Common Olive Oil Terms to Know

Olive oil is a widely-used ingredient. It’s delicious and offers plenty of health benefits (at least in comparison to other oils), and it has a variety of flavors to complement different dishes. When it comes to different olive oil types and terms, however, not everyone is as informed.

Here’s an overview of common olive oil terms, so you’ll never have to ask, “What is extra virgin olive oil?” again.

Get to know these olive oil terms

Here are some of the most common olive oil terms you should know:

• Cold-pressed: Cold pressing simply means extracting oil from the olives at a temperature under 81.9°F. This is the way extra virgin olive oil is made. Because there’s no heat or chemical additives involved, the olive extracted is in its purest form. The nutritional content remains intact, and the flavor and aromas are bright and intense. Lower-quality olive oils might be created with the help of heat and additives. That can affect the flavor and scent and remove some of olive oil’s key health benefits. When you’re looking for a great olive oil, make sure to find out if it was cold-pressed.
• Extra virgin: Extra virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of any given olives. Every batch is pressed multiple times to extract as much oil as possible, but the first batch is the one with the most flavor and quality. An extra virgin olive oil has no more than 0.08 grams of oleic acid per 100 grams of olive oil. It must also be free from any defects, like unpleasant flavors (including not tasting like olives). Extra virgin is the highest-quality olive oil. Choose this type of olive oil whenever the oil is a significant part of your dish’s flavor profile, like a drizzle of olive oil on top of bread or pasta.
• Unrefined: Unrefined oils haven’t been processed or treated after pressing, so you might get tiny pieces of olive or visible sediment in the bottle. That’s a feature, not a bug—all extra virgin olive oil is unrefined. Some labels call special attention to this fact—but now you know that even if the label doesn’t specifically mention it, your extra virgin olive oil has not been treated or processed.
• Organic: Organic olive oil is grown without the use of harmful pesticides or herbicides. The farmers responsible for growing the olive crops use natural ways to cut down on insects, invasive plants and chemical fertilizers. This is particularly important because high-quality olive oil isn’t treated. You’re more likely to suffer ill effects from non-organic, chemically-treated olives. To get the best nutrition, look for extra virgin olive oil that’s been grown on an organic farm.

Now that you know what extra virgin olive oil is and what these olive oil terms mean, the only thing left to do is source your perfect olive oil. When you want to create your own private label olive oil line, Liquid Manufacturing Solutions, Inc. is standing by to help. Call us today to get started.

Categorized in: Olive Oil Supplier