| |
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
Welcome to the Greenwood.Net Curiosity Corner
Keep Track of your (Olive) Oil
Mar 22, 2010
Question: What’s the difference between extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil? (Asked by a curious olive-oil user.)
Reply: Olives are an old topic. The olive tree and olives are cited in ancient literature and mentioned over 30 times in the Bible – the dove brought back an olive leaf to Noah, the mount of Olives, and so on. Olives require a long, hot growing season and the major producers in the Mediterranean are Spain, Italy and Greece. Olives are grown in the United States in California, Arizona and Texas.
To get the oil, the olive fruit is ground into a paste and thinned so the oil droplets concentrate. The oil is extracted by means of pressure or centrifuge. The remnant solid substance is called pomace, and it still contains a small quantity of oil.
Olive oil is classified by how it was produced and by its chemistry and flavor. The International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), with 23 member countries, promotes olive oil and defines quality classification standards. Some 85 percent of the world’s olives is grown by IOOC members. The U.S. is not a member of the IOOC, and the Department of Agriculture (DOA) does not recognize the IOOC classifications. The DOA uses a different system.
Adjectives used in IOOC general classifications are:
Virgin – oil produced by physical means.
Refined – oil that has been chemically treated to neutralize strong taste.
Pomace – oil extracted from pomace by chemical means.
Then, the retail grades are:
* Extra-virgin olive oil. Comes from virgin oil production only and contains no more than 0.8 percent acidity.
* Virgin olive oil. Comes from virgin oil production only and has an acidity of less than 2 percent.
* Pure olive oil and Olive oil. Blends of virgin and refined production oils.
* Olive-pomace oil. Refined pomace olive oil possibly blended with some virgin oil.
Since the U.S. is not a member of the IOOC, these grades have no legal meaning and terms like “extra-virgin” may be used without legal restrictions. The U.S. grades are A, B, C, and D, with limits on fatty acids and rather loose definitions such as “reasonably free from defects” or “fairly free from defects.”
U.S. Customs regulations on “country of origin” state that if a nonorigin nation is shown on the label, such as “Imported from Italy” or just “Imported,” then the real origin must be shown on the label in comparable size letters. However, most brands have the origin on the back in very small print.
C.P.S. (Curious Postscript): I still say a church with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence. ~Doug MacLeod
Curious about something? Send your questions to Dr. Jerry D. Wilson, College of Science and Mathematics, Lander University, Greenwood, SC, 29649, or for e-mail, www.curiosity-corner.net. Selected questions will appear in the Curiosity Corner. © JDW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
