Important characteristics of Olive Oil

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a fantastic product for your health that we must always include in our diet. It is also a very versatile product that has many uses, such as for the production of cosmetic products as well as many other common uses in our homes. Although for the healthy properties, the higher the quality of the oil, the better its properties are enhanced. Therefore, here we are going to give you the characteristics of olive oil that you should buy and that will help you in its selection. You will then get all the health benefits of this Spanish product, which is so essential for your health. That is why it is a must in our kitchen!

Summary: A high-quality extra virgin olive oil has a unique flavor and properties. These properties and aromas are enhanced by good harvesting, milling, and preservation practices. So here we look at what to look for in a good EVOO, how to choose the best without going for the most expensive, and what to look out for when buying. Likewise, we explain all this information to you in person in our store in Las Rozas de Madrid and you also have here the best selection of oils in Spain: Oro Bailen, El Empiedro, Oro del Desierto, Casas Hualdo, etc.

Related articles: Where to buy a good olive oil? Benefits of hydroxytyrosol, an oil compound Mild or intense olive oil, which is better? Olive oil acidity, what do you need to know?

1. Characteristics of olive oil that we should know

Firstly, among the characteristics of olive oil that we have to know, these are the most important:

a) Acidity of olive oil

Acidity indicates the amount of free fatty acids in 100 grams of extra virgin oilve oil. As the most abundant fatty acid in olive oil is oleic fatty acid, we can say that acidity is the amount of oleic fatty acids in 100 grams of oil.

Acidity depends on the quality of the extra virgin olive oil, but it also depends on others factor. Other factors like its geographical place, soil and weahter. For this reason we cannot indicate that an oil with lower acidity is better than another one due to its acidity.

Photo 1: Olives in June

b) Year of harvest:

Year of harvest is other the characteritics of olive oil which are very important when it comes to controling the quality. Always an oil of the year is going to have greater flavor and greater beneficial components for the health.

That is why we should not buy large quantities of olive oil at the endof the season. Your will get a better price but a olive oil with less health properties and aroma.

c) Colour of the oil

Olive oils should have a color that ranges from light yellow to dark green. This color variation depends on the variety, the milling process, the freshness, and the place of origin.

An excessively clarified oil in relation to its sensory profile suggests the possibility of being an oxidized and therefore deteriorated oil. The darkness of the color is not as relevant as long as it matches the usual sensory profile of the oil. Generally, freshly milled oils tend to have a more intense green color, which fades over time.

The presence of fruit residue suspended in freshly milled and unfiltered extra virgin olive oil is an indication of its purity and authenticity. These oils are called “aceites de oliva en rama” and are most recommended at the beginning of the season.

d) The design

Design of beautiful bottles with colors that lead us to think that the oil is of more quality, it is only a facade. The design of the bottle has nothing to do with it. This is always the case when we talk about the same type of packaging. Logically, it will always be better to pack the oil in a bag in box, tin or glass.

e) The tradition

Finally, just because our parents or grandparents bought the same brand does not mean it is a good oil. Great brands are built on a good market and a good image, and they end up exploiting this until they sink.

Next we are going to give you other important information when buying a good extra virgin olive oil.

Video 1: Characteristics of olive oil

2. When does an olive oil bring us all its benefits?

Secondly, in order to buy a good extra virgin with all its benefits we have to pay attention and know well the characteristics of olive oil. Its most important characteristics are the following:

a) Absolutely irreproachable smell of olives.

If olive oil is “odourless”, it is because it has either lost its healthy and natural qualities. Therefore it is not an Extra Virgin olive oil. In this case, it is probably old, unscented olive oil. An OVOVE without vitamins, nor antioxidants and with a high peroxide index. The smell of the oil, however, is attenuated over time.

Furthermore, if the olive oil smells “rancid” (characteristic smell reminiscent of machine oil) it is because it has reached the highest possible degree of decomposition. The smell is due to the presence in it of aldehydes and ketones that volatilize. It is a deeply deteriorated oil that must be rejected immediately and must not be interfered with under any circumstances, as it is highly harmful.

Photo 3: Oil from Castillo de Canena

b) Good packaging

All of the products easily absorb the odours of the environment to which they are exposed, even if they are in plastic containers. The plastic is permeable to gases.

Adding foreign substances to Extra Virgin Olive Oil to enhance its taste and smell is a wrong practice, because the additives alter the true smell and taste of the oil and can also oxidize it and change its most interesting properties and qualities. It is another thing to do when it is consumed.

c) Year of harvest

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is absolutely different from all other vegetable fats. A fat with extraordinary qualities and high quality. But these virtues are progressively lost over time, due to oxidation, and all the more so the less protected it is.

The result of the oxidation of an oil is peroxides and other harmful products. Oxidation is accelerated by heat, light, oxygen in the air and the possible presence of iron which acts as a catalyst. The most suitable materials for conserving oil are opaque glass and steel, but not iron containers. However, high-density plastic (PET) is used in the trade to reduce costs. This must be used with a high degree of rotation, because it is permeable to oxygen in the air and is transparent to light.

It must be properly protected from external oxidising agents such as oxygen, strong light and heat. It must be young and recent (of the year) so that the inevitable process of oxidation is poorly developed.

Photo 4: Olive oil from Jaén in bag in box

3. Factors that deteriorate olive oil

All categories of edible olive oil can only be purchased packaged. In other countries in Europe and the world it can be sold in bulk. However, in Spain this has been banned since we had the rapeseed oil problem where 60 000 people died.

We can find bottled olive oil in various formats: bag in box, tin, glass and PET (plastic). Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. However, each one will protect the oil better or worse from external factors that deteriorate and oxidize the oil. Factors that oxidize it and take away the most important characteristics of extra virgin olive oil. These destructive factors would be the following:

a) Time:

Against time we can do nothing. What is clear is that the more recent the oil is, the better the quality, flavour and aroma it will have. However, if we can delay its deterioration with good conservation.

b) Light:

The oil can be protected from light, by means of the container or by storing it in a dark place, as light accelerates its oxidation.

c) Temperature:

The ideal temperature for storing olive oil is around 15. The temperature is independent of the container. However, in the large deposits of cooperatives and oil mills, due to the volume of their tanks, the oil suffers slower variations in its temperature changes.

d) Oxygen:

Oxygen is the reason why the oil oxidizes and deteriorates. It is the oxygen that initiates the oxidation of the fatty acid molecules and it is the olive oil’s antioxidants that neutralise this deterioration.

Without oxygen the oil would hardly suffer deterioration. However, during the same milling process, the oil comes into contact with the air and therefore with oxygen. Once the milling process is finished, part of the oxygen remains in the oil.

Therefore, these four variables are the ones we have to take into account when storing the olive oil in the best conditions.

In short, these are the characteristics of olive oil that we have to take into account. In this way we can buy a good extra virgin olive oil

4. Conservation of olive oil

In the cooperatives and oil mills, they inject nitrogen into the olive oil to remove the oxygen inside. They then leave a layer of nitrogen on top of the tank to prevent the oxygen from coming into contact with the oil. For this reason, the olive oil is very well stored in the large tanks of the oil mills

Also, in bag-in-boxes, cans and glass bottles, olive oil can be stored very well for many years. In the plastic we do not recommend more than 6 months, regardless of the variety.

The variety is not a factor that alters the olive oil, each variety has more or less stability against oxidation. The Cornicabra and Picual varieties are the most stable. Varieties that have a fatty acid composition rich in monounsaturated fats. The arbequina and empeltre varieties with a proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, they are much more unstable varieties. Bear in mind that a polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidizes and deteriorates much more easily.

a) How to preserve extra virgin olive oil at home

If you want to keep your olive oil in the best conditions, you should take into account the following points:

1. Keep the oil in a cool place, between 10 and 15 ºC.
2. Keep it in a place away from light, especially if it is kept in transparent containers.
3. Avoid storing it in damp places and near sources of odour.

Repeating from other articles, we always recommend that the extra virgin olive oil is from the last oil campaign.

Photo 5: Analysis of the characteristics of olive oil extra virgin

5. Some frequently asked questions

Many times when customers come by the shop or call us, you ask us the following questions:

a) Why don’t all oils taste the same?

Depending on the variety, the moment of milling, the climatic and edaphological characteristics the olive takes on different aromas, therefore we have oils with different aromas, flavours.

b) Does the oil lose its properties when heated?

Yes, extra virgin olive oil, like any other product, loses properties when it is heated. What is true is that it loses less than other types of oil.

c) What has more calories than sunflower oil or olive oil?

Sunflower oil has around 880 calories per 100 g, in the case of olive oil around 900 calories per 100 g. The difference is small, but when frying, olive oil penetrates less into the product, and when raw, olive oil gives much more flavour. Therefore, olive oil is slightly more calorific.

Photo 6: Oil from Castillo de Canena

6. News about olive oil

News of olive oil can be found in a large number of media. If you are looking for important news, they will appear in any newspaper in Andalusia, as it is the largest producer of oil. However, we will also give you other references, so that you can find out about more specific olive oil news, as well as state promotions that are being made and new recipes with olive oil.

Among the most interesting pages about olive oil, we have

a) Olive Oil Times

Magazine in several languages, among them English and Spanish that is specialized in news about olive oil.

b) Aceitedeoliva.com

Website specialized in news about olive oil and containing a large number of recipes to prepare with extra virgin olive oil.

c) Olimerca

Magazine specialized in olive oil. It is interesting to subscribe to their news channel, where they send you all the news about olive oil. Also, you can find more information about characteristics of olive oil.

Source

The newspaper. Characteristics of olive oil that we must know ABC

Specialized Magazine of Olive Oil, Olive oil Times