What does olive oil being “virgin” or “extra virgin” mean?
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It’s to do with how they extract the oil from the olives, regular cheap olive oil used a combination of heat and chemicals – whereas virgin olive oil is extracted naturally with no additives, and extra virgin is the most pure concentration of olive oil so it’s the most healthy for you
I’ve seen a few things saying that olive oil is extremely commonly diluted, even if it says extra virgin quite often the farmer selling it has diluted it
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Extra virgin olive oil is typically the first oil extracted from the olive. Ideally, it’s preferred to be extracted by a cold press method because heating the oil during processing changes its characteristics and flavor.
Virgin oil would be extracted in much the same way after the extra virgin oil. From there, the processing method changes. Heat or steam can be added to help extract more oil but the resulting product doesn’t taste anything like its extra virgin counterpart. It’s used for a less expensive alternative to extra virgin olive oil, and also tends to be the oil of choice in commercial or industrial food production where it’s considered favorable to have “olive oil” listed as one of the ingredients on the label.
In short, extra virgin olive oil is the most naturally processed and least tampered with of the different olive oil grades and it tends to have more noticeable and complex flavors.
Recommended reading – *Extra Virginity* by Tom Mueller. Gets into the history and trade of olive oil. And things like mafia involvement in the industry. And the lack of regulation.
Good read.
People already gave good answers. I will just throw my 2 cents. In stores, if you see botle of oil labeled as extra virgin oil, its most probably fake. If you want good quality oil, you need to find your own supplier, and avoid buying it in stores.
When we say “virgin” and “extra virgin” olive oil, we are talking about how the oil is made. Olive oil comes from pressing or squeezing olives, which are small, round fruits that grow on olive trees.
“Extra virgin” olive oil is the highest quality and the purest form of olive oil. It’s like getting the very best juice from the olives without using any chemicals or heat. The olives are carefully picked, washed, and then pressed to extract the oil. This process keeps the oil natural and healthy, with a fresh taste and beautiful green color.
On the other hand, “virgin” olive oil is also pure, but it might have a little bit of processing involved. This could be due to some gentle heating or filtering to make the oil smoother. It’s still a good choice and healthier than other types of cooking oils, but it’s not as pure as “extra virgin” olive oil.
Both “virgin” and “extra virgin” olive oils are great for cooking and making delicious food. They have healthy fats that are good for our bodies and make our meals taste wonderful. So, when you see “extra virgin” on the bottle, you know it’s the very best and healthiest choice!
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If you’ve got 20 minutes there’s a great in depth video on YouTube (https://youtu.be/9oK6MBYGpb8). The video gets a lot of it’s information from the book ‘Extra Virginity’.
tl:dr It’s just grading. Extra virgin oil has the fewest undesirable qualities, followed by virgin, then refined oils. You could extract it any which way, but you’re most likely to get high grade oil from certain methods, so people tend to equate extra virgin to cold pressed and all. But it’s just a grade.
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