Extra Virgin - what does that inscription on the bottle of oil

"Extra virgin" - the characteristic used to refer to the quality of olive oil. It is based on the determination of a basic parameter of this useful food product of acidity.

Oil "Extra virgin"

Olive oil - a valuable food product, which contains a large amount of useful unsaturated fatty acids. Scientists claim that their regular consumption contributes to the activation of the cleaning processes in the body, lowers cholesterol and thus prevents the development of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases.

However, it should be borne in mind that such properties has not all olive oil. The fact is that today there are various technologies of its production, including those in the process of applying the olive which the raw material is subjected to heat, chemicals and other factors that significantly reduce the utility of the finished product.

Therefore, in order to be able to distinguish between varieties of olive oil, created using various technologies, in the international community producers have developed special names for each of them. So, the cheapest and low quality oil, made their meal of olives, which had once been pressed: it is denoted by marking "Pomace olive oil". Refined oil, referred to as "Refined", subjected to additional chemical treatment, making it can be used for frying, but it loses part of its useful properties. The healthy and high quality olive oil made from olives by way of the first cold pressing is called "Virgin": in the manufacturing process, the raw materials are never heated above the temperature in 27оС.

The label "Extra virgin" is assigned to those grades of oil in the "Virgin" that meet stringent expert requirements for acidity of the finished product: the acid content in olive oil cultivar "Extra virgin" must not exceed 1%. Some companies are known for especially stringent requirements as produced their oil, set the limit value for the oil acidity level of 0.8%.

Oils are "Extra virgin"

However, oil Extra virgin" can also differ. Thus, the label of the oil you can see mention of the fact that it is single-sorted or blended: this means that this oil is made from olives of the same or different varieties, respectively. The best oil Extra virgin" is the product labelled D. O. P. (denominacion de origen protegida). This marking is used to refer to a product produced in a specific region, and the oil in this case is pressed directly on the spot of collection of the olives, not exposed to damage during transportation.