| Olive oil has become very popular in American | | | | people are at least vaguely familiar with. |
| kitchens in the past twenty years. The majority | | | | Extra-virgin olive oil is the least processed oil from |
| of households have at least one bottle of olive oil | | | | the first cold-pressing of olives. The acidity of |
| in their arsenal of cooking supplies. What a lot of | | | | extra-virgin olive oils must be 0.8% or less and |
| people do not know are the subtle and not so | | | | cannot have any refined oil. Virgin olive oil is from |
| subtle differences between the different kinds of | | | | the second pressing of olives with acidity less |
| olive oil. | | | | then 2%. Virgin olive oil also cannot contain any |
| On the production side there are two | | | | refined oil. Pure olive oil is a blend of refined olive |
| classifications of olive oils. Virgin olive oil is oil that | | | | oil with one of the virgin oils. Regular olive oil is |
| is produced physically, without the use of | | | | also a blend of the two but must have an acidity |
| chemicals. Refined olive oil has been chemically | | | | of 1.5% or less. Olive-pomace oil is a blend of |
| treated. These chemical treatments are used to | | | | refined pomace olive oil and in some cases virgin |
| counterbalance the strong tastes that some oils | | | | olive oil. This oil is edible but is rarely sold at the |
| have from their acid content. Pomace olive oil is | | | | retail level. |
| pulled from the solid byproduct using chemicals | | | | Please visit this link to learn more about Sicilian |
| and heat. | | | | olive oil. |
| There are also retail classifications which most | | | | |