Scan the grocery store shelves for olive oil, and what do you see? Virgin, extra virgin, pure, light — what the hell’s the difference??
Chef Gui Alinat sheds some much-needed light on which oil is which.
For my own reference, I’ll list the definitions here. (What, you don’t use your blog to help you stock your cupboard?)
- Extra Virgin: Top-notch highest quality, cold-pressed, extremely low acidity (less than 0.8 percent).
- Virgin: Almost as good as Extra Virgin, also cold-pressed, slightly higher acidity (0.8 to 3 percent).
- Pure: Low-quality, chemically-processed, higher acidity.
- Just “olive oil” (no descriptor): Midrange-quality, blend of Extra Virgin/Virgin and Pure, low acidity (less than 1 percent).
- Light: Low-quality, generally the same as Pure (only pricier).
So the keyword is “virgin”. But isn’t it always…
Trackback this entry: Right-click and copy link
Comment form closed to reduce comment-spam opportunities. Sorry about the inconvenience. Please feel free to respond to this post via Trackback and/or Pingback!
You should try some Grapeseed Oil
Comment by jillian — 08/24/2004 @ 11:08:02 PM