Why Is Olive Oil Extra Virgin? | Smartest Year Ever (Feb 27, 2025)
About this episode
Why is olive oil so obsessed with virginity? It’s the only oil in your kitchen that insists on being called “extra virgin”—but what does that actually mean? Today, Gordy breaks down the grading system of olive oil, what makes it extra virgin, and how the International Olive Council (yes, that’s a real thing) ensures your EVOO isn’t a scam.
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Sources:
International Olive Council. (2023). Trade standard applying to olive oils and olive pomace oils.
Kiritsakis, A. (2020). Olive Oil: From the Tree to the Table. Wiley-Blackwell.
Bendini, A., et al. (2007). Phenolic compounds in extra virgin olive oil: Their impact on human health. Molecules, 12(8), 1679-1699.
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