Extra Virgin Olive Oil at Manufacturer Direct Prices | Bonamini Olive Oil

Frequently Asked Questions About Olive Oil

1. What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
2. Then, what is regular Olive Oil?
3. Is one Olive Oil just as good as another?
4. How does Extra Virgin Olive Oil play a role in healthy diet?
5. What Olive Oil should I buy?
6. Can I cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
7. What are some good tips in buying Olive Oil?
8. How is Olive Oil Classified?

What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Extra virgin olive oil can be made from just about any of the thousand varieties of olives that grow around the Mediterranean basin. What separates extra virgin olive oil from ordinary olive oil is not how it's grown but the way it is produced. The olives should be a healthy fruit harvested between half-ripe and fully ripe. Then they must be cold pressed. For extra virgin oil they can only be pressed mechanically, using no chemical solvents to extract the oil. This must be done within hours from harvest. The freshly pressed oil is then separated from the vegetable water that occurs naturally in the live fruits. Finally, if the free oleic fatty acid content of the oil is below the 0.8% standard set by the International Olive Oil Council, and if the oil is judged by a tasting panel to be free of defect, only then can it be called extra virgin.

Then, what is regular Olive Oil?

Regular olive oil is not pure olive oil (which confusingly, used to be called pure olive oil). Regular olive oil is oil that is disqualified from extra-virgin because of the unpleasant aromas and flavors and other objectionable qualities. For example the oleic fatty acid content being above 0.8%. This oil can still be used but it must be treated with solvents. The solvents are used to remove the unpleasant aromas and flavors, then a small amount of extra virgin or virgin oil may be added back to give the oil some character.

Is one Olive Oil just as good as another?

Extra olive oil is always to be preferred. Both oils are high in monounsaturated fatty acids, but that is just one part of what makes olive oil good for us. Extra virgin oil is untreated, keeping it rich in valuable polyphenols, indicators of antioxidants, which helps contribute to maintaining good health. Extra virgin olive oil is the foundation of the healthy Mediterranean diet. Regular olive oils lack this rich concentration of valuable polyphenols.    

How does Extra Virgin Olive Oil play a role in healthy diet?

First of all, Monounsaturated fats help the human body reduce harmful LDL cholesterol while helping by stabilizing and also increasing the HDL cholesterol. The antioxidants found in the extra-virgin oil (but not in regular olive oils) act as a clean up crew in the blood. They help by getting rid of the free radicals that we produce in our body naturally, and are increased with body polluting activities such as smoking and breathing in smog. These monunsaturated fats help protect against heart disease and the antioxidants shield as against many types of cancer.

What Olive Oil should I buy?

Since there is a large range of flavors in olive oils the best way to tell is by tasting. Ligurian region of Italy usually produce a sweet bland taste of olive oil were as a more robust flavor comes from Tuscany and Umbria. Southern Italian oils from Puglia , Sicily and Calabria have a fruitier flavor to the oil. Many cooks prefer to have more than one variety of oil, as one might complement a particular food better than another.

Can I cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Absolutely, an old myth about extra virgin olive oil having a low smoke point which makes it unacceptable for cooking is unfounded. Mediterranean cooks, as well as many of the finest chefs add extra virgin olive oil in their fired up cooking pots even in deep-fat frying. Many believe that there is crisp crunchy texture produced in using extra virgin olive oil as opposed to other oils when it comes to frying.

What are some good tips in buying Olive Oil?

The most important thing to look for when buying olive oil is to look for the “use by” date or its harvest date. Oils used within two years of their harvest are at their prime. Olive oil should be stored in a cool dark location, so avoid buying oilve oil displayed in clear glass in a sunny shop window. If you are unsure, buy a few varieties in a small amount and try them. Use them for cooking, and as a flavor enhancer on prepared food. Try drizzling some on food as a substitute for butter. There are many ways to add olive oil to a healthy diet.  

How is Olive Oil Classified?

Olive oil, a staple in the Mediterranean diet, has many valuable properties. It slows down cellular aging, helps digestion and aids in the absorption of minerals, help prevent tumors and cardiovascular diseases and aids in regulating cholesterol amounts in the bloodstream. All oils obtained by processing olives are term “Olive oil”, but it is important to know the differences between their categories and qualities. The natural balance of its fatty acids and unique make-up rich in antioxidants and vitamin E are special characteristics only found in extra virgin olive oil. Analytical-sensory parameter, explaining the method for evaluating those parameters are the basis defining olive oils by European Law. They have been classified as follows: Virgin olive oils This oil comes about from pressing olives that have only been washed, decanted centrifuged and filtered. Oils obtained using any other treatments such as solvents, chemicals or biochemical additives or blended with oils of other origin are not in this category.

Virgin olive oils are divided into these categories:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil has no sensory defect and its acidity is 0.85 maximum.

Virgin Olive Oil
Virgin olive oil has minor sensory defect and its acidity ranges from between 0.8 and 2%.

Lampante Virgin Olive Oil
Lampante virgin olive oil has an acidity higher than 2% and is not suited for consumption.

Refined Olive Oil
This oil is obtained by taking lampante oil and correcting its analytical and sensory defects. Its acidity must not exceed 0.3%. Olive oil Oil obtained by blending olive oils with virgin or extra virgin olive oil, not exceeding its acidity of 1%.

Unrefined Pomace Oil
This oil is obtained by extraction using solvents, by means of physical processes, from the residues leftover after processing olives for virgin oils. Refined pomace oil Oil obtained by correcting unrefined pomace oil having an acidity not to exceed 0.3%.

Pomace Oil
This oil is obtained by blending refined pomace oil with extra virgin or virgin olive oil having an acidity not exceeding 1%.

A NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT Extra virgin olive oil is obtained only by pressing olives and is used directly without any physical-chemical treatments. Extra virgin olive oils are made up of 98% triglcerides. Because of their quantity, but not their importance the other 2% is what are known as minor components. The fatty fraction includes all the fatty acids, such as oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids, that form the basis of the “traditional” nutritional value of extra virgin olive oil. The nutritional quality of olive oil, was in the past, attributed to its high levels of oleic acid. Since currently high levels of this acid are also found in certain sunflower and rapeseed mixtures, it is precisely these minor components that make extra virgin olive oil a fatty substance with unique chemical properties. Although minor components represent only 2% of the oil's weight they are a group of over 230 substances that belong to different chemical classes: volatile compounds, aliphatic and terpenic alcohols, phenols, carotenoids, sterols, chlorophylls, and aldehydes. There are over 180 compounds that give extra virgin olive oils their many different kinds of fragrances, such as flowers, green apple, and grass. Carotenes, such as ß-carotene and lutein give the oil a yellow color, while chlorophylls and pheophytins give it a green color. Among minor components there are natural antioxidants, including tocopherols and hydrophilic substances, which play an important part in giving extra olive oil its nutritional and health value. It is during the oil extraction process that, from the substance that are already in the olives that these components are formed: hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol belonging to the phenyl-alcohols class and oleuropein, demethyloleuropein, ligustroside and verbascoside, known as secoiridoides. Recently, olive pits have been confirmed to have the presence of another secoiridoide: nuzhenide; and also another type of phenolic compound known as lignans, found both in the pits and pulp, and to which pinoresinol and acetoxypinoresinol belong. Phenolic substances help the oil from becoming rancid by protecting the oil from the natural oxidizing process. There are studies also showing a number of health properties. Inhibiting platelet aggregation. Involvement in the synthesis of thromboxane in human cells. Inhibiting the oxidation of phopholipids and cholesterol. Inducing apoptosis and cell differentiation in tumour cells. Showing that not only do these components protect oil from going rancid but play an important role in preventing certain types of tumour and preventing cardiovascular diseases. Natural antioxidants not only give oil its spiciness and bitterness but have beneficial health properties. Farming and technological production conditions are a high influence to the virgin olive oil's sensory and health properties and need to be managed properly to obtain high quality oil.