The Russians got acquainted with olive oil relatively recently, far from many people know its categories, grade and selection criteria. This article is devoted to the topic of which brand of olive oil is better in a series of similar products. In addition to the rating review, the material provides information on the benefits of olive oil, methods for its production, quality standards and selection criteria.
The value of olive oil and its differences from others
A unique feature of the olive tree is that it grows on average for about 500 years and actively bears fruit throughout its entire age. Moreover, the age of some trees totals 1500 and even 2000 years. It is these who grow on the Olive Mountain in Jerusalem.
What brand of olive oil is best used for salads is a very topical issue, especially on the eve of the vegetable season. Salads with it are very tasty and healthy. Olive oil contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients. In particular, it contains vitamins A, E, D, K, as well as polyphenols. They have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, digestion and skin condition.
Compared to other types of oil, olive is highly digestible due to its high content of oleic acid, which is the main among fatty acids in the human body.
Methods for producing olive oil
Raw olives are inedible and unsuitable for eating, as they have a very bitter taste. To get rid of it, the fruits are soaked in a special solution. Despite this, the best brands of olive oil often have a specific bitter smell and taste, which not everyone likes. This should be kept in mind when choosing an oil.
The manufacturing process of the product lies in the fact that the seeds, cleaned from seeds, are pressed well, constantly mixing the mass. After this procedure, oil is squeezed out of the olives using special centrifuges. So it turns out the oil of the first extraction. It is always a little bit bitter.
The remaining cake is reused, removing the second-pressed oil. It is cleaned of impurities and bitterness with the help of chemicals, so it does not have an unpleasant odor and taste.
Types of oil by production methods
Depending on the marking used on the label, the oil differs in the preparation method. Possible markings: Virgin, Refined, Pomace .
- Virgin is a natural oil obtained by cold pressing. Such a product preserves all nutrients, minerals and vitamins. He has only one minus - it has a limited shelf life. Mistresses around the world are confident that Virgin is the best olive oil. The brand (reviews confirm this) is in great demand.
- Refined is also a natural olive oil, however refined using physical and chemical processes. Refining occurs as follows: the fruits of the olive tree are ground and poured with a chemical solvent, an analogue of gasoline, - hexane. Under its influence, oil is extracted from the fruits, which merges. Residual hexane is removed with water vapor, then with alkali. In the next step, the product is bleached and deodorized.
- Pomace - olive products obtained by the method of secondary extraction using physical and chemical technologies.
Virgin olive oil
- Extra virgin olive oil - with this designation, the best Extra Virgin extra virgin olive oil grades are produced. The acidity of such oils does not exceed 0.8 / 100 grams.
- Virgin olive oil is a marking for first-pressed oil, the acidity of which is no more than 2/100 grams. Such a product is obtained from olives, which were subjected to mechanical or physical stresses, including temperature. Such oils were cleaned only with natural components and certain technologies - water, filtration, decantation, centrifugation.
- Ordinary virgin olive oil is also an oil of the first extraction, the acidity of which does not exceed the indicator of 3.3 / 100 grams. In its manufacture, only natural (virgin) methods were used.
Refined olive oil
Such an oil is obtained from raw materials of the first extraction by the method of refining. Its acidity is 0.3 / 100 grams. Such a product is obtained using physicochemical technologies aimed at eliminating odor, acidity and a bitter taste. These oils are considered less quality.
Pomace olive oil
- Olive-pomace oil is a product that consists of a mixture of refined and first-pressed oil. Its acidity is 1/100 grams. A similar characteristic applies to those oils that are obtained by pressing from a meal using solvents and other physical procedures.
- Refined olive-pomace oil - oil from cake, obtained by refining using physical and chemical technologies. The acidity of such a product is 0.3 / 100 grams.
Quality criteria
Even in their category, oils can vary in quality parameters. During the tasting, parameters such as:
- Acidity - means the level of oleic acid in 100 grams of the product. This indicator does not affect taste. It is believed that the lower the acidity, the higher the quality of the oil.
- Color. Shades of oil can be in yellow and green ranges - depending on the variety of fruits, their ripeness and processing method.
- The aroma. Oil that has been exposed to sunlight for a long time loses its aroma. Normally, its fragrance is determined by a number of volatile substances - alcohol, hydrocarbon, aldehyde, ethers.
- Taste. Natural oils have a very rich, intense, bitter-sweet or salty taste. A bad sign is a rancid taste, watery, vinegar or metallic.
- Shelf life. The parameter that should be noted here is the bottling date. The fresher it is, the better the quality of the product will be. That is why olive oil is never bought in reserve. Store bottles with it should be in dark cabinets in a container of dark glass. Shelf life of oil should not exceed 1 year.
Another significant parameter of real olive oil is that when stored in a refrigerator, it falls to the bottom in large flakes. Do not think that the product has deteriorated, as this is a very good indicator of quality. After the oil warms up, the flakes disappear. However, experts do not recommend storing it in the refrigerator. Preference should be given to dry shaded places.
The bottle cap must close very tightly. It is very important: oil should be stored in glass or metal cans. A real high-quality product is never sold in plastic, as it is able to break down the top layer of polyethylene, as a result of which harmful substances enter the food. The same, by the way, applies to other types of vegetable oils. The best brands of olive oil are unrefined, this should be borne in mind primarily when buying this product.
Organoleptic quality assessment
Tasting oils, professionals say that they should taste like fresh olives. In addition, the smell of freshly cut grass, plucked lettuce leaves is possible. Even the smells of chocolate and anise shades are allowed.
In order to understand the richness of the taste of this product, it is heated to a temperature of +200 ° C, after which it is applied to a glass plate with a thin layer and rubbed with the back of your hand. The best olive oil (the brand does not matter here) corresponds to the above characteristics.
When evaluating the color, oil is poured into a glass in an amount of 50 ml and viewed through reflected light on a white background. The important thing is that not only the color is evaluated, but also various color shades. It is believed that the greener the product, the higher its quality. In fact, this is only partly true, since the color of the oil depends on what kind of fruit it is produced from.
Therefore, it is worth focusing on a set of indicators: color, smell, taste. If the oil has a yellow color, but it smells aromatic and has the right taste, then this suggests that, most likely, black olives were used to make the product, not olives.
Olive Oil Rating
It is not so simple to answer unequivocally the question of which brand of olive oil is better. Experts conduct complex studies to answer this question. Here are the results of one of them. In 2014, the well-known product quality assessment agency SIC NPE “Test” conducted a comparative study of 11 famous brands of Extra Virgin class olive oil. When evaluating products, parameters such as:
- brand authenticity;
- compliance of the composition with the declared;
- ultraviolet absorption;
- organoleptic assessment of properties.
The best olive oil (brand, photo specially presented in this article) must meet all of the above requirements. The study involved brands such as: Mana Gea, Prize, Borges, Maestro de Oliva, Hellas, ABEA, Costa d'Oro, ITLV, Monini, Oscar and Ravika.
Excellent marks were awarded to oils by Mana Gea, Premium, Borges. Maestro de Oliva oil yielded to the leaders, earning a rating of "good." All these products are fully compliant with Extra Virgin labeling. Therefore, the answer to the question which brand of olive oil is better in this series is obvious: it is one that in all respects corresponds to its category.
The remaining 7 brands also turned out to be acceptable olive oils, however, they yielded to the leaders of the rating in a number of ways, as a result of which their rating was "bad." This means that they do not comply with the Extra Virgin labeling.
Choosing the right oil
It should be noted that the answer to the question which brand of olive oil is better does not explain whether this oil is suitable for solving certain culinary problems. So, for example, experienced culinary specialists keep several varieties of olive oil on their table. Determine which of them is most suitable for certain dishes.
So, the best olive oil for salads is Extra Virgin oil. It will also be an excellent "companion" to pizza, pasta, milk porridge and other dishes that allow you to feel the taste of the product.
However, it is completely unsuitable for frying. What brand of olive oil is best for stewing, baking and roasting? Refined grade oil. The fact is that Extra Virgin is rich in minerals, which decompose when frying, forming carcinogens and smoke. Refined oil is purified from these substances, so it can be safely used for frying and cooking other dishes associated with high-temperature processing.