Hello,
I would like to ask how to choose a quality olive oil. I have read that there is a lot of fraud – lower quality oils are passed off as extra virgin. I would also like to know what oil acidity means? It is supposedly one of the indicators of oil quality, but I haven’t seen this information on most oils.
Thank you.
To select a high-quality olive oil, you can use several criteria, with two being key:
1. Acidity - It is defined by the content of free fatty acids (it should be up to 0.5%). Do not buy a product that does not present this information, as you have no guarantee of its quality. However, if you are buying oil from small producers (family businesses) they often do not provide this value, as they often consider it an unnecessary financial investment that increases their costs.
2. Degree of filtration (refinement) of the oil - For cold dishes, it is advantageous to prefer unfiltered oil, as it contains a much higher amount of health-beneficial substances. You can recognize this by the oil not being completely clear and it solidifies faster in the cold (or the precipitation of unfiltered impurities such as lecithins, etc. occurs).
Themes: Olive oil
Questions answered by
Mgr. Martin Jelinek
Lecturer and author of the educational system
Nutrition educator, lecturer, and author of the educational system and the ZOF learning application.
Mgr. Martin Jelínek has been systematically involved in nutrition education since 1999. He is the founder of ATAC, the educational company behind NutriCourses, and the author of an educational system focused on nutrition, healthy lifestyle, and the practical application of nutrition knowledge.
He graduated from the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University in Brno. Throughout his professional career, he has combined nutrition, education, and the practical application of acquired knowledge. His educational system also includes the ZOF (Zone of Optimal Functioning) learning application, where students turn theory into practical work with meal plans.
In 2007, he launched the first intake of a six-month course focused on the education of nutrition advisors. Over time, this course became the foundation for the further development of the educational system and a range of specialised courses.