When it comes to cooking with oil, smoke points are very important. These numbers indicate at what temperature a particular type of oil will smoke at. If your cooking process goes above that, your oil may impart an unwanted burned flavor into your product.  This is key for allowing manufacturers to choose the right oils for their production. 

The accurate smoke point for each type of oil may depend on who you ask.  You may get different smoke point temperature information from different suppliers -- even when they are supplying the same type of oil.  Smoke points can also vary based on if the oil is high oleic, if it's refined, if it's expeller pressed vs. solvent, and many other characteristics.  

Olive Pomace Oil and Extra Light Olive Oil are two different types of olive oil with a lot of similarities and cross-over.  But how are they different? Today, we’ll tell you exactly how they are both similar and different from each other, along with what they are best used for.

Before we begin comparisons, let’s go through a quick rundown of the olive oil grades and how they are made.

We recently received this question on our blog: Is cooking oil the same as RBD?

First, let me explain what this question means, for anyone unfamiliar with the acronym “RBD".  RBD stands for “Refined, Bleached and Deodorized” and it is the process of refining an oil.  The RBD process involves a number of steps, which we will go through in more detail below. 

To summarize, this person asked — is a cooking oil the same thing as a refined oil (or an RBD oil)?  The answer is a little bit gray: usually yes, but it also depends on your definition of cooking oil.  I will explain more below.

Many chefs and home cooks ask if they can cook with pomace oil.  Short answer: Yes you definitely CAN. But should you? Are there better options available to you that you should use instead?

There are so many opinions about Olive Pomace Oil floating around that today I'd like to break down the pros and cons specifically for consumers, chefs and those cooking in their home kitchens.

The term "high oleic" can be applied to many different types of oils: canola, sunflower, safflower, and more. High oleic oils continue to see a spike in popularity, especially in the natural food manufacturing industry. 

Why high oleic oils?  High oleic oils are a premium option that have a healthier fat composition, a longer shelf life, a higher heat tolerance and an extended fry life. For these reasons and many more, this ingredient is a perfect fit for natural chips, popcorn, and other baked or fried snacks. 

One debate for food manufactures is whether or not they should use pomace olive oil. This oil is a great fit for some, but it's not for everyone.

Looking at a different sector, let's pretend you are home chef and looking for oils to use in your kitchen.  You may have heard of pomace olive oil as a cheaper option in comparison to other oil types; so is it a good or bad choice?

There is tons of information out there, whether you're a home chef or if you are a food manufacturer. Today,our goal is to try and lay out some objective clarity and then allow you to make your own path. 

Canola and sunflower oil are both commonly used oils in the natural food industry. They are light in color and flavor, and you'll find them used in products like baked goods, snacks, granolas, bars and used for frying. 

Similar as they are they also have their differences. Today we will dive into the rundown of what is the same and what the difference is when it comes to these two oils. 

The grades of olive oil that are commonly used in manufacturing are not the same names you may recognize from a retail shelf.  On a retail shelf, you typically see Extra Virgin Olive Oil as the most common type available -- as you should!  But if you are not familiar with the lower grades and new to purchasing bulk olive oil for food/body care production, it can be confusing. 

Here is a review of Olive Oil vs. Olive Pomace Oil -- two common grades used in food and body care manufacturing.  Plus one more!

People are always wanting to know about the different grades of olive oil: how they are made and what they are used for. Let's really dive in and talk about the specific grade of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sometimes it can seem so straight forward when you hear about organic EVOO this it's easy glance over. 

To really understand, we've outlined some basics below about Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil that you should know. 

Safflower is an oil that has gained a quite a bit of popularity in recent years.  It's now found in baked goods, cookies, bars, chips and other natural snacks.  That said, it's not quite as prevalent as it's cousin, sunflower oil, or the main-stay food industry, canola oil. But, many brands are starting to use this oil more and more. 

For those of you without much experience with safflower you may wonder if it's an oil that should be used in food production if it's ideal for cooking in your own kitchens. Is it good or bad?

What do you mean different types of sunflower oil?  I thought there was just one -- sunflower oil!

There are, in fact, a number of different types of sunflower oil.   The types (or grades) are differentiated based on what type of fat makes up the oil, as well as how the oil was produced.  

Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what kind of oil will work best for you and your product lines. If you're in the R&D stages of new product development, you will be faced with decisions about choosing the the right ingredients.  Let's pretend you have finally made the decision to use Sunflower Oil. You will next be immediately be presented with the next question: What kind of Sunflower Oil would you like?

Sunflower Oil is a type of seed oil that comes in a few different varieties. There are three main types: high oleic, mid oleic, and linoleic. 

What a confusing industry olive oil can be! There are so many grade names and terms know, to really understand what you are getting when you buy olive oil.

Our goal today is to help spell some of these nuances for you, so that you can get exactly what you are looking for. Today, we will concentrate specifically on Extra Virgin and Virgin Olive Oil.

These terms, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Virgin Olive Oil are so close to each other. They each describe a particular grade/quality of oil. I suppose it's logical that they are so close in name because the quality of oil is so similar as well. These grades are more like sisters than distant cousins. Let's dive in and discuss the similarities between these two oils first. 

Depending on what information you read, you may hear that sunflower is healthy from some and unhealthy from others.  So which is it? 

To help those grappling with all this conflicting information, we'd like to weigh in: the answer is not as straightforward as "good" or "bad".  Due to the ins and outs of the specific fat makeup of the oil (aka, what KIND of fats are found inside the oil molecules) and how oil is made, this discussion can be confusing and there's a lot of room for gray area and misinformation.

To make this discussion even less straight forward, the type of sunflower oil that was commonly used in the 80s and 90s is becoming less and less prevalent. So we are not always talking about the same thing when we say "sunflower oil."

Are you looking for an easy way to fill small bottles or pour oil from a 35 Lb. Container?  Most small businesses and at-home users find that ordering 35 Lb. Containers are the cheapest and easiest way to "go bulk" and it's a size that works well for them.  But, many people are still looking for a simpler system to dispense the oil into smaller, easier-to-handle packaging for kitchen use.

Olive oil blends are a common oil option in both the food manufacturing and food service industries.

Blends can have a lot of advantages.  In the manufacturing world, they are a great option for a mild-tasting oil: they still allow you to use olive oil and have it on your label, but without the strong flavor.  They also help you meet lower raw-ingredient costs.  On the foodservice side, olive oil blends typically have higher smoke points (from the added canola oil) and help keep your kitchen costs down.