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.

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. 

Closely working with buyers of bulk and wholesale olive oil across the United States has given us the privilege to closely follow growing industry trends.

Every day, we speak with buyers from a variety of industries: natural grocers, wholesale distributors, food service companies, and local co-ops. We tend to receive a plethora of requests for olive oil and have the opportunity to uncover the last in what you might call "food fashion."

We talk a lot about the different grades of olive oil: how they’re made, what they’re used for. But, it’s been a while since we talked about Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil in particular. Sometimes, organic EVOO seems so straight forward that it’s easy to glance over.

This week, I’d like to bring it back to this classic, premium (and my personal favorite) oil. Here’s some basics about Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil that you should know.

Is there such a thing as “light” olive oil? To answer this question, you have to start with defining which type of “light” you are referring to.

Olive oil described as “light” does not mean that it is a low fat oil. What makes it a “light” oil is actually the particular grade of oil: “Extra Light Olive Oil”, “Light-Tasting Olive Oil”, “Extra Lite Tasting Olive Oil”. All of those terms refer to the type of oil inside, not that it is low fat.

There's a lot of reasons people opt for EVOO over lots of the other types of oils out there. Health benefits often top the list for why people choose the "liquid gold".

And what makes Extra Virgin Olive Oil so healthy? Both olive oil, sunflower oil and canola oil are high in monounsaturated fat (the healthy-for-you kind of fat). So what would put EVOO above the others if their fat make-up so similar? Well, it's not just about the kind of fat molecules that they're made up of -- EVOO has a little bit of extra magic inside.

The biggest thing that makes EVOO so healthy is the unique disease-fighting components found in lots of superfoods. And the #1 component on that list? Polyphenols.

...Never heard of them? We'll give you the run down on what they are and what they do for you.

I recently got a fun question: “Is there an Extra-Extra Virgin Olive Oil? Is there a higher grade than the Extra Virgin?”

We've all got Thanksgiving dinner on the brain.  I know I do.

With Thanksgiving this week, I hope you're finishing up your grocery shopping tonight and getting all of your recipes prepped for tomorrow.

In case you have yet to finalize the last few delicious creations you plan to make, I've gathered a few great recipes below that use olive oil.   Olive oil can be a great addition to Thanksgiving, and you can use it in more creative ways than you may think.  

Of course, it's great to slather on your turkey before putting it in the oven.  But here's a few more delicious (and beautiful!) recipes you can use olive oil in. 

Have you ever seen the price of Pure Olive Oil be almost as high as Extra Virgin Olive Oil? I have — most of us in the food manufacturing world have. And people often ask me why.

The answer is simple and complex at the same time. In a vacuum — in a perfect world — the price of pure olive oil should fall somewhere between Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil. It is, of course, the olive oil grade between these two extremes (along with Refined Olive Oil) and pricing should correspond.

In the good harvest times, it follows exactly this pattern. But in times of poor harvest and bad olive oil production, the olive oil commodity market (aka, the simple economics of supply and demand) has more of an impact on the pricing comparison scale that you might expect.

Want to learn about olive oil?  Today, I've gathered a few infographics allowing you to peruse some fun facts on this "liquid gold".

More and more, I’m recommending that my customers use an oil blend when they can — when their customers will appreciate it rather than feeling like it detracts from their product.

Why do I like these blends so much? I think an oil blend has a number of advantages that they bring to the table. But it all depends on what you’re looking for.

To be clear, a blend is a mix of two different types of oils. Both of them would have to be listed on your ingredient label, so you'd have two different oils in your product instead of one.

If you’ve been considering this option, today I’d like to help you see the oil blend option in a new light. 

A key part of R&D’s role is choosing the right ingredients for the job. If you (or your marketing team) is set on using olive oil, you will need to decide which grade is right for what you’re trying to accomplish.

Two of the most common grades are Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Pure Olive Oil (also called just ‘Olive Oil’).

There are a few key differences between these two types of olive oil when you look at them from your R&D or corporate chef’s eye’s. There’s also a few differences in how these grades are priced, which you should understand if you’re on the purchasing side of things.

Did you know that if olive oil gets cold, it turns into a butter-like consistency? This isn’t a big deal if you’re cooking at home — but if you’re negotiating cold winters in a food manufacturing plant, it can be a much bigger challenge. Perhaps you’ve even experienced it.

This poses a great question for production managers: what do you do when bulk olive oil solidifies?

Luckily, there’s lots of reasonably simple ways to handle this in your warehouse. Long story short, you’ll need to heat the oil to liquify it, which will allow you to get pumping. The other good news is that when olive oil solidifies, the quality remains the same, so you have nothing to worry about.

We've all got Thanksgiving dinner on the brain.  I know I do.