Olive oil

Olive oil is a vegetable oil. It is made by getting the juice of the fruits of the olive tree. These are called olives. The oil is used in cooking, as well as cosmetics, traditional medicine, and as a fuel for oil lamps. Refined olive oil uses heat and chemicals to get the fat out of the olives.^[1]

Olive oil quality is defined by some parameters that are measured by chemical analysis. One of the most important is acidity. The highest quality olive oil (Extra-Virgin) must feature an acidity lower than 0.8%.^[2]

People see it as a healthy addition to their diet because of the high level of monounsaturated fats (mainly oleic acid) and polyphenols.^[3] Olive oil is popular in Mediterranean countries. It is a big part of the Mediterranean diet as a main fat source.^[4]

1. ↑ "How Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil Made". California Olive Ranch. 2017-10-23. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
2. ↑ Grossi, M.; Di Lecce, G.; Gallina Toschi, T.; Riccò, B. (2014). "Fast and accurate determination of olive oil acidity by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy" (PDF). IEEE Sensors Journal. 14 (9): 2947–2954. Bibcode:2014ISenJ..14.2947G. doi:10.1109/JSEN.2014.2321323. S2CID 10659764.
3. ↑ "Chemical Characteristics | The Olive Oil Source". www.oliveoilsource.com. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
4. ↑ "Mediterranean Diet". Olive Oils from Spain. Retrieved 2021-05-14.