When it comes to picking out the oil for your cooking, everyone knows the difference between vegetable oil and olive oil. But things get a little trickier when you start looking at the various types of olive oil. Extra virgin? Pure? Light? Are these all the same? And your recipes are no help since they usually call for just olive oil. So, what do you do?
Luckily, we’re here to help guide you along your olive oil journey!My Fit Foods is here to dive into the oily debate and settle the differences between extra virgin olive oil and regular olive oil once and for all.
What’s the Difference Between the Olive Oils?
Essentially, all olive oil comes from the same place: olives. When discussing the differences between various olive oils, it’s important to know that the names describe the process of extracting oil from the olives rather than designating between species of olives. It also describes any additives in the process of purifying and extracting the oil.
Most of the world’s olive oils come from the Mediterranean areas like Italy, Greece, and Spain. If you’ve ever tried olive oil by itself, you know that it often has a buttery taste with a hint of spice. It’s also one of the healthiest oils for cooking, which is why so many people like it. The omega-9 fatty acid in olive oil, known as oleic acid, improves your heart health by helping you reduce blood pressure.
Making the Grade
Olive oil is graded based on the extraction process, what is added to the mixture, and the amount of free oleic acid, or overall acidity. Olive oil is also differentiated through refinement. Unrefined olive oil is pure and not treated with anything, whereas refined olive oil has been through treatments to eliminate any flaws in the oil.
There is another aspect to think about, outside of refined or unrefined olive oil. Some of the higher-quality brands advertise their olive oil as cold-pressed. Cold-pressed is the least intrusive manner of extracting oil and generates the highest quality of extra virgin olive oil.
Subbing In Different Oils
Before we dive into the four different types of olive oil below, it’s important to know that they all can function in the same way. If a recipe calls for extra virgin olive oil, you can absolutely use light, pure, or virgin olive oil instead. For recipes that require heat, you likely won’t be able to tell the difference between the oil varieties.
The only time it really matters is for cold dipping sauces and salad dressings. Most people would rather have the most flavorful oil since they’ll be tasting the olives instead of cooking it into their food. That’s where the pricier extra virgin olive oil truly shines and stands out from the rest.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil is an unrefined oil and the highest quality available on the market. The process for making extra virgin olive oil ensures that the oil has a low amount of free oleic acid and still retains a lot of the olives’ original flavor, as well as their natural vitamins and minerals. There are no extra chemicals added, nor has it been altered through high temperatures.
It typically hasless than 1% oleic acid, a much smaller amount than other varieties of olive oil. It’s made from pure, cold-pressed olives. The olives are ground into a paste and then pressed to extract the oil. It’s a time-consuming process, but it ensures that the oil keeps a lot of the great flavor and doesn’t need anything added.
Extra virgin olive oil is often much darker in color than other varieties of olive oil, but don’t base your assessment of olive oil grading solely on the color since they can vary somewhat between brands. The reason most people prefer extra virgin olive oil is that it contains numerous antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that add a little kick to their diet.
While many people choose extra virgin olive oil for cooking, it’s vital to note that it has a lower burning temperature than other varieties of olive oil. It’s often recommended to save extra virgin olive oil for dipping sauces, salad dressings, cold dishes, and similar foods that don’t require cooking since there’s nothing grosser than burning the oil in your dish.
Additionally, since the olive oil must pass such a high standard to qualify for extra virgin status, this type of olive oil is often the most expensive. Spend your money wisely, and don’t waste this fancier olive oil in baking or cooking when you could swap it out with regular olive oil. Use extra virgin olive oil for delicious salads like ourAsian salad for maximum flavor.
Virgin Olive Oil
The next step down on the grading scale is virgin olive oil. It’s similar to extra virgin olive oil as it’s unrefined and doesn’t have any added chemicals. The main difference is that virgin olive oil doesn’t have to maintain the rigorous standards required for extra virgin olive oil. As a result, virgin olive oil has a higher percentage of oleic acid and is less flavorful than extra virgin olive oil.
It’s unlikely that you’ll encounter virgin olive oil very often in chain grocery stores, however, since they prefer to offer customers options between extra virgin and regular olive oils. Instead of selling virgin olive oil that doesn’t pass the standards for extra virgin status, most production plants prefer to refine the olive oil by treating it and selling it as pure olive oil.
Despite its rarity, local grocers may carry bottles of virgin olive oil, and they can be a good compromise when you still want the flavor for salad dressings and sauces without paying the high price of extra virgin oil. If you find virgin olive oil, check the label to see if there are any additional chemicals to be sure of what you’re eating or cooking with.
Pure Olive Oil
Regular olive oil, or pure olive oil, is the best choice for cooking and baking since it is the cheapest. This is where you start to see refined olive oil. The refining process removes flaws from the oil through heat treatment and adds certain chemicals to improve it and make it worth selling. Regular olive oil is often a combination of virgin olive oil and pure olive oil.
Pure olive oil doesn’t have nearly as distinctive a taste as extra virgin olive oil, and it has an oleic acid level of 3-4%. It’s often required to have, at minimum,10% of virgin olive oil in the mix. It works best as a cooking oil since it doesn’t have the awesome olive flavor that most people expect from salad dressings and dips.
If you’re cooking a meal, you won’t need to worry about how your olive oil tastes. Most of the flavor is absorbed into the food or burned off as you increase the heat. That infused olive oil doesn’t need to have a fabulous taste, so it’s better to save your top-shelf oil for those yummy treats where flavor really counts.
Light Olive Oil
Don’t be fooled by the marketing ploy associated with light olive oil; the label has nothing to do with the healthiness or number of calories per serving. Light simply refers to the lighter olive flavoring. Light olive oil is completely refined and isn’t a mix, as opposed to pure olive oil. Light olive oil has little to no flavor and works best as a cooking or baking ingredient where you don’t want to be tasting olives anyway.
The MyFit Promise
Our founders believe that everyone should have access to the best ingredients in ready-to-eat meals to live long and healthy lives. That’s why we always note which type of olive oil was used in our dishes. You’ll find that the majority of our meals, either salads or baked goods, are made with extra virgin olive oil to ensure that your body gets the vitamins and minerals you need to thrive.
And an added bonus? For every four meals purchased through our website and program, we donate a meal to those in need. Delicious, healthy ingredients and meals shouldn’t only be available to the wealthy. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to eat right and save both time and money on the food preparation process.
Wrapping Things Up
With all of this fun-filled olive oil knowledge in mind, simply pick your favorite for each cooking quest as you explore the wide variety of olive oils in the grocery store. At My Fit Foods, we believe in using the freshest ingredients possible whenever you pick up a pan, and we bet you do too! So, simply select the pure olive oil for your cooking and baking needs to save yourself some money, and save the pricier extra virgin olive oil for high-end dips and salad dressings. And voila! It’s that simple. Happy cooking!
Sources:
What's the Difference Between Olive Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil | The Kitchn
Regular vs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Tasting Table
The Difference Between Pure Olive Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Caviar Star