Choosing Olive Oil

When you see a bottle of olive oil, read the label carefully. The wording is strictly controlled. A producer can only label ‘extra virgin olive oil’ under certain circumstances. The following descriptions will appear on labels:

Extra virgin olive oil

Superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means
(Acidity Max 0.8o)

Virgin olive oil

Olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means
(Acidity Max 2o)

Olive oil composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils

Oil comprising exclusively oils that have undergone refining and oils obtained directly from olives
(Acidity Max 1o)

Olive – pomace oil

Oil comprising exclusively oils obtained by treating the product obtained after the extraction of olive oil and oils obtained directly from olives
or
Oil comprising exclusively oils obtained by processing olive pomace oil and oils obtained directly from olives
(Acidity Max 1o)

Single estate oils

These extra virgin olive oils are pressed from olives grown on a single farm or olive grove. Sometimes the olive cultivar or species is also listed on the label. A certain amount of snobbery surrounds single estate oils. It can be very enjoyable to try them as part of a tasting and see how the flavours of extra virgin olive oils vary. But there are many consistently good extra virgin olive oils that are blended having been sourced from a number of farms or more than one press.