Why is olive oil bitter? Does this mean that the money was wasted.
Olive oil is most often faked and diluted with cheaper, such as soybean (which is not written on the label); Only select trusted brands.
Olive oil, which is rich in monounsaturated fats, can help reduce the risk of heart disease and even have a positive effect on insulin levels and blood sugar control, which protects you from type 2 diabetes. However, as with most foods, not all olive oil is created equal. The difference between a high and low quality product is huge, and even among the best varieties, rancidity is a serious problem.
Good oil has deteriorated: how to recognize rancidity and other defects
When you spend money on a quality bottle of olive oil, you want to be sure that you get what you pay for. However, there are many factors that affect quality, from how long the olives were stored before processing to how long the oil remained on your kitchen table.
As The Olive Oil Times writes, paying attention to these four potential defects, you can choose a quality product:
1. Rancidity -Olive oil is very perishable, but is usually considered “good” for two years from the date of bottling (date “good to”). However, the best indicator of freshness is the harvest date, which will tell you when it was actually produced. Choose only oils that have this information on the bottle.
So, the first step is to find the oil that was recently collected. Further, many other factors, including storage temperature, exposure to air and light, antioxidant levels and chlorophyll content will also affect how resistant it is to rancidity.
In the end, all olive oil will become rancid, but if you are like most people, you probably leave the bottle right on the table, opening and closing it several times a week (or even a day). Each time the oil is exposed to air and / or light, it oxidizes and deteriorates faster.
Extra virgin olive oil, in particular, also contains chlorophyll, which speeds up decomposition and makes it rancid even faster than it does with partially refined, according to oil expert Dr. Rudy Merck. So how do you know if it is rancid?
- It smells like pencils or plasticine.
- It tastes like rancid nuts.
- It seems bold on the tongue
Unfortunately, according to The Olive Oil Times: “The sad truth is that most people in the US ... are used to the taste of rancid olive oil.”
2. Musty oil- The oil is “stale” when olives are stored for too long (even several days) before they are crushed, which leads to fermentation in the absence of oxygen. The musty taste is incredibly often found in olive oil, so many simply believe that this is normal.
However, it should not have the smell of fermentation resembling sweaty socks or marshy vegetation.
“A good way to understand how to taste a musty oil is to taste the olives,” reports The Olive Oil Times. “Choose from a handful of Kalamata olives those that are not purple or maroon and hard, but brown and soft in color. Eat them. HERE is the taste of musty. ”
3. Moldy olives - If olive oil tastes dusty or musty, the reason is probably because it was made from moldy olives, this is another common defect.
4. Taste of wine or vinegar- If in olive oil the shades of wine and vinegar (or even nail polish) are felt, it probably happened because the olives were fermented with oxygen, as a result of which they acquired this sharp undesirable taste.
Extra virgin olive oil is most often faked
The four defects listed above are examples of what usually happens due to poor handling or handling. However, olive oil is often faked, according to the USPP Food Database.
Even Extra Virgin is often diluted with other cheaper ones, including hazelnuts, soybeans, corn, sunflowers, palm trees, sesame seeds, grape seeds, and walnuts. But this will not be said on the label, and most people will not be able to understand that it is not clean.
Subscribe to our Yandex Zen channel!
If you live in an area where olive oil is produced, buying from a local producer is the ideal solution, as it allows you to know exactly what is in the composition. If not, try an independent store that can tell you about the manufacturers, or at least look for a brand you trust on the shelves of your local supermarket.
Refrigerated Test: Poor Quality Score
Earlier this year, at the Dr. Oz Show, a segment of the “olive oil test in the refrigerator” was shown, which said that you can find out about its purity if it hardens in the refrigerator. Davis, the American Center for Olive Oil Research, decided to test the theory and found that in fact this is a very unreliable way.
Researchers at the center chilled seven samples and found that none of them froze in a refrigerator in 60 hours. While some hardened areas were observed, due to the different levels of saturated fats in the oil, none of them hardened completely. Thus, you can save effort and not try to repeat this at home.
“All olive oils contain a small amount of saturated fatty acids that harden in the refrigerator,” said Paul Vossen, UC's Cooperative Knowledge Advisor, “The number of hardened areas is equal to the amount of saturated fatty acids in the oil, which mainly depends on the types of olives used for its production and to a lesser extent on where they are grown. Hardening does not indicate freshness, purity, flavoring, extra virgin or any other quality parameter. ”
Cook in olive oil? Stop!
Olive oil is ideal for use in cold conditions, such as salad dressing or homemade hummus. However, it is important to understand that it is NOT suitable for cooking.
Due to the chemical structure and the large amount of monounsaturated fats, such as oleic acid, cooking makes olive oil of the highest quality very susceptible to oxidative damage.
Consuming oxidized, rancid oil will not benefit your health, therefore, when you need to cook something, coconut oil is the perfect choicesince it is one of the most used vegetable fats, stable enough to withstand damage caused by heat.
Remember that olive oil is great for cold dishes, but cooking with it is almost guaranteed to damage it, because it is sensitive to high temperatures.
Once you have found the right olive oil (by choosing a trusted brand and looking at the dates on the bottle), how you handle it may affect its shelf life.
- Store in a cool, dark place - darkness is most important because light oxidizes fats in olive oil
- Buy smaller bottles for freshness
- Screw on the cap immediately after each use.
To better protect extra virgin olive oil from oxidation, Dr. Merc suggests adding one drop of astaxanthin to the bottle. You can purchase this extremely powerful antioxidant in soft gel capsules. Just pierce them with a pin and squeeze into oil. The advantage of using astaxanthin instead of another antioxidant such as vitamin E is that it is naturally red in color, while vitamin E is colorless, so you can understand that astaxanthin still has oil in color.
When olive oil begins to turn pale, it will mean that the time has come to throw it away.
In general, it is best to consume it during the year from the harvest, although most will be stored up to two years from the harvest in unopened packaging in a cool dark place.
Oils with a bitter, spicier taste contain more polyphenols, and they are usually better than ripe olives, which have a milder taste. The latter should be used in a period from six months to a year maximum.
This is another reason to buy small bottles - it is easier to use in a shorter period of time. If you buy large quantities of olive oil, you may be tempted to keep it, even if it is rancid. published.
© Dr. Joseph Mercola
P.S. And remember, just changing our consumption - together we change the world! © econet
Good olive oil should not be bitter. Perhaps this is a low-grade oil or was in unsuitable storage conditions. In itself, olive oil has a somewhat specific taste, I would even say, for an amateur. It may seem a little peppered if you try it from a spoon without vegetables. But, in the composition of salads, there should not be any bitterness.
I brought the best olive oils from Tunisia, Greece and Spain.
Why is olive oil bitter?
Recently I came across some GOST with a description of olive and sunflower oil. It has been written that olive oil can indeed be bitter. Naturally, if it is unrefined. If refined olive oil is bitter or the bitterness characteristic of rancid oil is bitter, then it is better not to eat it. But for kindling the stove will go well.
Unrefined olive oil may be bitter.
The reasons why olive oil is bitter.
Any resident of the country where such oil is produced will say - this is normal))
Don’t worry, you bought a normal Extra Virgin oil, which can and should be bitter. It’s not even bitter, but the throat tears a little. Extra virgin olive oil is often bitter. This means only one thing - a quality oil has been purchased, which has still retained its beneficial properties.
The best and most useful oil is considered to be Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Naturally, it is not fried on it, it is not subjected to heat treatment. They are seasoned with salads and hot dishes, on the basis of which they make various sauces and seasonings. This oil always has a rich taste and aroma, as well as low acidity (not more than 1%), compared with another grade of oil, which is not at all bitter, but has a high acidity (1.5% and higher).
If Pure Olive Oil is written on the bottle, then it is already possible to cook on such oil, and it, as a rule, is not bitter. Although in many countries where connoisseurs of olive oil live, this is not eaten.
Over time, the oil loses its beneficial properties, and its acidity increases. But bitterness disappears.
Why in the morning there is bitterness in the mouth - www.site/all_question / wayoflive / zdorove / 2013 / November / 58234/175880
Comments
I agree. I myself am a lover of olive oil and I buy Extra Virgin, because it has many useful substances. Good olive oil is always bitter, so the author of the question bought quality oil. Other olive oil, not Extra Virgin, will not be bitter. Probably Extra Virgin oil was bought for the first time, so there was a suspicion that it was spoiled. I strongly disagree with the first answer.
I always use olive oil. Mainly for the preparation of salads. Recently I bought a bottle of olive oil, the price was higher than usual, it seduced me. I decided that it was probably better in quality. Shelf life also looked normal. I came home, opened the bottle and tried.
She was extremely shocked. It was bitter and very unpleasant in taste, tightening in the throat. What to do? Go to the store again to make a complaint? She asked a question to her friend, and she replies that her son has been in Italy for a long time and probably knows what to do.
It turned out that this olive oil is of high quality and depends on the type of olives used to produce the oil. Interestingly, it is now also recognized that the bitter the taste of olive oil, the more it contains polyphenols.
Polyphenols protect cells and bodies with chemicals from damage caused by free radicals, and possibly neutralize substances that play an important role in the development of cancer. In addition, they retain oil longer.
Olive oil should be kept away from heat and light. Cold will not spoil the oil, although this can lead to partial hardening. A sealed bottle can stand for a long time, up to 18 months, but use open should not be stretched for too long.
It is best to purchase olive oil in tinted glass bottles as a way to protect the contents from light.
My favorite recipe: crush garlic in olive oil and use as a seasoning for bread. The perfect aperitif!
For quick and tasty pasta, finely chopped carrots, peppers and tomatoes are fried in olive oil, with garlic, pepper and salt. Cook the spaghetti and mix in the vegetables, making sure to take all the oil from the pan. This is an easy enough recipe to allow yourself to enjoy it!
Have you ever had to wonder what to do with a bottle of olive oil that turned out to be bitter? But it is not cheap. I want to provide some useful tips that will help you save money in an era of difficult economic conditions.
First of all, we need to find out why olive oil is bitter. Of course, I’m not talking about the soft bitterness of olive oil, but about the obvious bitterness that prevents us from eating food.
Olive oil should be stored in a dark and cool place. Exposure to heat and light will in turn lead to rancidity.
Users should always be sure that the bottle is sealed tightly to limit exposure to air. As I mentioned Italian olive oil, it is best to store in a dark glass dish. When buying olive oil I try to avoid the oil contained in bottles in plastic or clear glass bottles.
Olive oil will also become rancid over time, although recently bought, ask the store about their storage system, it is possible that the fault lies with them. Contacting a trading company with a polite letter may give you a free fresh bottle of olive oil or two.
Now that we know a little about the cause of bitterness, it's time to turn to the possibility of using bitter or rancid olive oil.
1. Use olive oil to lubricate the hinges of a creaky door or cabinet. Do you know that the door creaks just when you are trying quietly on tiptoe to leave the child’s room, or to enter the house unnoticed?
Take the olive oil and apply it to the loops with a cotton cloth. Store oil with tools or detergents. Do not forget to make a mark so that you do not mistakenly use it in the kitchen.
2. Use oil to make candles. If the smell doesn't bother you too much, you can use olive oil for holiday candles, Saturday candles, or for any other purpose. Olive oil is a safe and effective remedy for burns.
3. Use it for diesel engines. Diesel engines can be converted to run on olive oil, among other means. However, do not try to do this at home without consulting experts in the field.
4. Use it to soften rough skin or lips, saving on all other supermarket cosmetic products.
5. Home remedy for earache: warm up a little olive oil, dip a cotton swab in it and carefully put in the patient’s ear.
There are many ways to save and now is the time to read the topic. Do not throw away your olive oil, which for some reason has become bitter.
People trying for the first time extra Virgin Olive Oil often ask why butter is bitter. Some mean the bitterness of taste, others, a burning sensation in the back of the throat and on the tongue. They also say "oil tears throat."
Burning in the throat - feature of olive oil first cold pressed. She talks about high quality, proper production and storage of the product. At first, the burning sensation will be felt strongly, but over time you will get used to it. The stronger the burning sensation manifests itself in the oil, the more beneficial antioxidants and amino acids are in it, and the more beneficial it is for our health. The acidity of such an oil usually does not exceed 0,8 % .
The burning sensation caused by olive oil helps determine quality. If you bought Extra Virgin oil, but didn’t feel a burning sensation, it means low-quality oil. Either it was not stored correctly, or it was not Extra Virgin at all.
If you store open oil for a long time, it will stop tearing your throat, but will become less useful. This is due to exposure to oxygen. Oil just oxidizes. So, buy the amount of oil that you can consume in a month. Do not keep the oil open longer.
Taste of Olive Oil Depends on the type of oil and olives from which it is squeezed. Some varieties have a bitter taste or aftertaste (sometimes bitterness is described as pungency), some have a mild, sweetish taste.
Good olive oils often have taste descriptions. So, if you do not like bitterness, you can choose a butter with a mild flavor. Oil with a pungent and tart taste will be bitter, but with a soft and sweet no.
Refined Olive Oils Pomace the taste is absent altogether, since after the process of chemical and heat treatment almost all useful substances and amino acids, including those that caused bitterness and burning, disappear. This oil has no taste or smell, does not change the taste of the dish. But it has a high combustion temperature, which means it is great for frying, but does not bring benefits to the body.
Read also:
Olive oil is a popular product that is widely used in cooking, cosmetology, traditional medicine and other fields. It was discovered about 140 centuries ago. Even in ancient times, people knew about the beneficial properties of olive oil.
In the times of ancient Greece and Egypt, girls supported with this component youth, health and beauty. Also, oil was not ignored by such outstanding personalities in the field of science as Aristotle and Hippocrates.
Features of the composition
The promotion of a healthy lifestyle, which is rapidly gaining momentum at present, has fueled public interest in olive oil. More and more people are changing the usual sunflower oil to a more popular product. Regular and proper use of it improves the condition of hair and skin, and also contributes to weight loss and overall health of the body. It is due to these characteristics that Provencal oil has gained popularity among those who adhere to a healthy lifestyle.
An amazing feature of this product is that its composition directly depends on the preparation method. As a rule, fruit picking begins in November and ends in early spring. Berries must be processed in the shortest possible time due to the fact that they are quickly oxidized. Olives are processed by squeezing the pulp. Violations in the process of collecting and manufacturing the product lead to a loss of quality.
The first cold pressed product is saturated with palmitic, oleic and linoleic acid. 100 grams of oil contains about 99.8 grams of fat.
As for vitamins, there is a whole set of them in olive oil: A, K, E, D. Phenolic acids and squalene, which prevent the development of cancer cells, are distinguished among useful elements and compounds.
The taste of the product is specific, and few people like it in its natural form, but when combined with food it turns out to create amazing dishes. The taste of the product is influenced by many factors, among which the place of growing olives, their quality, and the method of preparation of the product stand out. It can be sweetish, bitter, and even a little salty. Such a variety gives culinary experts enormous opportunities for experimentation.
Varieties
Those who are familiar with olive oil know that this product is presented in a wide range by the modern market. Products differ in taste, quality and value. Consider the three main varieties that can be found in supermarkets.
Virgin olive
This is the highest quality and healthy product. Manufacturers use special techniques to maximally preserve all the beneficial properties of all-natural oil. Each component and trace element in the composition is absorbed by the body by almost 100%. Virgin olive is ideal for daily use in its natural form, as well as for preparing tasty and healthy dishes.
Vitamins and minerals will increase the protective capabilities of the body, and with regular intake, positive changes in appearance will be noticeable.
The mechanical process of squeezing the fruit takes place in special conditions. The temperature should not be higher than 27 degrees Celsius. The resulting product does not undergo purification and is not processed. Also, when it is created, dyes and other components are not used.
This type of oil is divided into the following three varieties.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - This is a product of the highest quality, which was highly appreciated by gourmets and professional chefs. Unrefined oil is obtained after the first cold pressing. For cooking, only carefully selected fruits are used. Berries should not have even the smallest defects. If you have a deficiency of vitamins and minerals that are part of olive oil in your body, this type of oil is recommended to be used in its natural form every day. Products of the highest category are often used for medicinal purposes due to the low acidity of 0.8%. The minimum criterion for healing oils should not exceed 1%. However, the product must not be subjected to heat treatment, which means that it is not suitable for frying.
- Virgin- the second type, which is also obtained after cold pressed fruits. Despite its great benefits, this product contains fewer useful elements than Extra. However, the price of oil is more affordable. The acidity index is 2 grams per 100 grams. Due to the reduced cost, oil is much more common on store shelves.
- Ordinary virgin - The most affordable option of all of the above. A distinctive feature of the product is increased acidity (3 grams per 100 grams). Oil of this category is produced using special biological reagents.
Rafined
Oil of this category is more familiar to Russian consumers due to the fact that it is refined products. This term indicates that the product went through a series of treatments before it was packaged and shipped to the shelves. The refining process eliminates the bitter aftertaste, pungent odor and other properties of the natural product. If you are looking for oil for frying and cooking food, then this is the most suitable option.
The use of such a product is completely safe, since oil does not emit carcinogens. Its cost is much more affordable than the prices of oils indicated above.
Remember that the product can only be used for food, medicinal qualities of the product are not peculiar. The product is obtained by the second extraction of olives.
Pomace
A species that has the lowest quality score. However, the product deserves due attention. For the manufacture of the product, cake is squeezed, getting the last drops. The resulting resource is mixed with refined oil and other food additives.
This class is divided into two types.
- Olive-pomace- This is a common mixture of refined product with oil obtained after squeezing the meal. It can be safely used for cooking various dishes. During frying or other heat treatment, the product does not form bitterness or burning.
- Refined Olive-Pomace - the goods of the lowest quality, which is obtained solely due to the pressing of the cake. It makes no sense to purchase a product for use in its raw form due to the lack of benefit in its composition.
Manufacturers use a variety of markings to designate. An icon labeled “Bio” indicates that the oil has been tested for acidity. You can safely take the goods for consumption in kind, since during its manufacture careful control was carried out at each stage.
Should bitterness taste?
Many people who are just starting their acquaintance with this amazing product are not yet fully familiar with its features. You bought an expensive bottle of olive oil in a health food store, brought it from Europe, or received it as a gift. After unpacking and testing, you felt bitterness. The first thought is that you spent the money on a fake, or the product went bad, but this thought is wrong.
Bitterness for high-quality oil is normal. This characteristic indicates naturalness.Such a specific taste has cold pressed products (unrefined oil), made taking into account all the established norms from selected fruits. Natural unrefined oil is used as food for therapeutic prophylaxis, as well as for the preparation of sauces, salads and cold appetizers.
Unknowingly, some housewives use this product for frying, however, in this case, do not worry that bitterness will be transmitted to the dish. The food will be excellent in taste, but lacking in beneficial trace elements. If you plan to cook something through stewing or frying, it is better to purchase refined oil. It will not only be better suited, but will also be cheaper.
There are times when oil can be very bitter. The reason for this is the expired storage period or violation in this process. However, do not rush to throw rancid oil, it can be used for cosmetic and domestic purposes.
How to use and how much bitter oil can be stored?
Oil acquires a specific bitter taste from the main ingredient - olives. Fresh fruits are tart and have a pronounced bitter aftertaste. We pointed out that bitterness has two reasons:
- naturalness of a high quality product;
- delay or improper storage of the product.
In the first case, it is not necessary to correct this feature. If things are different, you can try to rid the product of this drawback. There is a way to remove bitterness at home.
We will need raw carrots. Grate the vegetable and add rancid oil. The vessel is tightly closed and put in a dark place for three days. After time, we filter the oil, pour into a clean bottle, and discard the carrots. You can also add a spoonful of coarse salt to the container.
Product Storage Rules
A quality product in sealed packaging can retain freshness for up to 18 months. After unpacking, it is advisable to use the product as soon as possible. The main negative factors for olive oil are heat and sunlight. The best place to store is a dark and cool room. Cold will not adversely affect the quality of the product, however, it may cause partial hardening.
In the next video you will learn about the meaning of bitterness in olive oil.