fbpx
Shopping Cart

Use code "OLIVE12IN" for additional 12% OFF

How Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil Different From Pomace Olive Oil?

Table of Contents

Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil are different kinds of olive oil that share many similarities. How do they vary, though?

Today, we’ll explain in detail how they are the same and distinct from one another, along with what they are best used for.

Before we get into the comparisons, let’s go through the different olive oil grades and how they’re produced.

How Are Different Olive Oil Grades Produced?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Extra Virgin olive oil is the highest quality and is available in both traditional and organic forms. The olives are first picked and washed in cold water. They are then mashed into a paste and centrifuged to obtain the high-quality oil. This procedure usually takes place within 24 hours of collecting the olives from the trees. Although EVOO is renowned as the 

“first, cold-press,” it is actually spun rather than pressed in contemporary methods. It is technically an olive fruit juice because it is the liquid taken from the olive fruit. To be classified as Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the oil must have an acidity level less than 0.8 and no flavour defects.

Table of Contents

Pomace Olive Oil

The oil derived from the pomace of the olive is known as olive pomace oil. The term “pomace” refers to the pulp formed from the olive pit and already-squeezed olive fruit. When an olive is plucked, it is crushed into a paste and pressed or spun to extract the first oil. The dry pulp that remains is referred to as pomace.

To remove any leftover oil, a solvent (usually hexane) is applied to the pomace. After the solvent has been removed, the residual Olive Pomace Oil is refined. This is a similar procedure to that used to produce traditional seed oils such as soybean and canola.

Comparison Between Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Pomace Olive Oil

So, now that you’ve read about how each grade is manufactured above, you can certainly recognize the differences between these two sorts of oils.

Produced From Pomace Vs Extra Virgin Olive Oils

The term “Olive Pomace Oil” comes from the fact that it is manufactured from the “pomace” of the olive.  The dry pulp that remains after pressing extra virgin olive oil is referred to as pomace.

Extra Virgin olive oil, on the other hand, is prepared from previously produced virgin olive oils. Before they are processed, these virgin olive oils are considered the “first cold press/spin.”

Olive pomace oil is made from the very dry leftovers from the production of other olive oils. Whereas, extra light olive oil is prepared from virgin olive oils that are simply made by pressing/spinning the fresh, moist olive paste.

Solvent Expelled vs Physically Pressed

Olive pomace oil is extracted from the dry pomace using a solvent, often hexane. Pomace is the dry residue of olives after they have been strained. You can no longer squeeze them to get the oil out! To extract the remaining of this oil, a solvent is applied to the dry olive residue, which pulls it out.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, in comparison, is produced by refining previously produced virgin olive oils. These are exclusively created by physical means, such as spinning in a centrifuge or squeezing in a press. There’s nothing added in the process, and no chemicals are required to extract the oil.

Best For High Heat Cooking

Extra virgin olive oil is the most stable cooking oil and can tolerate temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit (deep frying occurs at 350-375 F). Because of their strong antioxidant concentration, virgin olive oils release minimal quantities of hazardous chemicals even when heated past their smoke point.

Both are refined and clear

Both Pomace and Extra Light Olive Oils are refined after they are produced. This refining procedure may fluctuate somewhat depending on the kind of oil or mill. However, it is often heated to high temperatures in a vacuum (to avoid oxidation) and filtered through a light-colored earthen clay to remove colour pigments.