So, I don't know about you but I looove me some Olive oil and that's on some juicy Kalamata olives (those are the large dark purplish ones, if ya didn’t know!) Not only is olive oil great for dipping, dressing and adding to your foods, like when I make my “bad boy” homemade pesto. Mmmm!
But it can really take a meal to the next level, with its distinctive flavour and aroma.
We’ve all heard the Olive oil hype, where people are banging on about how good it is for us so I’m here to tell you they’re right. Olive oil has a host of health benefits, including antioxidants, vitamins, anti bacterial and polyphenol factors but the problem is, not all Olive oil is made equally.
Some Olive oil's are top tier, costing up to a whooping £100 a bottle, whilst others are affordable yet possess a significant dip in quality.
So, what should we look out for when buying Olive oil? Ah ha, now you’re talking! But before I give you my brief take on that, let me quickly explain what Extra Virgin Olive Oil is.
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) is made from the pressing of Olives and if you said it was Olive juice, you wouldn’t be wrong. The “extra” part of its name, refers to the grade of the Olive oil and indicates its quality.
There are different types of Olive oils and often times the quality is determined by its extraction and mechanical process, which gives us grades of Olive oil that include Virgin Olive Oil and regular or sometimes called “Pure” Olive Oil. Of the 3, only the latter, uses heat during its production, making EVOO and virgin olive oil, superior in comparison as they benefit from being “cold pressed”, retaining its flavour, nutrition aroma and freshness.
So, what should we look for and how do we go about choosing our Olive Oil?
Here are 5 things to pay attention to:
1) Packaging
You’ve probably seen EVOO in plastic, tin and glass bottles. But generally speaking, is one better than the other?
Well, the overall quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil can vary depending on how the oil is bottled and stored. Like all oils, oxidation and degradation can happen over time, therefore, it’s useful to know how to maintain a longer shelf life.
Plastics are permeable, meaning the oil can get rancid, due to the amount of oxygen that plastic allows to pass through its material. Unlike, glass or tin, plastic allows exposure to sunlight and heat, which in turn, can further degrade oil, from the free radicals. So glass and tin are by far, a better option when buying EVOO. They also preserve and protect the oil, are better temperature controlled than plastic and they prevent the leaching of chemicals.
2) Polyphenols
Polyphenols are natural compounds found in foods including Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Because of their potent antioxidant properties, the advantages of polyphenols have been making the rounds, with purported benefits to include a reduction in neurological diseases like dementia, improved heart and cardiovascular health, anti inflammatory and reduces cancer risk by way of Oleuropein, helping type 2 diabetics as an aid to increase insulin sensitivity. When it comes to polyphenols, things get serious as there are regulations. In accordance to the Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, to be classed as a high polyphenol EVOO, the polyphenols must be above 250 mg/Kg and an intake of 20g of Olive oil daily (a volume of 1.537 tbsp) is needed to obtain reported health benefits. Olive oil polyphenols help to protect blood lipids from oxidative stress.
3) Harvest/Region
Knowing when an oil was harvested and what region it came from, can go a long way. Earlier harvests can boost phenolic content and as such, EVOO must be pressed within 24 to 72 hours. The best sources of EVOO will most likely indicate their harvest period clearly on the bottle as this is information an Olive oil connoisseur will be looking for, along with the region in which the harvest was produced. Unlike wine, Olive oil won’t taste better with age so the harvest period helps you know how fresh your oil is and indicates how long you might expect your oil to keep its flavour. Typically EVOO has a shelf life of 12-18months after harvest and how you store it at home can affect this greatly. Some say to retain the oil’s integrity and flavour, it should be consumed within 6 months of being opened. However, I have found that some oil’s depending on packaging, i.e dark glass, tins… have retained flavour even 10 months later, so there are lots of variables to consider.
As a rule of thumb, you want to go with an EVOO that tells you the country of origin, so keep an eye out for the first 2 initials of the country i.e GR for Greece and IT for Italy. I’ve seen some mixed oils, from different regions but I’m not sure about these and whether their quality is compromised in anyway as a result. So I would stick to single country origin, it’s probably easier to track, regulate and better quality. You’ll find that some bottles indicate the processing mechanism i.e "mechanical", whilst others do not. I don’t think this is essential but it can help you decide on what EVOO to go for. Greece is one of the regions purported to produce some of the best quality EVOO.
4) Acidity
When choosing EVOO, another key area is the oil’s oleic acid level. Furthermore, this factor determines whether or not the oil is considered “extra virgin” or simply “virgin oil”. The amount of oleic acid the International Olive Council says is needed to be classified an “extra virgin” oil, is no more than 0.8%. An Olive Oil’s Oleic acid level is important because it determines the oil’s overall quality. At lower oleic acid levels, it would produce a higher quality of Olive oil than an oil that had a higher oleic acid count, this is because of the length of time the olives are sitting on the tree prior to harvesting and the duration of time between its harvest and the extraction.
5) Price
They say you get what you pay for but these days, I’m not so sure anymore. What I do know, is that cheap EVOO in plastic bottles, usually stink! So save your money and get some good stuff. It last way longer too.
What EVOO am I currently using?
I use these 2:
Karyatis Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
For dressing, dipping, marinades, topping and pouring over my dishes when I have finished cooking (when the food's cooling down of course.)
And I use Biotopos EVOO as medicine, taking 1 tablespoon a day. This one has a polyphenol count of 522 mg/Kg, an acidity of 0.25% and is from Messenia, Greece (pics below)
The highest polyphenol count EVOO for the year 2024 is NOVEMBER, A dark bottled EVOO from Greece, boasting a total of 746 mg/Kg with 0.25% acidity and can run you around £26 on Amazon for 500ml. Due to its high polyphenol content, November is considered medical grade Olive oil.
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