Olive Oil: Why You Need It

When buying olive oil be prepared to go through a few brands until you find one that you like. In addition, this is not a product that you want to just grab the cheapest bottle. Do not rule out the more pricy brands. Because if you do not like the way it taste you will not use it. I would suggest sticking with the Extra Virgin olive oil since it has the most antioxidants. Check the label for the acidity level, Extra Virgin should contain 0.8 percent or less, the lower the acidity the more antioxidants it has. Virgin olive oil can have 2 percent or less.

Some are refined with chemicals to disguise rancidity, impurities, and high acidity levels, which causes an unpleasant taste.

Scientists discovered that extra virgin olive oil has an anti-inflammatory compound in it that acts similar to ibuprofen by inhibiting inflammatory enzymes. Also, reducing pain. Researchers have dubbed the compound Oleocanthal. The many health benefits from olive oil ranges from healing and preventing stomach ulcers, lowering blood pressure to lower your risk of certain cancers. New benefits seem to keep popping up.

Incorporating olive oil into you and your family's diet is not very hard. It is as easy as tossing a little bit in almost everything. Just kidding, but kind of true, you will find yourself putting it in a lot of stuff after you figure out to use it.

An easy way to start is by tossing your cooked/drained pasta with olive oil before adding it to whatever you are making. Extra bonus: it will keep the pasta from sticking together if they sit for a minute while you do something else.

Use on fish and poultry, heck any meat, when baking or grilling. Get a bottle and put some of your favorite fresh

herbs, then fill with olive oil and let them fuse together to make a very yummy meat rub, marinade, dressing, etc...

Olive oil can be a substitute for butter in almost any recipe. For every one TSP of butter the recipe calls for use ¾ TSP of olive oil.

Proper storage of olive oil, any oil, is important. Because oil's go bad. Make sure the bottle/container is airtight, store in a cool/dry and dark place. The light will hurt it the most. Putting it in the refrigerator will not hurt it but it eventually will get cloudy and then hard. Not to worry, it is still good. Let it sit at room temperature and it will turn back into liquid.

In the United States, the state of California is the top producer of olive oil, 99%. California is also the home of the COOC, California Olive Oil Council, which most of the states producers belong to. For a Producer to become a member their oil must meet the COOC's distinct high quality standards. The acidity level in extra virgin olive oil must be 0.5 percent or lower, three percent lower then most extra virgin oil usually has.

Therefore, you know you are getting the good stuff when you see the COOC seal on the bottle.

However, which one you will like the best may have nothing to do with the label, have fun shopping!