Olive Oil

Since I've been writing about fats, I thought I would give you a little extra information about olive oil and what all of the terms mean. You may remember I said to buy extra virgin olive oil. What you may not know is what extra virgin means. This is the highest grade of olive oil because it is produced without using high heat or chemicals. The color of the oil represents the age of the olives when they are picked. A more green grassier olive oil has a stronger flavor and is made from an earlier harvest - the olives are not as ripe. Later harvests yield a milder more yellow oil.

Virgin olive oil is produced the same way as extra virgin olive oil. The difference is in the amount of oleic acid present. Oleic acid is omega 9 fatty acid, which is a monounsaturated fat. The body can produce this if it has enough omega 3 and omega 6. When there is a deficiency of either omega 3 or omega 6, the body will produce omega 9 to try to compensate.

Ordinary olive oil is another form of virgin olive oil. The difference here is that is contains more oleic acid and impurities. It is a lesser quality oil and should only be used for frying or where you do not want the flavor.