. If it forms a block, it is most likely chemically
refined olive oil that has had some first-pressed olive oil added to
it.
Another test to see whether
olive oil has been blended is to place a tablespoon of olive oil in
a hot pan and heat it up. If the olive oil can be poured back into
the same tablespoon after heating then it is most likely blended. If
the volume of olive oil increases after heating, it is most likely
cold pressed pure extra virgin olive oil.
Buying Extra Virgin Olive Oil
When you are looking to buy extra virgin olive oil, you have to be
vigilant as the majority of the olive oil being sold is adulterated. In
order to find real extra virgin olive oil, it must meet the
following specifications:
- Extra virgin olive oil should have a free oleic acid acidity of no
more than 0.8%, whereas ordinary virgin olive oil can have an acidity
of up to 2%.
- Extra virgin olive oil should be cold pressed.
- Extra virgin olive oil should be unfiltered and look somewhat
cloudy, especially soon after harvest. Most olive oil that you find
in the store is factory-produced olive oil that looks clear. If it
is clear, often it has been filtered, which further reduces the
nutritional quality of the oil. Chapman Hill Extra Virgin Olive
Oil is left to decant naturally in our stainless steel tanks, so
don't be alarmed if you don't see this cloudiness in our olive oil.
- The extra virgin olive oil should be packaged in dark glass bottles
or tins to protect it from the damaging effects of light.
Avoid buying extra virgin olive oil that is stored in plastic
containers as the extra virgin olive oil can absorb some of the compounds
used in the plastic, such as cancer causing PVC’s (polyvinyl
chlorides).
Other Factors
Often price is a determining factor in the decision to buy a
particular extra virgin olive oil. There are cases in which a
consumer pays a higher price only for the packaging, not for the
olive oil's quality. (In our case, we needed the packaging to
reflect the quality of the extra virgin olive oil inside!)
While generally price is an indication of
quality, it is not an absolute measure. It is important to remember
that extra virgin olive oil is a product of nature, so it follows
the rule that mass production cannot reduce the cost unless it also
reduces the quality.
Generally, olives picked early in the season yield a fruity extra
virgin olive oil; olives picked in the middle of the season yield an
extra virgin olive oil with mild flavor; and olives harvested
late in the season yield a gentle extra virgin olive oil. Some of us
prefer fruity olive oils, others prefer milder ones. There is no
right or wrong: The only thing that matters is quality and your
taste.
Of course different extra virgin olive oils are better suited to
different dishes, so that a fruity olive oil on a steamed fish might
be a little excessive, and a mild olive oil on a sauté redolent with
garlic would be overshadowed.
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