How It's Made
Extra Virgin is the highest grade of olive oil, available in both traditional and organic varieties. First, the olives are harvested and washed with cold water. They are ground into a paste and spun in a centrifuge to extract this high-quality oil. Typically, this process occurs within 24 hours of picking the olives from the trees.
EVOO is known as the “first, cold-press”, though it’s actually spun instead of pressed in modern systems. It is technically an olive fruit juice, because it’s simply the liquid extracted from the fruit of the olive.
To be considered Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the oil must have an acidity level lower than 0.8 and it must have zero taste flaws. Delicious!
Every lot of Centra Foods olive oil also goes through a thorough quality and purity testing process — first overseas, and then again here in the US with a top olive oil lab.
What It's Used For
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is used, first and foremost, as a raw finishing oil in home kitchens. It's sold throughout the world in small retail bottles. It's also used in home cooking recipes for sautéing and frying (yes, even frying!)
It's also used as a bulk ingredient. It's used in the natural / healthy food industry as a part of manufactured products. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is also used in "olive oil blends", which are specific ratio blends of canola, soybean, sunflower or other oils with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Last, it's also used as an ingredient in body care products, as a topical ointment and even in soaps!