Myth No. 1

"It's not healthy to cook with extra virgin olive oil."

Fact: Extra virgin olive oil is the safest and most stable oil in every cooking style, even when used at high temperatures. If you want to learn more about olive oil and cooking, read the article ´Does extra virgin olive oil lose its health benefits when heated?´. 

Myth No. 2

"It matters where olive oil comes from." 

Fact: It is wrong to assume that the Mediterranean's olive oil is a superior quality guarantee. You can find excellent quality olive oils on other continents too. In the end, everything comes down to the producer and the way he controls olive oil quality. Click here to learn more about premium olive oil production and why producing premium olive oil costs more.

Myth No. 3

"Olive oil has no expiry date."

Fact: Very untrue, as all olive oils will degrade over time. More importantly, pay attention to the expiry date. You should buy olive oils from the latest harvest. The fresher the olive oil, the better. A clear indication of the harvest year on the bottle or website or expiration date should be on the label; if it's not - DON'T buy it. We recommend also. We recommend also learning about other indicators to help you learn how to buy the best olive oils.

Myth No. 4

"Cloudy extra virgin olive oil means oil is bad."

Fact: Just like any juice, a small amount of natural sediment in olive oil is reasonable; it can be a sign of freshness. 

 Myth No. 5

"Dark or green olive oil indicates that it's high quality."

Fact: Unfortunately, this is not true. High-quality olive oils come in all colours, and colour has no relevance to the olive oil quality. Olive oil colour comes from olive varietal and how ripe the fruit was when you made olive oil. For this reason, official olive oil tasting glasses are blue, so they don't lead to any presumptions about the quality. It is essential to mention that good quality olive oil will never be packaged in transparent glass bottle so you can see its colour. Exposure to light negatively affects olive oil, so always opt for olive oils packaged in dark coloured glass bottles or tins.

Cited sources: 

- P. De Andreis, Healthy Compounds in EVOO Still Present After Exposure to Heat, 2020

- Researchers from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona, the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERobn) and the University of São Paulo, 2020, Extra olive virgin oil keeps healthy properties when used for cooking, 2020

- J. Lozano-Castellón, A. Vallverdú-Queralt, J. F. Rinaldi de Alvarenga, M. Illán, X. Torrado-Prat, R.M. Lamuela-Raventós, Domestic Sautéing with EVOO: Change in the Phenolic Profile, 2020

- Olive Oil Times, EVOO Colour is important?, 2020