Tips to Use Olive oil
Olive oil is extracted by pressing or crushing olives. Cold compressed extra virgin Olive oil is considered the best because it is the least processed and made from the first pressing of the olives. One tablespoon of Olive oil contains 119 calories and 14 g of fat.
The following tips will guide you to choose and use the Olive oil in best possible way for health benefits:
- Do not heat Olive oil. It is best to use it straight from the bottle. Olive oil loses its health benefits if it is heated.
- Store Olive oil in opaque or dark tinted containers to preserve its phenolic compounds that have high anti-oxidant properties.
- Check the date of manufacture. Healthful properties of good Olive oil last only 2 years. Better still if the date is within the past year.
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- Look for slight cloudiness in Olive oil. Clarity suggests that the oil has been filtered and processed a number of times thereby diminishing the quality of oil.
- Avoid mixing Olive oil in water. Since phenolic compounds are water-soluble, contact with water will leach them out and ruin the health benefits of Olive oil.
- A good quality extra-virgin Olive oil contains less than 0.8 percent acidity.
- Anti-oxidants in Olive oil are bitter – the higher the anti-oxidants, the more bitter the oil. So, it may not taste good in mayonnaise but can work very well with garlic and pasta dish.
