Did you read our article about olive oil production? Have you learnt how to taste EVO Oil? Now that you know how to tell apart a good EVOO from bad olive oil, you need to know that to preserve all the olive oil benefits and nutritious characteristics it is necessary to store it properly.
Extra virgin olive oil must have a free acidity <0.8% and must not show defects in the organoleptic analysis of a panel test (EEC Reg. No. 2568/91). What do you have to look at in an EVOO?
1. Fruity
2. Bitterness
3. Pungency
Although the intensity of each parameter varies between different cultivars and EVOOs, all these characteristics must always be found in your olive oil! If you don’t store your EVOO correctly, you may lose these qualities in a few.
How to store olive oil
You should know that EVO oil has three great enemies when it comes to its production and storage: light, oxygen and heat. This is why – to better preserve and appreciate the great quality of any EVO oil – it is necessary to protect your product from:
- Light, by using dark bottles. Glass is the preferred material for olive oil bottles [1];
- Oxygen, by closing the bottle with extreme care after each use, and in any case by finishing your bottle in a short time – olive oil should always be consumed within 18 months of the production date (average olive oil shelf life).
- Heat, by protecting it from heat sources and by storing it at a maximum temperature of 20° C and a minimum of 12° C (optimally 14-15 °C).