The truth behind commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oils

Just like wines, so many bottles of Extra Virgin Olive Oils are filling the supermarkets making it harder and harder for us to choose the right one, We feel lost in a new world of claims and labels, all we know is that we are supposed to choose a "cold pressed" oil because heat destroys the benefic properties that make extra virgin olive oil one of the healthiest ingredients in our kitchen and also a beauty product.​

But what does "cold press" really refer to?

The Englih "cold pressed" is sometimes used to translate 2 different working methods: "spremuto a freddo" and "estratto a freddo" (cold pressed and cold extracted), which represent the continuous process and the traditional process.

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Traditional Process: Olives, after washing, are ground through millstones and squashed by presses. The pressing produces an oily must composed by vegetation water and Olive Oil. This oily must is sent to the separator that splits the lighter Olive Oil from the heavier vegetation water.

In this method, Olive Oil is produced by squeezing out/pressing and there aren’t stages that heat the olives.  This process is very expensive and relies on the producers unique craftsmanship.

Modern Industrial/Continuous Process: after washing, Olives are ground through hammering. Then they are not squashed but centrifuged through extraction method. This extraction produces an oily must that is then sent to the separator. 

In this method, Olive Oil is obtained by extraction/centrifugation and not by squeezing out.

According to law, the first production method can be labelled as "spremuto a freddo/cold pressed", while the second can be labelled as "estratto a freddo/cold extracted".

On many foreign labels instead there is usually only written COLD PRESSED, even when the oil comes from a COLD EXTRACTED method, thus creating a lot of confusion about the quality.

If You want to know the real quality of an Extra Virgin Olive Oil, You should ask the manufacturer to show you their Italian label. 

Many oils are not cheap, make sure that you get what you want and that the money is well spent on a superior product.

But what is more important is that oil is commonly used raw as a finishing product or as a dressing, and it we can benefit of all its nutritional qualities only if consumed cold.

Unfortunately the traditional process is doomed to disappear as it expensive and it requires so much more manpower. Yet these producers are still able to conquer the trust of clients who are passionate about tradition.

Read more: www.gabrielloni.it

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