Hello,

I would like to know the difference between extra virgin olive oil and the pure olive oil. I have never used pure olive oil before but I was in a big hurry and bought it by mistake.

Thanks,

maggie

Extra virgin is like the first squeeze of the olive. By the time you get to just plain olive oil, the olives have been squeezed and squeezed. I probably wouldn't have a problem cooking with plain olive oil, but it doesn't taste quite as good. Plus it's cheaper.
I knew being Italian would come in handy some day!!!!

Duchess we had a pretty thorough discussion on the differences between the olive oils not that long ago... Here's a link to the thread.

Olive Oil Q

Just the basics:

Pure Olive Oil:
A general purpose oil, not really for the table but the food industry. It is solvent-extracted from olive pulp, skins, and pits; then refined. It is light and bland. Pure refers to the fact that no non-olive oils are mixed in.

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil:
Any olive oil that is less than 1% acidity, produced by the first pressing of the olive fruit through the cold pressing process. Most olive oils today are extra virgin in name only, meeting only the minimum requirement.

Premium Select Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
This is the top grade of olive oil. With a lower rate of acidity than 1%. Some as low as .225%. This level of quality can only be achieve one way - through hand harvesting and pressing within 24 hours.

Nat