Olive oil

Olive oil is the fat of the Olive. The fruit and the oil are different ingredients; olive oil is the pressed product.

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes voluntary grade standards for olive oil and olive-pomace oil. U.S. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is virgin oil with excellent flavor and odor (median of defects equal to zero and median of fruitiness greater than zero) and free fatty acid, as oleic acid, not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams, plus further requirements in the standard ¹. Virgin, lampante, refined, and blends of refined with virgin are other grades. Olive-pomace oil is a separate family. None of this is an FDA identity standard. A bottle can be honest oil without carrying a USDA grade shield.

Cooking and baking. Oil coats, fries, and carries aroma. It is not Butter. In dough it is fat, not water. The amount and handling belong to the recipe; identify which liquid you poured before you adjust it.

What to notice. Fruitiness versus defects (musty, fusty, rancid) is how extra virgin is judged, not a color contest. Taste it cold. A bitter, peppery tickle can be fruit, not a fault. If it smells like crayons or old nuts, the grade conversation is already over.

Tasting is the skill for evaluating it.