You Don’t Have To Be A Chef To Read An Olive Oil Label
Olive oil has been with us as long as olive oil, at least 6,000 years. It is mentioned many times in the Christian Bible, was named a saint by the Prophet Muhammad of Islam, and is celebrated on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It is the best oil of Western civilization, a traditional lubricant of kings, bishops, and temples.
Olive oil is easily digested and helps our body assimilate vitamins and minerals. It helps the digestive system by stimulating the gallbladder. Olive oil is low in cholesterol and contains 70% monounsaturated fats, which lower bad cholesterol (LDL). It contains chlorophyll, which promotes metabolism, stimulates cell growth, and accelerates the healing process. And they don’t contain trans fats.
Olives grow in areas such as the Mediterranean, where summers are hot, dry, and mild winters. With more than 300 million olive trees, Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil with 44%. Most of the production of Spanish olive oil is exported to Italy, both for use and repackaging for export as Italian olive oil. The Andalusian region accounts for 75% of Spanish olive oil production.
Choosing the right olive oil can be a daunting task — the words used on the labels are sometimes confusing and often confusing, and the difference between the oils is often blurred. What you need to know to choose the right olive oil for your table or kitchen:
Olive oil — Olive oil from countries that are members of the International Olive Oil Council (including, of course, Spain) has strict labeling and packaging rules. The distances specified by the IOOC are as follows:
- Extra virgin olive oil comes from the initial olive pressure, the acidity does not exceed 0.8%, and has a high taste. Extra virgin olive oil may contain refined oils.
- Virgin olive oil is considered to have less than 2% acidity and to taste good. Olive oil does not contain pure oil.
- Pure olive oil is a combination of pure olive oil and refined olive oil with an acidity not exceeding 1%.
- Ordinary olive oil is also a mixture of pure and refined olive oil whose acidity does not exceed 3.3%.
- Olive oil is rare on the market but is sometimes used in cooking in restaurants. Olive oil from high-quality olive oil residues is ready to use, but not so sweet.
- It should be noted that these definitions only apply to olive oil produced in IOOC member countries, ie American olive oil may or may not meet these criteria. The USDA does not recognize any of the above terms, but instead uses terms such as “beautiful” and “optional,” as it has been since 1948, so you can put the words extra virgin olive oil in the strawberry pudding and make it legal.
- Remember that when separating extra virgin olive oil from pure olive oil, the only taste is taken into account. These are just two of the many labels you may want to use when the taste of the oil is important to the outcome of the meal.
You can see other things on the Olive Oil tab
100% Pure Olive Oil — If you don’t know what that means, it’s a little confusing. Pure olive oil is the cheapest in stores, but the word pure may seem too high to some. Needless to say, pure olive oil is an excellent choice for further use, we will find out soon.
Made from pure oil — The term refined is often associated with increased purity, but for olive oil, it means that the taste and acidity are altered by synthetic means. Refined oils often start with low-quality olives and suffer from the taste of real olives. They undergo heat treatment and acid reduction chemicals, go through a detailed process to remove chemical residues, and then stabilize with a small amount of pure or added oil to obtain a specific taste and color. Agricultural scale for the production of a silk bag for a pig’s ear.
Olive Oil Lite — or ordinary olive oil. While olive oil contains 120 calories per tablespoon, including olive oil.