What’s the Difference Between Organic and Regular Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

December 3, 2019

Nearly every home in the United States has its own bottle of olive oil. From bachelors half-prepared to cook a meal to families with all the fixings, olive oil is one of the basic staples in the kitchen of every cook. Why? Because olive oil is as much of a necessity as salt and pepper. It’s the foundation of every pan-fried piece of meat. It’s the magical liquid that turns chocolate powder and eggs into a batch of brownies. Put to heat, olive oil turns ordinary potatoes into crispy home fries.

Olive oil is versatile, malleable and utterly necessary. Perhaps that’s why there are so many varieties of olive oil on the market. Beyond just different tastes, olive oil has different grades and recipes that make purchasing extra virgin olive oil in Ohio more complicated than you might think. Take, for instance, the difference between traditional extra virgin olive oil and increasingly popular organic extra virgin olive oil.

Traditional extra virgin olive oil

To be classified as “extra virgin,” olive oil must be at its most pure. The difference between extra virgin olive oil and plain, old olive oil is the degree to which the olive’s taste and color have been translated into the final product. Extra virgin olive oil also carries more of the natural plant’s beneficial vitamins and minerals than ordinary olive oil.

Even before you get to the purportedly upper-crust grades of olive oil, when you choose extra virgin olive oil, you’re getting an exceptionally high-quality product.

The USDA difference

The word “organic” isn’t a designation that just anyone can slap on their product. It’s a strictly-regimented program that’s monitored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). To get certified as organic, companies must jump through a series of hoops, like avoiding synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, refraining from using genetically-modified seeds and a litany of other tasks.

The organic certification process is a rigorous one that requires time, money and effort to attain. That initial investment, plus the extra cost of ensuring that the USDA can monitor every step of the process, is why organic products tend to cost more than their counterparts.

Premium vs. organic

Typically, premium olive oils are grown and harvested identically to the olives used in organic olive oil. More often than not, the only actual difference between USDA-certified organic olive oil and premium extra virgin olive oil in Ohio is the step-by-step monitoring that earns olive oil its USDA certification.

The truth is, olive trees are naturally hardy and pest resistant, so they don’t typically require pesticides or chemical fertilizers. As a result, premium extra virgin olive oil is often identical in quality to organic extra virgin olive oil in Ohio. The only real difference is the price.

Olivamed LLC is working for you

Whether you want regular, premium or organic extra virgin olive oil in Ohio, Olivamed LLC has it. We’re proud to offer a massive variety of specialty oils from the world’s best makers. Imported from countries like Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Argentina and more, we carry a boutique selection with a mass-production mentality.

Companies throughout Ohio are enthusiastic about our oils. Call today for a free estimate and let us make you a believer.

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