How to Choose Olive Oil
/There are what seems like a 1,000 different types of olive oils. So how do you know which one you should be buying?! Great question!
There are a few things you should be looking for:
Green Glass Bottle - Olive oil is easily oxidized. Meaning it breaks down in the presence of heat and light. Choosing glass is important because plastic also breaks down when exposed to light so you would be eating OO with plastic. A green tint to the bottle blocks the light to reduce oxidation.
Cold Pressed- Meaning the olives are only pressed to release their oil versus using heat. This keeps all of the healthy enzymes alive that are beneficial.
Virgin- This is the first time the olives have been pressed. Some companies will press olives a second time, typically with a heat source, to extract all of the oil. But most of the nutrients have already been squeezed out in the first round or are now damaged by the heat.
Origin Verification- A emblem that proves you are actually purchasing the olive oil it advertises. There was a large scandal where other oils or diluted OO were added to pure OO’s to reduce manufacturing costs. Now companies are going to great lengths with a seal of origin to prove their OO is pure and from one location.
Taste Test- When you take a spoonful of olive oil it should tingle and then after swallowing you should cough. Olive oils in other countries are rated by how much they make you cough. The higher the quality the stronger the cough
Go Organic- If you can I suggest going organic. It’s one less pesticide that you are consuming in the long run