Facts About Olive Oil

Today, we’ll go over some basics facts anyone in the natural food industry should know about olive oil.

At times, we may not take some of these facts into consideration — like that there is a shelf life for olive oil, and though it’s rather long, it’s not something that gets better with age like wine. Or that it does have some great health benefits (plus so much more).

If you deal with bulk oil in your job, these are some good things to keep into mind. Let’s dive in on some of these facts.

Health Benefits 

There are countless ways olive oil can improve your health and all of our lives. But these health benefits can get pretty complex and scientific, pretty quickly. Here’s the basics of what you need to know:

• Oleocanthal in olive oil can mimic the effect of ibuprofen in reducing inflammation in your body. This has a particular effect on long term inflammatory illnesses, including certain cancers and is considered beneficial in the prevention of Alzheimers.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains polyphenols, which trap free radicals in the body and is also considered anti-cancer activity.
• Vitamin E is a significant component of olive oil, and is thought to decrease the risk of many cancers.
• Olive oil contains squalene, which is a component believed to prevent certain types of cancer and is beneficial for patients with heart disease and diabetes.

If you want to learn more, we suggest reading this more in depth article The Health Benefits Of Olive Oil

The Bitter Taste Of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

If you are getting a bitter taste with your EVOO, DON’T freak out. It is completely ok for your olive oil to taste bitter. The bitterness that you taste is the good nutrients that are in the oil. It doesn’t mean your oil has gone bad.

Oleocanthal is one of the important polyphenols that produces a stinging feeling in the back of your throat in especially peppery or bitter olive oils.  That taste is a learned one for some people, but the properties of this component are known to be some of the best parts of the oil for you.

On the other hand, if you don’t get a peppery taste don’t worry either — it is still good oil. It really just all depends on the varietal of olive itself. You will find that when tasting different olive oils some may be buttery, grassy, peppery, bitter or a variety of other flavors. But all those are normal good tastes — bitter or not, olive oil comes in lots of naturally good flavors.

Shelf Life For Oil 

Let’s just get this out of the way: olive oil is not like wine by any means. It does not get better with age. You want to always make sure to check the date on the bottle (or if you buy in bulk, your COA).

It’s always best to use up your olive oil as soon as you can. That said, an unopened dark bottle of Extra Virgin can last up to 2 years. But the shelf life for oils can be different for each oil depending on who you buy it from.

We personally suggest that when using your oil you use it with in the first year of having it. You don’t ever want to have rancid oil being used in your manufacturing (or even your home kitchen).

To learn more about the shelf life of olive oil, we recommend reading more in The Shelf Life of Olive Oil.

In Conclusion 

As things keep evolving in the world of olive oil, there is always new information coming out. You will find yourself learning something you never knew about, just when you thought you knew everything.

To learn more of the basic facts about olive oil, we’d also suggest reading the following articles:

Desirable and Undesirable Adjectives You Might Find When Tasting Oils

7 Basics You Should Know About Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil