When you go to the supermarket, you pay attention to the condition of the food and other characteristics such as its colour, but do you also pay attention to the olive oil? And the fact is that olive oil is a very important ingredient in the food industry. OIL COLOURS can reveal many secrets about this product: the maturation of the olive, the filtering, the passage of time and the variety of olive tree.
But the colour of olive oil does not determine its quality, because as we have mentioned above, it has more to do with the properties of the olive and how it has been produced. Do you want to know more about this prized product? In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about olive oil. colour of extra virgin olive oil.
Does the colour determine the quality of EVOO?
From dark green to gold are the shades that olive oil can range in colour, but its colour range has nothing to do with its quality.. So what can you tell about olive oil by its colour?
The colour of the olive oil has to do with the qualities and properties of the product, such as the variety of olive used to make it, the type of filtering, among other characteristics. However, the flavour, aroma and nutritional properties are taken into account for an oil to be classified as AVOE.
Other characteristics that verify the quality of extra virgin olive oil are brightness, sharpness and acidity, qualities that are not related to its colour.
Factors that determine the colour of extra virgin olive oil
The colour of olive oil does not determine its quality, but what determines whether the EVOO has one shade or another? Several factors such as the variety of olive, the degree of ripeness, exposure to light or temperature changes are some of the elements that define the final colour of extra virgin olive oil. These are the main ones:
- Olive varietyThe colour of the oil will depend on the amount of chlorophyll (green pigment) in the olive.
- Degree of maturitywhen the olives are harvested at an early harvest, the level of chlorophyll is higher, so the oil will be more greenish than if it is made when the fruit is ripe, as it has a higher amount of carotene (orange pigment).
- Influence of filteringfiltered oil has a bright and clean colour, because the impurities from the milling process have been removed. Whereas unfiltered EVOO is more dense and cloudy.
- Exposure to light and temperature changesexternal agents can affect the degradation of chlorophyll and lead to an increase of the chlorophyll content of the chlorophyll. change of colour in olive oil (turning from green to yellow). Therefore, it is important to keep it in a cool environment without exposure to light.
Another trick to keep EVOO in perfect condition is to store it in an opaque container to protect it from light, and to store it in a dark, cool place.
Why does the colour of olive oil change over time?
The reason why the olive oil colour The reason why chlorophyll changes over time is because chlorophyll degrades due to external factors such as exposure to light and high temperatures. It can change from its characteristic greenish colour to become a yellow oil.
It is therefore very important to know how to preserve extra virgin olive oil so that its organoleptic qualities are not lost. Keeping it in an opaque container, placing it in a dark, cool place and keeping it away from large heat sources are some of the most important actions.
Carrying out these simple tricks to make oil last longer is very easy, so don't hesitate to put them into practice.
Early harvest olive oil: what is its colour?
What characterises the early harvest of the olive is that it gives rise to a green olive oil. This type of oil is extra virgin and is highly valued on the market because of its superior quality compared to other oils: it has aromatic qualities, as well as very fresh and powerful fruity flavours.
Early harvest oil is so called because the olives are harvested when they are still young and are just changing colour -from green to purple-. The date of harvesting depends on the location of the olive grove, but it is usually done in the first fortnight of October and lasts for a month.
Manual harvesting and the properties of the young olives give this type of oil a flavour, aroma and properties that make it unique in the world. This is why it is such a special product and so highly valued on the market, not only nationally but also internationally.
Now that you know what the colour of extra virgin olive oil is due to, you can distinguish at a glance what type of olive it has been made from or the type of filtration it has undergone. If you want to put all these tricks into practice, you can take part in an olive oil tasting at home with our box of 4 early harvest varieties to see the difference in colours and taste the flavours - a real experience!
