We tell you how extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and virgin olive oil (VOO) differ and we dispel a few myths when choosing which is better.
Olive oil is one of the products that makes us Mediterranean people feel most proud. It is delicious, it is healthy, it is useful… it is essential on our table. However, it is curious to see the lack of information among the population about this golden liquid.
What is the difference between a virgin and an extra virgin? What is an oil taster? What benefits does it have for health? Which oil is better? Is it worth the price difference? All these questions, and some more, are general knowledge that every oil consumer should know and that today we are going to clarify once and for all.
What is virgin olive oil?
Virgin olive oil, or VOO, is that which is extracted directly from the harvesting and pressing of the olive. No other type of chemical treatment is done, only physical and simple, which is why the process is called virgin. This type of oil is fragrant, spicy most of the time, and with a particular, fatty, fresh, and pleasant flavor, at least in the case of quality virgin oils.
What is extra virgin olive oil?
Like EVOO, EVOO comes from the solely mechanical pressing and processing of the olive and is an oil considered to be of the highest quality. This not only refers to its molecular and nutritional composition but also its organoleptic composition. The adjective “extra” refers specifically to it being of extraordinary quality. How are they different, then?
How are virgin and extra virgin olive oil different?
VOO oil and EVOO, by their acronym, have some unique characteristics as food, and we are not referring to a nutritional and organoleptic level, but rather a legal one. According to Regulation (EEC) No 1234/2007, also known as the “Single Regulation for CMOs” (Common Market Organizations), for an olive oil to be sold, it must meet certain specific parameters.
Olive oil (along with bottled mineral water) is the only food that by law has to be tasted, in Spain, by a panel of experts. Before going on sale, every oil must go through a laboratory control that includes the evaluation of its quality by a group of tasters. These evaluate both the positive attributes and unique characteristics as well as their defects. The tasting is quite simple, and it obtains the average of the evaluations of these professional tasters to give a result.
From that tasting, precisely, in addition to the laboratory results, the virgin or extra olive oils come out. Tasters look for organoleptic defects or extra qualities in the oil. If the oil has no defects, then it can be classified as EVOO. If it has some small defects but is still good quality, it will be sold as AOV. These defects, as we will see a little later, arise from the processing of the olive, or from its initial quality.
So, according to the results of the tasting and the laboratory, how do one oil differ from another?
Fatty acid content
According to Regulation (EEC) No. 1234/2007, extra virgin olive oil must have a minimum oleic acid content of 82% and a maximum linoleic acid content of 2%. If it meets these characteristics, it can be called EVOO.
On the other hand, virgin olive oil must have a minimum oleic acid content of 78% and a maximum linoleic acid content of 3%, which differs from EVOO. If it does not reach the above figures, the oil cannot be called “extra”.
Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid present mainly in olive oil and known for its benefits for cardiovascular health. For its part, linoleic acid is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid, predominant in vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, necessary for bodily functions and which must be obtained through the diet.
Indicted
The production of olive oil, roughly speaking, can be summarized in three phases. The olive is usually harvested early, stored, and processed by crushing it. The paste is pressed and the oil is collected after mechanically filtering it. After these two phases, it is tasted, analyzed, and bottled if it is suitable for consumption.
How is this process different in olive oil from extra olive oil? Well, basically, in the care given to it, as well as the quality of the raw material and the treatment applied to it. Many of the defects that an oil can acquire appear during storage or processing. For example, if the olive is damaged a lot during harvesting, it can go bad, or if it is stored for too long, it can become “trojan” (it begins to ferment and rot, acquiring defects). All of this will be noticeable in the final product, reducing its chances of being called extra or even discontinuing it as AOV.
The myths when differentiating between virgin and extra olive oil
When it comes to differentiating between these two types of oil, there are different myths and legends that we want to discuss in detail. On many occasions, acidity, color, price or nutritional properties are used to distinguish one from another, but this is not always correct.
Acidity
The acidity of oils is one of the eternal values discussed colloquially. This is due to various marketing campaigns that have helped spread misunderstood or fallacious ideas. The acidity in the oil is a way to measure the amount of fatty acids that have been released into the oil. In other words, a chemical value that indicates the percentage amount of free oleic fatty acid. For example, an olive has a grade of 0. As the olive is processed, the triglycerides break down, releasing the oleic acid and increasing the acidity.
That is, acidity is a way to measure the degradation of the oil. In reality, it is more complicated than this, and the acidity responds to several properties of the oil. However, to simplify (overly), we can say that the lower its acidity, the higher its quality, although this, again, is not always the case. Currently, the acidity level of the oils is no longer indicated because it caused errors in consumer perception. An acidic or low oil is not always directly related to its quality, even though it is an indicator.
According to legislation, for an oil to be considered EVOO, it must have a degree less than or equal to 0.8, and for it to fall within the EVOO category, less than or equal to 2. On the other hand, this property only It can be measured accurately in the laboratory, although it can affect the intensity of the flavor. In any case, although many brands and people continue to use it, it is not a very objective or practical characteristic when measuring the quality of the oil due to its inaccuracies or complexity.
The color
Another of the great myths about oil, but with even less foundation than that of acidity, is that of color. The idea is that the greener an oil is, the better quality it is. However, this is not so. The green color generally corresponds to chlorophyll or pigments that do not contribute anything positive per se to the product. Therefore, there is no difference in color between EVOO and EVOO, but it can change depending on the origin and processing of the oil and does not indicate higher quality.
The price
The price, in reality, does not depend so much on whether it is an AOV or an EVOO, but on the brand and its quality. This means that an EVOO can be more expensive than an EVOO. In the end, an EVOO that has no defects, but also no remarkable properties, may be flatter, or less attractive, than an EVOO that does not meet laboratory parameters (such as the amount of oleic acid) but has a high-quality organoleptic profile.
Therefore, as with wines or other foods, there are authentic gourmet products, with abysmal price differences determined by their producers. In the same range, an AOV and an EVOO do not usually differ from each other more than just a few cents per liter, normally.
Nutritional properties
Although it may seem otherwise, based on what was said above, virgin and extra olive oil do not have a particularly different nutritional profile. Both are very healthy (in fact, some of the healthiest fats known) and have numerous health benefits. Among its features we will find:
- High-quality fatty acids: Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid. These fatty acids have been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease. EVOO has a little more content than EVOO.
- Lots of antioxidants: Olive oil contains polyphenols, vitamin E, and other antioxidants that protect cells from oxidative damage. Here more than if it is EVOO or EVOO, the amount will depend on the oil itself, although an EVOO usually has more possibilities of having antioxidants.
- Phytosterols: Both VOO and EVOO contain phytosterols, which can help reduce blood cholesterol levels.
- Vitamin K: Olive oil contains vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting and bone health.
Its nutritional profile is approximately the following. For every 100 g of EVOO:
- Calories: 884 kcal
- Fats: 100.0 g
- Sodio: < 0,1 g
- Saturated fat: 13.8 g
- Monounsaturated fats: 73.0 g
- Polyunsaturated fats: 10.5 g
- Vitamin E: 14.3 mg
- Vitamin K: < 0.1 mg
- Calcium: 1.0 mg
- Iron: 0.6 mg
- Potassium: 1.0 mg
It is important to keep in mind that the nutritional properties of olive oil may vary depending on the variety of olive, the production process, and other factors. However, in general, olive oil is considered a very healthy fat, probably the most.
Polyphenols, tocopherol, and other antioxidants in the oil
One of the most important factors of the benefits that virgin olive oil offers is the antioxidants. Like many vegetables, the olive is rich in various antioxidants. And which of the two oils has more of these beneficial substances? Well, this does not depend so much on whether it is virgin or extra virgin, although its process can affect both the presence of antioxidants and the properties that give it the quality of extra or not.