Which brand of olive oil is best for salads?

Russians have become acquainted with olive oil relatively recently, its category, grade and selection criteria are known by far not many. The topic of which brand of olive oil is better in a series of similar products is devoted to this article. In addition to the rating review, the material provides information on the benefits of olive oil, how it is obtained, quality standards and selection criteria.

The value of olive oil and its difference from others

The unique feature of the olive tree lies in the fact that it grows on the average about 500 years and its entire age actively fructifies. And the age of some trees is 1500 and even 2000 years. It is these that grow on the Olive Mountain in Jerusalem.

What brand of olive oil is best used for salads is a very topical issue, especially on the eve of the vegetable season. Salads with it are very tasty and healthy. Olive oil contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients. In particular, it contains vitamins A, E, D, K, as well as polyphenols. They have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, digestion and skin condition.

In comparison with other types of oil, olive oil is highly digestible due to its high content of oleic acid, which is the main fatty acid in the human body.

Ways of obtaining olive oil

Raw olives are inedible and unsuitable for eating, since they have a very bitter taste. To get rid of it, the fruits are soaked in a special solution. Despite this, the best brands of olive oil often have a specific bitterish smell and taste that not everyone likes. This should be borne in mind when choosing an oil.

The process of manufacturing the product consists in the fact that the fruits, which have been cleaned from the stones, are pressed hard, constantly mixing the mass. After this procedure, the olives are squeezed out of the oil using special centrifuges. So you get the first oil. It always bit a bit bitter.

The remaining oil cake is put into operation again, extracting the second pressing oil. It is cleaned of impurities and bitterness with chemical reagents, so it does not have an unpleasant smell and taste.

Types of oil by methods of production

Depending on the labeling used on the label, the oil differs according to the method of preparation. Possible markings: Virgin, Refined, Pomace .

• Virgin is a natural oil obtained by cold first pressing. Such a product preserves all nutrients, minerals and vitamins. He has only one minus - it has a limited shelf life. Masters of the world are sure that Virgin is the best olive oil. Mark (feedback is confirmed) is in great demand.
• Refined is also natural olive oil, but purified using physical and chemical processes. Refining occurs as follows: the fruits of the olive tree are ground and poured with a chemical solvent, analogue of gasoline, - hexane. Under its influence, the fruit emits an oil which merges. The residues of hexane are removed with water vapor, then with alkali. At the next stage, the product is bleached and deodorized.
• Pomace - olive products obtained by the method of secondary spinning using physical and chemical technologies.

Virgin olive oil

• Extra virgin olive oil - with this designation the best grades of Extra Virgin olive oil produced by the cold first pressing method are produced. The acidity of such oils does not exceed 0.8 / 100 grams.
• Virgin olive oil is a marking for the first pressing oil, the acidity of which is not more than 2/100 grams. This product is obtained from olives, which were subjected to mechanical or physical influences, including temperature. Such oils were cleaned only by natural components and certain technologies - water, filtration, decanting, centrifugation.
• Ordinary virgin olive oil is also an oil of the first pressing, the acidity of which does not exceed the figure of 3.3 / 100 grams. In its manufacture, only natural (virgin) methods were used.

Refined olive oil

This oil is obtained from the raw material of the first pressing by the refining method. Its acidity is 0.3 / 100 grams. Such a product is produced using physical and chemical technologies, aimed at eliminating odor, acidity and bitter taste. These oils are considered less quality.

Pomace olive oil

• Olive-pomace oil is a product that consists of a mixture of refined and first-pressing oil. Its acidity is 1/100 grams. A similar characteristic applies to those oils that are obtained by spinning from oil cake using solvents and other physical procedures.
• Refined olive-pomace oil - oil from cake, obtained by refining with the use of physical and chemical technologies. The acidity of such a product is 0.3 / 100 grams.

Quality criteria

Even in its category, oils can differ in quality parameters. When tasting is evaluated such parameters as:

• Acidity means the level of oleic acid content in 100 grams of product. The taste is not affected by this indicator. It is believed that the lower the acidity, the higher the oil quality.
• Colour. Shades of oil can be in the yellow and green ranges - depending on the type of fruit, their maturity and the way of processing.
• Aroma. Oil, which has been exposed to sunlight for a long time, loses its flavor. Normally, its odor is determined by a number of volatile substances - alcohol, hydrocarbon, aldehyde, ethers.
• Taste. The natural oil taste is very rich, intense, bitterish-sweet or brackish. A bad sign is a rancid taste, watery, acetic or metallic.
• Shelf life. The parameter to which you should pay attention here is the date of filling. The more "fresh" it is, the better will be the quality of the product. That's why olive oil is never bought for stock. Store bottles with it should be in dark cabinets in a container of dark glass. The shelf life of the oil should not exceed 1 year.

Another indicative parameter of this olive oil is that when stored in the refrigerator it falls to the bottom with large flakes. Do not think that the product has deteriorated, as this is a very correct indicator of quality. After the oil has warmed, the flakes will disappear. However, experts do not recommend keeping it in the refrigerator. Preference should be given to dry shaded places.

The bottle cap should be very tightly closed. It is very important: store the oil in glass or metal jars. This quality product is never sold in plastic, as it is capable of splitting the top layer of polyethylene, as a result of which harmful substances get into the food. The same, by the way, applies to other types of vegetable oils. The best brands of olive oil are unrefined, this should be borne in mind primarily when buying this product.

Organoleptic quality assessment

Tasting oils, professionals note that they should have a taste of fresh olives. In addition, the smell of freshly cut grass, torn salad leaves is possible. Even smells of chocolate and anise shades are allowed.

In order to understand the richness of the taste of this product, it is heated to a temperature of +200 ° C, after which it is applied to a glass plate with a thin layer and rubbed with the back side of the palm. The best olive oil (the brand here does not matter) corresponds to the above characteristics.

When evaluating the color, oil is poured into a glass in the amount of 50 ml and is considered through reflected light on a white background. It is important that not only the color, but also the different color shades are evaluated. It is believed that the greener the product, the higher its quality. In fact, this is true only in part, since the color of the oil depends on what kind of fruit it produces.

Therefore, one needs to be guided by a set of indicators: color, smell, taste. If the oil has a yellow color, but it smells fragrant and has the right taste, this indicates that, most likely, black olives were used to make the product, not olives.

Rating of olive oils

To answer uniquely the question of which brand of olive oil is better, is not so simple. Experts to answer this question are complex studies. Here are the results of one of them. In 2014, the well-known Agency for Quality Assessment of SIC NPE "Test" conducted a comparative study of 11 known brands of extra Virgin Extra Virgin olive oil. When evaluating products, the following parameters were considered:

• Brand identity;
• Compliance of the composition with the claimed;
• Absorption of ultraviolet;
• Sensory evaluation of properties.

The best olive oil (brand, photo specially presented in this article) must meet all of the above requirements. The research involved such brands as: Mana Gea, Prize, Borges, Maestro de Oliva, Hellas, ABEA, Costa d'Oro, ITLV, Monini, Oscar and Ravika.

"Mana Gea", "Prize", Borges deserved the "excellent" rating. The Maestro de Oliva oil succumbed to the leaders, deserving a "good" rating. All these products fully comply with the labeling of Extra Virgin. Therefore, the answer to the question, which brand of olive oil is better in this series, is obvious: it is one that in all parameters corresponds to its category.

The remaining 7 brands also proved to be acceptable olive oils, however they lost to the leaders of the rating on a number of parameters, as a result of which their assessment is "bad." This means that they do not correspond to the Extra Virgin marking.

Choose the right oil

It should be noted that the answer to the question, which brand of olive oil is better, does not explain whether this oil is suitable for solving certain culinary tasks. For example, experienced culinary experts keep on their table olive oil at once several varieties. Determine which of them most suited to these or other dishes.

So, the best olive oil for salads is Extra Virgin. It will also be an excellent "companion" to pizza, pasta, milk porridge and other dishes that allow you to feel the taste of the product.

However, it is not suitable for frying. Which brand of olive oil is best for stewing, baking and roasting? Refined oil. The fact is that Extra Virgin is rich in mineral substances, which when fried break up, forming carcinogens and smoke. Refined oil is purified from these substances, so it can safely be used for frying and preparing other dishes associated with high-temperature processing.