Sign In Chef

OR

No account yet? Sign up.

Forgot your password?

×

Olive Oil

light bulb

In this Lesson you will Learn

  1. What are the different types of olive oil?
 

Most people know olive oil is one of the healthiest cooking oils you can consume. In some supermarkets, however, the choice can be overwhelming.

A quick lesson on different types of olive oil: extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil are both extracted using pressure rather than heat, resulting in delicate (but healthier) oils that cannot withstand high cooking temperatures. For this reason, extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil are best used on salads or other cold dishes. Extra-virgin olive oil gets the distinction "extra" because it is somewhat higher quality than virgin olive oil when it comes to flavor and odor.

Classic/pure olive oil is generally a mixture of virgin olive oil and olive oil that has been refined (with a process that uses heat and/or solvents). Because it has been refined, it can withstand higher temperatures during cooking.1 Light olive oil is a refined olive oil with a lighter color and flavor.2

Nutrition DNA

The nutrition DNA of olive oil. For example, you can see that 1 tablespoon olive oil covers 22% of your daily allowance of fat and 16% of the recommended Mono Unsaturated Fat intake. Hover over the bars to see which nutrient is covered.

Sources

  1. United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil
  2. HowStuffWorks - How Olive Oil Works
check

Takeaways

  1. The different types of olive oil include extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, classic/pure olive oil, and refined olive oils such as "light" olive oil.
Mark as Learned
next lesson » Onions