How many times have I heard that appearance doesn’t matter? Sometimes this sentence is true, but when it comes to olive oil, its appearance is fundamental. When buying real olive oil it is essential that you observe the product carefully before buying it.
What characteristics should a good olive oil have?
Bottle
Olive oil can be wonderful, but if it is packaged in a transparent plastic bottle, it completely loses its status. It may seem like I’m saying this for aesthetic reasons, but I’m not: UV rays affect and degrade olive oil, causing premature oxidization. Plastic absorbs this type of radiation and, in addition, as a translucent material, it allows the sun’s rays to directly affect the product.
Great connoisseurs of olive oil ensure that the oil is kept in dark glass bottles to maintain the liquid gold in optimal conditions and to ensure it is protected from the sun’s rays.
Size
Real olive oil loses its properties once opened if you take time to consume it. So it’s best to buy an oil that is in small bottles to ensure that you consume the product without it losing any of its properties, and so that you can taste the oil as if it were freshly extracted from the olive tree.
Label
Extra virgin olive oil preserves all the nutritional properties that make it the most important pillar of the Mediterranean diet. It is also the most stable oil. So whenever you want to consume a real olive oil, make sure it is extra virgin, either through its label, or by checking that it has less than 0.8% acidity.
Expiration date
The expiration date is obviously very important when acquiring any type of food. Extra virgin olive oil usually has a rather long expiration date thanks to the product’s high degree of stability. It is important to consume it well before this date, however, because the fresher it is, the richer it is in terms of its nutrients and organoleptic properties.
Real olive oil is wealth for your health, so, before you buy, look at the product carefully. I consider Carapelli olive oils to be my first and only choice, because they are made and packaged with care and comprehensive knowledge.
