Organic Olive Oil: Characteristics, Benefits, and Differences
You have most likely heard chefs or cooking enthusiasts discuss regular olive oil and organic olive oil, and you probably wondered what the differences are. Isn't regular olive oil the same one extracted from olives?
Production of cooking oil is a complex process, and there are notable differences between the two types of oils extracted from the same source, and the same applies to olives. There's actually a sea of differences between regular olive oil and organic olive oil, and in this guide, we'll walk you through those differences, as well as the characteristics and benefits of organic olive oil.
How Organic Olive Oil Is Made?
The production of non-GMO organic olive oil requires more than just letting the olives grow and extracting them via pressing. The process involves growing olives in olive groves that have their weeds and pests controlled organically.
In most cases, these aren't reduced by pesticides and herbicides but rather by manual human labor or by employing animals. Sheep and goats are often used for weak control, as they graze on unwanted vegetation between olive trees, while chickens, ducks, and guinea fowl are used to deal with invertebrate pests, such as insects and ticks.
This means that the olives harvested from these groves aren't contaminated by chemicals. After harvesting, the olives are watched and then cold pressed to get the highest grade of olive oil, the unrefined organic extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO).
Following the cold press, the crushed olives are then turned into a paste and centrifuged to extract water and oils. Regular oil is gained when you refine virgin olive oil using heat into refined olive oil. A small bit of EVOO is added to the refined oils to get regular olive oils.
Many manufacturers sell regular oil with the EVOO label, so make sure that the product you're buying has a "Certified Organic" sticker on it and that it's stored in a glass bottle; the latter isn't a requirement.
Characteristics of Organic Olive Oil
It's important to note that organic olive oil varies in taste (ranging from fruity to peppery) and color significantly, depending on several different factors, like the ripeness of the olives, the type of olives used, and when it was harvested.
EVOO is just a cold-pressed olive juice, which is produced without heat and additives, so variety is to be expected. Refined oils, on the other hand, are processed en masse, and they're often lighter in color and flavor, with very little variance across the different product lots.
Additionally, EVOOs also differ in taste and color according to the geographic location; while they're grown in the Mediterranean, the olive oils from Greece aren't the same as Italian olive oils produced in Italy or even Spain.
Top Benefits of Organic Olive Oil
High-quality olive oils contain a great deal of saturated fats, also known as good fats, that are beneficial to your LDL cholesterol, and they contain plenty of antioxidants and polyphenols with very little to no acidity.
This promotes cardiovascular health and has anti-inflammatory effects on the body. Additionally, organic olive oil is great for practicing culinary arts; it's used for sauteing, baking, and frying, but it's also used for soup, marinades, and salad dressings.
