1 Answer

Differences Between Extra-Virgin,
Fine Virgin, and Ordinary Virgin Olive Oil

Extra-virgin olive oils must have an acidity of less than 1 percent. The organoleptic properties must rate at least 6.5 on an Italian tasting panel's scale of 1 to 10.

Virgin olive oils, on the other hand, may have an acidity between 1 and 2 percent. Its organoleptic values must score 5.5 or higher. There are other requirements for each of these designations, as well.

The International Olive Oil Council assigned different designations to virgin olive oil:

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is virgin olive oil that has a minimum organoleptic rating of 6.5 out of 10, and low acidity under 1%. It is the oil of the highest quality, and boasts a perfect, fruity taste, and with a color that can range from crystalline champagne to greenish-golden to bright green. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil can be used in endless ways in the kitchen, and in Italy it has been a traditional ingredient in everything from antipasti to desserts. It is best used raw in salads, in order to enjoy its real flavor. Because of the time-consuming process required to manufacture extra-virgin oil, and its limited production volume, true extra-virgin olive oils are expensive. Thus, any inexpensive olive oil labeled "extra-virgin" is probably not authentic.
Beneath Extra-Virgin Olive Oil comes Fine Virgin Olive Oil. Like virgin oil, it is also cold-pressed. It has an organoleptic rating of 5.5 or more and an acidity of max 1.5 percent. Quality oils are obtained when the olives are crushed as quickly as possible, since any storage would trigger a fermentation process in the fruit, making the oil produced increasingly acidic and undesirable in both flavor and aroma.
Semi-Fine or Ordinary Virgin Olive Oil is another virgin olive oil. It only has an organoleptic rating of 3.5 or more and acidity of max 3.3 percent. When properly processed, Ordinary Virgin Olive Oil maintains the purity of the fruit's flavor, aroma, and vitamins. The International Olive Oil Institute recommends using pure olive oil for frying, since the flavor of extra-virgin olive oil tends to break down at frying temperatures.

15 years ago. Rating: 4
Comment this answer Add new comment