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So, what is olive oil? Olive oil is the oil that is released from olives when they are pressed. It’s that simple. Press the olives and you get oil.

In a perfect world, every bottle of olive oil on the market would be naturally made by crushing olives and extracting the juice. Unfortunately however, not all olive oil is of the highest quality. There are various grades of olive oil on the market that signify the quality of the oil.

Lower grade olive oil is extracted using various chemicals and is often diluted with cheap oils like soybean or canola oil.

Refined olive oil is extracted with solvents, treated with heat and adulterated with cheap oils.

Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade of olive oil on the market. It is the highest quality and most expensive olive oil.

Extra virgin olive oil is considered “extra virgin” when the oil is extracted via natural means by crushing olives and extracting the juice. Extra virgin olive oil is the only oil that is unrefined and made without the use of chemicals.

In order for an extra virgin olive oil to be truly considered “extra virgin” the oil must be high in phenolic antioxidants, meet certain laboratory tests for acidity and peroxide levels, and taste like olives without exhibiting any flavors that would be considered defects by a tasting panel.

Though extra virgin olive oil is the oil of choice, there is a lot of fraud on the market with oils claiming to be extra virgin when they are not.

The best kind of olive oil is the kind you make yourself from your own olive grove. If it’s not possible to make your own then the next best thing is to buy the best quality olive oil you can find – a green oil in a dark bottle….expensive but worth it. That being said, there are some things to consider even when buying fine quality olive oil.

Olive oil is a major part of Mediterranean cuisine but not all olive oil tastes the same.

Choosing the best brand may simply boil down to the one you like best. Try different brands and keep in mind that extra virgin olive oil is the best quality with the most nutrients since it has been processed the least amount of times.

The more that olive oil goes through processing, the lower the nutrients. Olive oils are regulated and may only be processed a couple of times before losing the title extra virgin olive oil. When additional processing happens they become labeled “olive oil” missing the “extra virgin” in their name. This changes the grade level of the oil.

Extra virgin olive oil is very sensitive to heat and some can’t stand any heat at all (only sautéing) so you may decide to keep different grades of olive oil depending on their uses.

Olive oil is like any other oil when it comes to heating it too quickly or too high. The overheating can cause it to transform into a visible bluish smoke in which the chemicals transition into volatile compounds. It decomposes faster the longer it is in this state. It could also transform into unhealthy toxins.

I like keeping a high quality bottle of extra virgin olive oil for salad dressings, bread dipping and light vegetable sautéing and a different grade of olive oil for cooking fish, chicken and beef dishes.

The olive oil I choose to use is always based on the recipes heating level requirements. I also consider how quickly I intend to cook my foods.

The best tip I can offer when choosing olive oils is to read the label and see if the oil will withstand cooking heat. If it does, it will have a smoke point number. The lower the number, the less heat the olive oil can stand. For example, a 191 smoke point is a low heat that I equate to sautéing. I would use this kind of oil on salads or vegetables.

When a recipe calls for the oil to get to a higher heating level, then I look for an olive oil that will let me heat between 242 degrees to 468 degrees without creating a smoke point since I want to avoid changing the oil into an unhealthy smoke point.