Despite Rachel Ray's persistence on me adding Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or as she refers to it...EVOO) to my kitchen arsenal, I held out until about a year ago. I used to use butter to brown and sear my food when I cooked, and decided it was time for a healthier option, so I made my way to the grocery store. I was overwhelmed as I stood and stared at the rows upon rows of oils - vegetable, soy, canola, peanut, coconut, sunflower, and of course olive. I narrowed my selection down to olive oil...and still had several rows to decipher! Not knowing what I was looking at or for, I grabbed a mid-range priced bottle of Extra Virgin. I happened to like my choice, but still had no idea why it was Extra Virgin!
After a little research (and info from my brother), I learned that olive oil is graded by the amount of times it is pressed, if it is filtered, and and how much processing it has endured. So here is what I have learned, and hopefully it will help you out next time you peruse the oils at the grocery store!
Extra Virgin - Extra virgin olive oil is only pressed once. It is the olive oil in its most natural state. This is considered the best of the four types of olive oil. This type of olive oil, instead of being pressed after being heated and using chemicals, goes though a cold press. Chemically speaking, extra virgin olive oil has less than 1% free oleic acid in it. This type of olive oil is darker in color, has a richer flavor, and a stronger aroma! You will find both "filtered" and "unfiltered" varieties or extra virgin. The unfiltered has very fine bits of the olive fruit in it, and it often settles to the bottom. It will add a little more flavor to your cooking, but it does shorten the shelf life of the olive oil!
Virgin - The only difference between extra virgin and virgin is that virgin is pressed twice. Otherwise the process and classification is nearly identical!
Pure - Pure olive oil is made from lower quality virgin oil. This oil is refined by using thermal, chemical, and mechanical processes. Once this oil is refined, it is practically colorless, odorless, and flavorless. To make it more appealing to consumers and our taste buds, companies add a small quantity of virgin olive oil to it! Sometimes you will see pure olive oil labeled as just olive oil at the grocery store.
Light Olive Oil - Light olive oil is pure olive oil that has less virgin olive oil added to it, and am sorry to report that the only things light about it are its color, flavor, and aroma! Light olive oil actually has the same amount of fat and calories as other olive oils!
When storing your olive oil, do not expose it to direct sunlight (i.e. keeping it on a window ledge)! Heat and light will make your olive oil turn nasty - so keep it in a dark cool place! If properly stored, your olive oil can have a shelf life of up to 2 years. You can also use olive oil to replace other oils or butter in recipes, including cakes and cookies...I just wouldn't recommend doing this if you are making something where butter is the dominant flavor, such as sugar cookies!
