What is done to olive oil to make it "extra virgin"?

Answer 1

The difference between extra virgin olive oil and all others is what has NOT been done to it. Most olive oil undergoes a heating process during pressing (olive oil is still made by simply pressing and grinding the olives in most places). This heating process allows up to 10 % more oil to be extracted, but also allows for many impurities to be mixed in with the oil. Extra virgin olive oil is never heated, so you have none of the impurities that sometimes add a bitter or unpleasant flavor.

Answer 2

Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil

Answer 3

Extra virgin olive oil is just the first pressing of the olives. That's why it's a darker color than regular olive oil.

Answer 4

Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the olive, a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is used in cooking, cosmetics, soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps. Olive oil is regarded as a healthful dietary oil because of its high content of monounsaturated fat and polyphenols.

The International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) sets standards of quality used by the major olive oil producing countries. IOOC terminology is precise, but it can lead to confusion between the words that describe production and the words used on retail labels. Olive oil is classified by how it was produced, by its chemistry, and by its flavor.

Since IOOC standards are complex, the labels in stores (except in the US -- see below) clearly show an oil's grade:

Extra-virgin olive oil
comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil.

Virgin olive oil
with an acidity less than 2%, and judged to have a good taste. There can be no refined oil in virgin olive oil.

Olive oil
is a blend of virgin oil and refined virgin oil, containing at most 1% acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor.

Olive-pomace oil
is a blend of refined pomace olive oil and possibly some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, but it may not be called olive oil.

Lampante oil
is olive oil not used for consumption; lampante comes from olive oil's ancient use as fuel in oil-burning lamps.


The United States is not a member of the IOOC and therefore the retail grades listed above have no legal meaning in the US. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which controls this aspect of labeling, currently lists four grades of olive oil: Fancy, Choice, Standard, Substandard. These were established in 1948. The grades are based on acidity, absence of defects, odor and flavor.
While the USDA is considering adopting labeling rules that parallel the international standards, until they do so terms like "extra virgin" may be applied to any grade of oil. As a consequence, the US is a dumping ground for old and mislabeled olive oil.

Answer 5

Nothing. Extra virgin is oil from the first pressing.

Answer 6

The first pressing of the olives. Repeated pressings start to make the oil more bitter.

Answer 7

It's processed less than virgin and other olive oils.

Answer 8

some people right here got here close, yet no person has extremely hit the nail on the top yet. The grades of oil extracted from the olive fruit might nicely be labeled as: Virgin - skill the oil grew to become into produced by way of using actual skill and no chemical medical care. subtle - skill that the oil has been chemically dealt with to neutralize stable tastes (characterised as defects) and neutralize the acid content cloth (unfastened fatty acids). subtle oil is often recognized as decrease high quality than virgin oil; the retail labels greater effective-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil can't contain any subtle oil. greater effective-virgin olive oil - comes from virgin oil production basically, includes no greater effective than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a extreme-high quality flavor. greater effective Virgin olive oil money owed for decrease than 10% of oil in lots of producing countries. that's used on salads, further on the table to soups and stews and for dipping. organic olive oil. Oils labeled as organic olive oil or Olive oil are in lots of cases a mixture of subtle and virgin production oil. "First chilly pressed" is a separate term, it skill that the fruit of the olive grew to become into overwhelmed precisely one time-i.e., the 1st press. no longer that they've been the 1st olives harvested, or the 1st to fall off the tree! The chilly refers back to the temperature variety of the fruit on the time that's overwhelmed. apart from, there is not any "2nd" press of virgin oil, so the term "first press" skill basically that the oil grew to become into produced in a press vs. different obtainable strategies.

Answer 9

Virgin simply means how much it is processed. The more "extra" it is, the less it is processed.

Answer 10

it is based on how much it is pressed/filtered or whateva