TV host and comedian David Letterman has his Top Ten List. I’m starting my own list. Mine aims to set the record straight on olive oil. Below are my Top Five Olive Oil Myths:

1. All European extra virgin olive oil sold in the United States is true, certified EVOO. Wrong! California has adopted strict tasting and testing standards for what can be sold as certified EVOO in the Golden state, while the International Olive Council has set its own standards for what’s sold overseas. But the U.S. government hasn’t set nationwide certification standards. Consequently, foreign producers can ship olive oil to the states and label it “extra virgin” – even though it isn’t true EVOO. “They can, and they do,” says Nancy Ash, a trained olive oil taster and owner of the consulting firm Strictly Olive Oil.
2. Light olive oil is lower in fat and calories. The fat and calorie levels in “light” olive oil are the same as any other type of olive oil. Light olive oil is made from refined olive oil that’s light in flavor, color and aroma. The term is a marketing ploy.
3. To make EVOO, olives are crushed with heavy mill stones. That was the case many years ago. But hammer mills largely have replaced donkey-powered stone mills. The modern hammer mills use a motorized system that’s much like a meat grinder: Arms, or blades, spin at a high speed and crush the olives and force them through a stainless-steel screen.
4. You can tell an extra virgin olive oil’s quality by its color. Color isn’t a good indicator of quality. But color will tell you other things. Olives harvested early in the season, for example, are naturally very green and therefore produce a greener oil. “Olives picked early in the season tend to make green colored oil as they contain higher levels of chlorophyll,” notes Australian olive oil expert Richard Gawel. “Olives harvested late in the season will typically produce more golden colored oils due to a higher level of natural occurring levels of carotene-like substances. Both oils may be technically equivalent in quality but very different in style.”
5. You can’t cook with EVOO. This belief mistakenly assumes EVOO has a low “smoke point” – that’s the temperature at which the oil begins to break down and smoke. A high-quality EVOO has a higher smoke point than other oils, making it very suitable for many forms of cooking, such as frying.  “Extra virgin olive oil’s smoke point is generally given as 410 degrees Fahrenheit, which gives plenty of room for the 250-350 degrees Fahrenheit that covers most cooking,” says Karen Collins, a nutrition adviser for the American Institute for Cancer Research, a nonprofit which funds cancer-prevention research.

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

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