6 Different Types Of Olive Oil With Images

Olive oil is used for in culinary but besides cooking it is also used to soothe dry skin, and in medicine where it is used to for individual with health concerns. In this guide, we will tackle everything that you need to know about olive oil, the different types of olive oil, its health benefits as well as how cooking oils is used in cooking and how to properly store the olive oi. Continue reading if you want to know more details about olive oil.

Different Types Of Olive Oil

Olive oil has 4 main types: Extra virgin olive oil, Virgin olive oil, Pure olive oil and Light olive oil. Let us talk more about each of these olive oil types.

Extra virgin olive oil

Extra Virgin Olive oil or EVOO is the preferred type of olive oil by most individuals. Aside from the health benefits and its superior taste, there are also other reasons:

First, Extra virgin olive oil is made by mechanical method and not treated with heat nor there are chemicals added to the oil. This means that it is cold pressed. Cold pressed involves pressing the olives, the oil is then separated from its pulp through the process of centrifugation. The oil is then filtered to remove any solid that is still remaining.

Next, EVOO has moderate amounts of Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Also rich in Polyphenols, which acts as an anti inflammatory properties and anti oxidant.

Extra virgin olive oil have two subcategories: Extra virgin olive oil and premium extra virgin olive oil. The former is more acidic where it is recorded to be 0.8% acidic (according to IOC regulations) or 1% while the latter has low acid content, as low as 0.22%/

Either a which category of EVOO you use, both has the same fruity, peppery taste that of an olive fruit. Extra virgin olive oil features either pale yellow to bright green in color. The color depends on the type of olives used.

Most of the time, Extra virgin olive oil is used in cooking and baking however it can also be used in dishes such as salad dressing, dipping oil and finishing oil.

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Virgin Olive Oil

This type of olive oil is rarely found in grocery stores and supermarkets. It is similar to Extra virgin olive oil or EVOO wherein it is also unrefined but with Virgin olive oil the quality is lower and with an acidity of around 1.5%.

As mentioned, Virgin olive oil is similar to Extra virgin olive oil simply because it is mechanically extracted. This means that there are no chemical added or heat used therefore it has the same health benefits of EVOO.

Virgin olive oil have 3 subcategories: Fine virgin olive oil, Virgin olive oil and Semi-fine virgin olive oil.

Fine virgin olive oil has an acidity level of no more than 1.5%. Also, it is less expensive as compared to extra virgin olive oil, though both have the same quality and often tastes better when not cooked.

Virgin olive oils on the other hand has an acidity level of 2 % or even less. Similar to virgin oils, there is no refined oil that is why virgin olive oils are usually used for cooking.

Meanwhile, a semi fine virgin olive oil has an acidity level of less than 3.3%. It is also best used for cooking, though it does not have a food flavor when uncooked as compared with other two virgin olive oil categories.

Virgin olive oil is used similar to extra virgin olive oil but other uses includes: sautéing, frying lightly, baking and even roasting.

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Pure Olive Oil

Pure Olive oil is also refer to as Regular olive oil. Or even simply referred to as Olive oil. It is called Pure because this type of olive oil only contains Olive oil. Although there are times where it is mixed with about 15% if virgin oil and about 75% is refined olive oil. This type of olive oil can be easily found in grocery stores and supermarkets.

Pure olive oil goes through different processes such as heat, chemicals and filtration. And with that, pure olive oil or regular olive oil has lesser content of bioactive compounds as compared to EVOO or Virgin olive oil.

Pure Olive oil is lighter in color than Extra virgin olive oil and also has a milder taste and mild smell.

Since this type of olive oil has a higher smoke point than Extra virgin olive oil, it is usually used as cooking oil. Other ways to use Pure olive oil includes: Sautéing, roasting, searing, baking, grilling and frying. It is often used as infused oils.

Aside from cooking, the skin can also benefit from using Pure olive oil by adding extra moisture. You can either scrub to the skin or on your scalp.

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Light olive oil/ Extra Light olive oil

Another types of olive oil is the light Olive oil. Although it is named as light olive oil (extra light olive oil), it does not necessarily mean that this type of oil has low caloric content or has low fat content. The “light” that it is referring to is the flavor of the oil, and not its calorie content.

Similar to Pure olive oil, Light olive oil or extra light olive oil is also a blend of oils and it also has a higher smoke point as compared to extra virgin olive oil. Basically, a light olive oil is a mixture of refined olive oil and at least 5 to 10 percent of virgin olive oil. With light olive oil, it is treated using heat and chemicals too to remove defects in flavors.

Given that light olive oils have lower virgin olive oil content, the health benefit of this type of olive oil is also decreased. Although aside from how light olive oil is being processed and has a lighter color, there is not much of a difference with other olive oil types.

Since as mentioned it has high smoke point, therefore it does not usually break down even in very high temperatures that is why it can withstand cooking methods over high heat cooking.

Light olive oils can be used in cooking methods such as sautéing, roasting, searing, grilling, frying and baking.

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Olive Pomace Oil

Most of the time, Olive oil is cold pressed using a machine. But with this process, the oil is not completely removed from the olive fruit and still remains on its pulp or also called as Pomace. To be able to remove the remaining oil of the olive from its pomace, it uses chemicals and high heat. The oil then becomes Olive Pomace Oil.

Olive Pomace oils lacks the color, the taste and even the smell compared to Extra virgin olive oils. Although pomace olive oil seen available for purchase in grocery stores and supermarkets.

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Flavored Olive Oils

Another types of olive oil where different ingredients are added to the plain olive oil for new taste and flavor. This can help enhance the flavor of a dish without the need to add more ingredients. Just make sure that the bottle is labeled as refined olive oils or extra virgin olive oils.

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Healthy Benefits of Extra virgin olive oils

1. Rich in healthy Fats: Extra virgin olive oil is made up of Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fats. It has an anti inflammatory (omega-9 fatty acid) known to help improve insulin levels in our body.
2. Good source of Antioxidants: an extra virgin olive oil compound called Polyphenols (rich in antioxidant that helps protect damage from free radicals.
3. Reduce Risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes: shown to have a positive effects on the body’s blood sugar level.
4. Helps with weight control: Although a tbsp. of olive oil contains at least 14 grams of fat, it is actually a good fat or healthy fat. When consumed, it helps reduce the need to eat or helps control one’s hunger.
5. Remove harmful bacteria from the body: helps fight harmful bacteria especially the Helicobacter Pylori that is responsible for causing issues on the stomach such as ulcers.

Tips on how to choose Extra virgin olive oil

Listed below are some of the things that you need to consider when choosing the kind of extra virgin olive oil.

• Name: Make sure you carefully look at the label on the bottle to know if it is labeled as cold pressed extra virgin olive oil or often labeled as just Extra virgin olive oil.
• Origin: EVOO that are made from a single state or region is considered to be of quality olive oil and with good flavor.
• Acidity level: the acidity level of Extra virgin olive oil should not exceed 0.8%. The lower the acidity level of the olive oil, the better it is. The highest EVOO quality should have at least 0.3% or even less. Although there are some products that do not print the acidity levels on its labels therefore when in doubt, you might want to take a look at the brand of the olive oil and do some research.
• Date of harvest: make sure to have access to the freshest oils. Unopened EVOO bottle usually lasts for about 2 years. When purchasing online, you might want to take a look at the harvest date printed on the labels
• Packaging: when exposed to sunlight, extra virgin olive oil often degrade. That is why if you will notice, most of the bottles used are either a dark glass or in tin containers. Therefore, look for bottles of oil that uses dark glass bottle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

There are different types of olive nowadays, and each type is very useful especially in cooking. The most popular and widely used type is the EVOO or Extra virgin olive oil that any kitchen should have. Though it would also be nice if you can keep in your pantry other types as well, especially those that can be used with high heat.