In many of the bottles of glass or plastic it is said that olive oil is extra virgin or simple. The label given to olive oil can cause confusion and often the brand of olive oil does not mind.
The consumer confidence in the olive oil production industry is declining.This business has faced all the time allegations of fraud because more and more frequent press and television detect scary schemes of fraud with olive oil.
Just a while ago, a fraud scheme was discovered in Italy with the export of a non-quality olive oil sold as an extra virgin olive oil.
How to Understand Descriptions in Olive Oil Bottles
Extra virgin oils, virgin oil and pure oil are quite different terms from each other.
According to the standards of the International Council for Olives, four types of extra virgin olive oil are counted.
The difference between them lies in the level of free fatty acids or more simply in the quality of the olives when processed.
The damaged, old, over-processed olives contain high level of oleic acid.
This makes the olive in a lower quality.
Quality is also judged through taste and flavor test.
Extra virgin oil has 0.8 percent of fatty acids and pure taste.
The oil should be extracted mechanically and non-chemical.
Virgin oil has a level of free fatty acids ranging from 0.8 to 2 percent and may have some kind of defect in taste.
Ordinary olive oil has a level of fatty acids ranging from 2 to 3.3 percent.
It is known as pure oil, but this name is given only for advertising because there is no meaning in scientific terms.
How to Test Olive Oil
As in the case of wine, testing and tasting of olive oil is an art in its own.
According to studies it is recommended to spill some oil in a glass.
Place one hand underneath and the other over the top.
Then rotate it lightly.
The palm of your hand will warm the oil and the aroma will remain in your hand where you can smell it.
Then drink some olive oil
Olives collected before the season have a sour taste resembling to pepper.
That is a very good thing.
The gathering of olives at a later time gives the oil a smoother flavor.
The oil can often have the taste and smell of fresh grass, but it should never have the taste and smell of mud or plastic.
How To Buy The Best Oil
The label should check the date of the collection of olives or the date of production.
The primary quality of olive oil lasts one year from the time of production.
Two essential components are in quality olive oil: to be extra virgin and to be the product of that year.
If the oil is foreign, be careful about the origin of the import, which should be clear.
Read the label carefully.
The glass bottle should be of a dark color.
Extra virgin olive oil, well preserved, has a lifespan of about one year. With passing of the years loses the values.