Prepare Healthy Recipes And Stay Healthy With Extra Virgin Olive Oil

By Author: Luessidino
Total Articles: 24
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People's questions about the best cooking oil are never-ending. Varieties of cooking oils are used in different parts of India and modern Indians are experimenting with different kinds of cooking oils. The health utility of olive oil is known to everyone and the newest addition is extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is extracted from the fruits of olive trees through various proven processes. It is not the types of fruits but the extraction process on the basis of which olive oil is graded and extra virgin is one of such grades.

Grading Process of Olive Oil
Today varieties brands of extra virgin olive oil could be found in India. If you compare any general olive oil and extra-virgin grade of olive oil, you could see that the later version is darker than the general version of olive oil. However, the extent of darkness varies from brand to brand. So, it is not possible to confirm the quality just by seeing the colour. The grading of olive oil depends on the availability of free oleic acid or the level of acidity present in the oil. Taste of this oil changes remarkably depending on the level of acidity. So, there are extra virgin, virgin, and general olive oils available in the market. You need to read the labels carefully to understand what version you are buying.

Processing of Olive Oil
Olive oil is extracted from the fruits of the olive tree known as olive. Olives are pressed to extract the oil. The extracted oil is then processed with several types of permitted chemicals. To make it cheaper sometimes, the processed oil is diluted with some other oils. But, the extra-virgin grade is the most natural grade of olive oil contains all-natural qualities of olive fruit:
It is processed naturally with minimum or no chemical at all.
It is standardized for certain qualities like smell and taste.
It contains the highest percentage of phenolic antioxidants that no other grades of olive oils contain.

Nutritional Benefits of the Extra Virgin grade of Olive Oil
Buyers cautious about their health and know the health benefits of the oil have been replacing it with other traditional cooking oils. For Virgin olive oil India now has wide choices. But extra virgin is better than virgin since its grading process is more rigid than virgin olive oils. So, you must have a clear idea of the virgin and extra virgin:
Virgin olive oil is also a crude form of olive oil processed naturally
Extra virgin is the crudest form of olive oil it contains minimum possible acidity level

Following are nutritional values of the extra virgin:
It contains more than 70% monosaturated fat in the form of oleic acid.
It contains less than 15% saturated fat.
It contains higher quantities of Vitamin E and Vitamin K
It is full of antioxidants like oleocanthal and oleuropein
It is perhaps the only cooking oil with so many benefits such as lower amount of saturated fats, lower amount of bad cholesterol, higher amount of anti-inflammatory substances, and higher amount of antioxidants.