If it’s one thing that confuses new cooks, it’s the different grade of olive oils. And it’s understandable. There are different grades from one region to another. Even different standards within the regions! Knowing all that, it’s no wonder why there is so much confusion when people talk about olive oil. Even some authors of online Gourmet olive oil reviews get the different grades wrong.
Here are some quick and easy tips to remember when looking at olive oils. These are the basic grades of olive oils.
The fist one is called extra virgin olive oil. This is the less refined olive oil and is produced with no chemicals. It’s generally darker than more refined oil. However, it’s this darkness that holds the most nutrition.
Virgin olive oil is oil can be a more refined oil and is generally less than 2% acidity. This oil may also be mixed with olive oils from different farms or producers.
Refined olive oil is produced using different methods such as chemicals, steam and other modern techniques. This oil is not high quality like extra virgin olive oil and generally cost less. The old saying that you get what you pay for is just as true for olive oil as it is for anything else.
Standard or 100% pure olive oil is generally a highly refine oil and is likely to be mixed with other olive oil from different batches and even different countries. They’re allowed to put the label of ‘pure olive oil’ on the bottle as long as it’s not mixed with other oils. This is one thing that confuses consumers.
Flavored olive oils are olive oil that is mixed with herbs or other types of oils such as sunflower, canola, flax or macadamia. Some producers use their lesser quality oil for their flavored oils so that the blended oil will hide the flavor of the lesser oil. While this is not true for all blended oils, you should experiment in order to find your favorite type of oil before buying any in quantity.