4 Common Questions About Olive Oil

After years of working with olive oil, I hear a lot of the same questions. And honestly, there is a lot of confusing information out there.

Here are four questions people ask us all the time.

1. Can you cook with extra virgin olive oil?

Yes.

You can sauté, roast, bake and cook with extra virgin olive oil. You may have heard that extra virgin olive oil shouldn't be heated, but that's one of the most common olive oil myths.

Extra virgin olive oil is suitable for everyday cooking, including the temperatures most of us use for roasting and sautéing. Smoke point alone also isn't a good measure of how well an oil performs when heated. The composition and stability of the oil matter, too.

And don't save your good olive oil only for salad dressing. Use it.

2. Does olive oil go bad?

Yes. Olive oil does not get better with age.

Unlike wine, olive oil is best when it's fresh. Over time, exposure to oxygen, light and heat causes the oil to oxidize. Eventually, it becomes rancid and loses the fresh flavors and aromas it had when it was new.

Once you open a bottle, you're also introducing more oxygen every time you use it. That's why I would rather see you buy a bottle you'll actually use than a huge container that will sit around for a year.

UC Davis recommends choosing fresh oil and using it within weeks or a few months after opening for the best quality.

3. Should olive oil be refrigerated?

It can be, but for most kitchens it doesn't need to be.

A cool, dark cupboard away from your stove and other heat sources is a good place to keep the bottle you're using.

Refrigerating olive oil doesn't ruin it. In fact, cooler temperatures can slow oxidation. The downside is that olive oil may become cloudy or partially solidify in the refrigerator. That's normal and doesn't mean anything is wrong with it. It will return to its normal appearance as it warms.

For everyday use, the important things to remember are heat, light and air. Keep your oil away from heat and direct light, and close the bottle when you're finished using it. Dark or opaque containers also help protect olive oil from light.

And yes, that means right beside a hot stove isn't the best place for it.

4. What does “Extra Virgin” actually mean?

“Extra virgin” isn't just a description someone decided to put on the label. It's a recognized grade of olive oil.

Extra virgin olive oil is produced from olives using mechanical or other physical methods rather than refining. To qualify as extra virgin under International Olive Council standards, it must also meet specific chemical and sensory requirements. That includes free acidity of no more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams and meeting the sensory standards for the extra virgin category.

In simpler terms, extra virgin is the highest grade of virgin olive oil. How the olives are handled, how quickly they're processed and how the finished oil is stored all affect the quality of what eventually ends up in your bottle.

The easiest thing to remember

You don't need to know everything about olive oil to buy and use it well.

Buy good extra virgin olive oil. Keep it away from heat and light. Don't save it forever.

And cook with it.