Difference Between Virgin and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*This is a collaborative guest post
The quality of the olive oil can make or break a recipe. While shopping for it, most buyers go for extra virgin olive oil or simply virgin olive oil, without ever noticing the difference. As it turns out, the “extra” part in the name is highly relevant. Not only that, but there are also rich variations, like the Bella Italia black truffle oil, which is an excellent option during the black truffle season Italy. It runs from December to March for those who want to buy truffles from Italy.
It’s hard to imagine an Italian recipe for lunch or dinner that doesn’t call for at least a pinch of olive oil; some call for a punch of it instead. For instance, dishes like a focaccia barese, bruschetta, pesto, and spaghetti agli & olio (garlic and oil) are based on olive oil extra virgin and could be ruined with less than an award-winning Sicilian olive oil.
Here’s everything you need to know about extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and the dichotomy “olive oil vs extra virgin olive oil”.
“The Great Healer”
Extra virgin olive oil has been part of Mediterranean culture and cuisine for a long time. Hippocrates (circa 460 B.C) already touted the benefits of olive oil extra vergine for health, calling it “the great healer”. Despite obvious technological advancements, the principles for extracting olive oil extra virgin remain nearly the same.
The process consists of crushing fresh olives, pressing the paste to extract oil without heat. The resulting liquid still needs further processing to remove water and sediment, leaving only the purest olive oil extra vergine. It’s the same process for harvesting regular olive oil. What’s the difference, then? Does it make sense to talk about “olive oil vs extra virgin olive oil”?
Going Extra
Yes, it does. It goes without saying that the “extra” in the name stands for a higher quality product. In this case, the difference is in the acidity. Regular options can have acidity up to 2%, while in the extra virgin product, it stays below 0.8%. Luxury products like Bella Italia black truffle oil typically contain EVOO.
Such products become even more special during black truffle season Italy, when fresh black truffles meet the purest olive oil. Truffles are famously hard to find, but thanks to the internet, one can buy truffles from Italy online. Pay attention to the season: black winter truffles can be found between December and March, while summer truffles come up between May and August.
Smooth As Oil
There is a famous Italian saying for when things are going really well: they’re going as smoothly as oil. Indeed, it can’t get much smoother than a top-notch EVOO harvested at the right season, in the right way. Even cooking pasta becomes a sophisticated affair when the world’s best truffle-infused olive oils join the table. Cook and eat like a local; get the best Italian ingredients for your recipe by ordering them online.
