Tuscan Olive Oil

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Grades of Olive Oil

Extra Virgin: This is the choicest, most costly oil with 1% or less oleic acid. Only the highest quality olives are manually cold-stone pressed with no chemical solvents used. The oil is filtered through cheese cloth. It has a lovely green color and definitively olive taste.

A model of an olive press designed by  Leonardo da Vinci, Il Museo Leonardiano, Vinci.

Virgin: Virgin oil is also pressed, but sometimes uses a lesser grade of olive. It has less than 4% oleic acid and a more mellow flavor than the extra virgin.

Pure: Pure olive oil is the lowest grade. It is often from the second or third pressing and uses a chemical solvent to lower the acid content.

The ancient, gnarled olive trees of San Antimo.