Olive Oil Facts
We take great pride in our production, and most importantly we want you to know what you are buying. So we are making our Laconiko Extra Virgin Olive Oil Analysis public, with an explanation of what each of those figures represent.
Look at our acidity level! 0.13% this is almost 7 times lower than what is regulated for Extra Virgin Olive Oils. And as you know the lower the acidity the better the quality.
Extra Virgin oil: This is the good stuff, with flavor characteristics of fresh, crisp, clean, fruity olive oil. Just like anything else, the taster/consumer must become familiar with this flavor in order to recognize it. Extra virgin oils do not have any off flavors or any flavors of cooked or refined oil. They feel substantial in the mouth and are not greasy. They should have a nice fruity flavor and can have a pleasant bitterness, pungency, and astringency. Olive oils that are slightly defective in flavor that have not been refined or solvent extracted are not extra virgin, but might be graded as virgin olive oil.
Free Acidity: This is a crude indicator of the quality of the fruit and handling procedures prior to milling. It is a measurement of hydrolytic breakdown of the fatty acid chains from triglycerides into diglycerides and monoglycerides, liberating free fatty acids. It is determined easily with a titration of potassium hydroxide that neutralizes the acidity. It is usually expressed as percent (%) free fatty acids on the basis of the oleic acid, because that is the predominant fatty acid in olive oil. It is commonly called the percent acidity or free acidity percent. Free acidity in an oil is not the same as sourness or acidity in other foods. Free fatty acids (acidity) cannot be tasted in olive oil, at least not at the levels normally present.
• Peroxide Value: This is a crude indicator of the amount of primary oxidation that has occurred, forming peroxide compounds within the oil. A high value indicates that the olives or paste was likely handled improperly, the oil could be defective, and the oil might not keep well. It is done through a titration that liberates iodine from potassium iodide and is expressed as a value in milequivalents of free oxygen per kilo of oil (meq O2/kg).
• UV Light Absorbency: This is a more delicate indicator of oxidation, especially in oils that have been heated in the refining process. It measures the quantity of certain oxidized compounds that resonate at wavelengths of 232 and 270 nanometers (nm) in the ultraviolet spectrum in a spectrophotometer. Delta (Δ) K detects oil treatments with color removing substances and the presence of refined or pomace oil by measuring the difference between absorbance at 270 nm and 266 nm – 274 nm.
