Extra virgin oil oil

It seems we're always grabbing for a bottle of "good" olive oil. For the most part, cookbook authors are referring to extra-virgin olive oil, the almighty elixir that sits a bit higher on the supermarket shelf than the regular version. But what exactly makes a bottle of EVOO so much more prized—and expensive—than its paler, more affordable brother? Extra-virgin olive oil is made from pure, cold-pressed olives, whereas regular olive oil is a blend, including both cold-pressed and processed oils. EVOO is made by grinding olives into a paste , then pressing them to extract the oil. There's no heat involved, hence the " cold-pressed " label you often encounter.

The numerous varieties you might see at your local super market can be mind-boggling, and using terms such as light, pure, classic, virgin, extra-virgin, first cold pressed and unfiltered to describe what's inside a bottle or tin doesn't always make it easy to pick the oil suitable for your culinary needs. If all these oils are all from olives then what exactly is the difference between one grade and another? Although different species of olives grown in different countries can certainly create different tasting olive oils, the overall quality of an finished oil is determined by the process used in producing it. However, it is worth knowing that the process used to produce the oil is chosen after testing the quality of the raw oil extracted from the olives.

In fact, people tend to live longer and healthier lives in regions where olive oil is a staple part of the diet. Extra Virgin Olive Oil EVOO is the highest quality olive oil available, extracted from the olive fruit without the use of any heat or chemicals. Regular olive oil is refined and stripped of important nutrients and antioxidants.

Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives the fruit of Olea europaea ; family Oleaceae , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. The oil is produced by pressing whole olives. It is commonly used in cooking, for frying foods or as a salad dressing. It is also used in cosmetics , pharmaceuticals , and soaps , and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps , and has additional uses in some religions.