Like a Virgin
Don’t go thinking I’ve got Madonna on my iPod. This kind of virgin has to do with olive oil. I was at my parents’ home, and Mom asked me to explain what virgin oil was. Dad made a dumb joke. I snickered, and Mom rolled her eyes and swatted him on the arm with the newspaper she was reading. My dad’s corny, but he always makes me laugh.
I told her the phrase virgin olive oil was another of those confusing labeling issues. She wanted to know why the U.S.D.A. didn’t clear up the olive oil issue. Geez! That’s all we need. They really cleared up the nutrition labeling issue a couple of years ago, didn’t they? A food label takes a degree in nutrition and a magnifying glass to decipher now.
I know that olive oil is so trendy you could call it the new wine. California is poised to breakout as a producer, and just recently, Spanish food giant Grupo Sos announced plans to begin olive tree cultivation on a massive scale in Texas. They think they can begin producing oil in three years.
With the rise in popularity of olive oil, I look for the labeling issue to become even more confusing. Most of the major olive oil producers, except the United States, follow the rules of the International Olive Oil Council, located in Madrid, Spain. This governing body’s standards are complex, and sometimes sound confusing.
For example, the term virgin oil referring to production is different from Virgin Oil on a label. The production term means it was produced by physical means with no chemical treatment. Virgin Oil on the label however refers to the acidic level. The lower the acidic level, the better quality the oil.
So I tried to explain it as simply as I could and give the basic facts to my mom. I told her that virgin olive oil can be a first-press oil too, just like extra virgin.
The thing to remember is that the term virgin on the label refers to the acid level, not the flavor. According to technical grading of olive oils, based on acidity level, pure virgin olive oil has to be in the range of .9% to 1.9%.
Don’t be confused by a blend of extra virgin and virgin oils that are sometimes sold and have a resulting acid level at variance from this scale.
Virgin olive oil is usually made from slightly riper olives, and there’s no chemical intervention in the production of the oil. It’s the acid level that determines whether it’s called virgin.
What about the taste? Well, you have to remember that whatever grade of oil (meaning acidity) you buy, the variety of olive, the climate, the soil, the way the olives are picked, and the way they’re processed all contribute to the taste.
Another important thing to look for is olive oil that is labeled cold press. Not because it means it’s been pressed, that’s an archaic term, and many producers now use centrifuges. It’s the word cold you’re looking for. Cold means without heat, and that’s what you want. Heat processing changes the chemical structure of olive oil. You want it as close to natural as you can get it. With virgin, you’re looking at natural, but at a lower price because of the higher acidity.
You can use virgin oil the same way as “regular” olive oil. Cook with it. Bake with it. Put a dollop in your pot of boiling water for pasta. It will probably have a richer flavor and aroma than regular olive oil so it’s sometimes a good choice for salad dressings and recipes where the taste of the oil is important.
When I finished explaining all that, to my astonishment, their eyes were still focused, not glazed over. I must be better at this explaining gig than I thought. 
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