What does Extra Virgin or EVO mean?
09 Using the term Virgin. Means that the olive oil is extracted by mechanical means from the olives, rather than with solvents and high heat. All other readily available vegetable oils, canola, safflower, peanut, etc. Even non-virgin olive oil is dissolved chemically out of the plant material, and the solvent is then boiled off. Unless the label on a vegetable or nut oil indicates that it has been expelled or expressed and the cost confirms this expensive method, you can assume it has gone through chemical processing.
Let’s start with the term ‘Virgin’. That means that the olive oil is extracted from the olives by mechanical means, rather than with solvents and high heat. All other readily available vegetable oils – canola, safflower, peanut, etc – even non-virgin olive oil – are chemically dissolved out of the plant material, and then the solvent is boiled off. Unless the label on a vegetable or nut oil indicates that it has been expelled or expressed (and the price confirms this expensive method), you can assume it has gone through chemical processing. Now, for the term ‘Extra Virgin’. This means that the virgin olive oil has passed chemical tests for purity and taste tests to assure the absence of spoilage flavors. You should be able to count on getting a healthy, tasty olive oil, possessing the flavors of the olive fruit. Unfortunately, the United States does not yet acknowledge the international standards for this designation, and the term is widely misused here for oils that may not even come
