Olive Oil in the Prepared Pantry

Just as discussion ranges among preppers regarding the proper balance of grains and legumes to store, and how exactly they should be packaged, so the debates continue concerning the right type of oils to store to be prepared as best as possible.  Truth be told, I don't really care what others choose to purchase as long as they are happy with it.  However, they don't get to change their minds and decide they want mine.  For short-term situations, fat is fat to the body, regardless of whether it is olive, coconut, soybean (aka vegetable), or canola oil, or butter or lard.  For the long-term, however, some fats and oils have a longer shelf life than others.  Some have medicinal applications.  Some taste better, and some are "cleaner" than others--free of pesticide residues or adulteration by unethical companies.  Today's topic covers some information relevant to those who prepare concerning olive oil.

By now most people are aware that the most expensive olive oils are packaged in dark glass or metal cans.  Glass and metal are completely impermeable to air and moisture; plastic is not.  Studies have shown that oils deteriorate in quality much faster in plastic than in glass.[1]  Dark glass and metal also prevent light from degrading the oil as well.  Aficionados say to only buy as much as you will use rather quickly as the flavor deteriorates.

Unfortunately, selecting good quality olive oil is no easy matter.   This is because olive oil is a whole lot like honey in this country.  There is no government oversight.  The US does not regulate the labeling of extra-virgin olive oil or any other grades of olive oil.  In addition, when oil bottles say "packaged in" and name a country, it's just that--where the oil was bottled.  The olives and resultant oil could have originated from anywhere in the world.

The USDA does grade olive oil as follows, but the grades don't really mean much.

• US Grade A or US Fancy should have good odor and flavor and be free of defects.
• US Grade B or US Choice should have a reasonably typical odor and flavor and not too many defects.
• US Grade C or US Standard should have fairly good typical odor and flavor and not too many defects.
• US Grade D or Substandard is not something you want to use for food.

The International Olive Council (IOC) and North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA), on the other hand, conduct a lot more testing to ascertain whether olive oils live up to the claims of the marketers.  (Apparently, adulterating olive oil and selling it as pure, high-grade stuff is a big Mafia business.)  They say better quality oils will have a harvest/pressing date or a best by date on the bottle.  According to the experts true extra-virgin olive oil has a shelf life of only 18-24 months.

But how can you be sure you're getting the real thing, rather than being fooled by a dark bottle, pretty label, and a little food coloring?  My daughter Becky visited Cobram Estate in California, renowned for their premium olive oils, and got a little inside information on how to determine whether olive oil is genuine.  She also brought samples home for me to try.

• Pour some olive oil onto a white dish.  It should be thicker than corn or vegetable oil.
• Take a sniff.  The oil should smell like olives.  
• Taste it.  It should taste like grass (the lawn, not the drug).  (That just seems wrong to me, but it's true.)
• Swallow a spoonful.  At first, you don't feel much of anything, and then your mouth and throat warm up a bit, and then you start feeling a bit of a burn on the back of the throat. (Those are the antioxidants.)

Just for comparison, swallow a spoonful of peanut, vegetable, or coconut oil.  There's no burn, right?  And of course, they don't smell like olives or taste like grass.

According to industry experts, an awful lot of the extra virgin olive oil sold in this country is adulterated.  Honestly, that probably won't make much difference in our food--we'll still have the essential fats in our diet.  However, it doesn't make sense to spend good money on expensive olive oil that isn't even really what it claims to be.  But there may be occasions when we really want to be sure we are getting the real thing.

That's because olive oil does have some medicinal purposes.  There aren't a lot, so it doesn't warrant a separate blog post, but if you suffer from any of the following, you might wish to do further research on your own--and be sure you're getting the genuine article.  Not only is olive oil used to infuse medicinal herbs and make salves, there is also research demonstrating the following benefits:

• One tablespoon per day can relieve and prevent gallstones
• It lowers blood pressure
• It is effective against some strains of Helicobacter pylori, which cause ulcers, even strains that are resistant to antibiotics.[1]

I ran my own very non-scientific test here for you.  I just finished off a bottle of Colavita olive oil, so I couldn't test that one.  The bottles I pulled out from storage were all extra virgin olive oil.  (I did not open the lone bottle of Cobram Estate.  I used the sample packet instead.)

• Trader Joe's, clear glass bottle, packed in Italy, with oils from Greece, Italy, and Spain
  
• Hemisfares, clear glass bottle, product of Italy
  
• Classico, dark green glass bottle, product of Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Greece, and Argentina
  
• Classico Organic, dark green glass bottle, product of Tunisia and Spain 

All of the samples looked thicker than vegetable oil on the white dish.  None of these smelled like olives at all.  The Classico Organic had the slightest hint of grass flavor to it.  To be fair, all of the bottles are out of date, but not that much out of date, and nothing tasted rancid.  None of the bottles were rated by any of the olive oil associations.  And none had any of the USDA grades.  

In the course of my weekly shopping at Smith's yesterday (21 October 2020), I looked at most of the 30 or so different bottles of olive oil.  I didn't bother to check the clear plastic bottles.  Only Colavita had the NAOOA seal of approval mentioned above.  (Cobram Estate isn't sold at my Smith's.  Last I checked, Raley's carries it.)  And it was 50% off, so I bought a bottle of it.  Maybe I should have gotten another.  Hmmm....

Based on this bit of very unscientific research, I think we'll be buying less "olive" oil in the future, and the little bit that we do purchase will be the high-end stuff for medicinal purposes and the dipping oil that will be covered in tomorrow's post.  

Links to related posts:
The Prepper's Guide to Buying and Storing Honey
Basic Food Storage--Oils
How to Make a Salve 

Ulcers--Identifying, Treating, and Avoiding Them in Challenging Times

References:
[1]  https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/olive-oil-health-benefits#2

10.23.20