EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO)

EVOO is not a perishable product, it does not expire. Its label shows the best-before date, so if you take it after this date, it does not represent any risk to your health.

The adequate period of consumption to taste EVOO with its organoleptic qualities intact, is 12 months from its extraction. EVOO DOES NOT EXPIRY, but over time it loses its properties.

Once EVOO bottle or can has been opened and properly stored, it should be consumed within 6 months.

1- EVOO should be kept away from light

2- EVOO should be kept away from heat sources. It is not necessary to put it in the refrigerator, where it can densify, but it should be kept in a cool place (between 14º - 18º, just like wine)

3- It should never be transferred to another container format other than the original one, since it oxidizes (losing its properties, such as polyphenols) and tends to go rancid.

NO. In fact, it is the best way to spoil it.

1- When EVOO is transferred, it oxidizes, losing its properties and enhancing the rancidity process. 

2- Oil cruets are usually transparent: light passes through and the EVOO spoils.

3- Oil cruets are not usually cleaned before adding a new EVOO. The dregs of the previous EVOO spoil the new one.

What can we use at the table? Small formats that keep EVOO always perfect, like our bottle of 250ml.

- Clean EVOO used and strain it. It is necessary to eliminate all the remains of the food that has been previously cooked to avoid the constant refrying of the same, which in addition, being burned would produce toxic aldehydes.

- Once strained, EVOO must be stored in a jar or glass jar. In this case it does not matter that it is not a dark container; it can be transparent. 

The consumption of EVOO is mainly recommended raw due to its high content of vitamins and phenolic compounds (antioxidants). However, it is also highly recommended to consume EVOO in any culinary preparation such as sautéed, stir-fried, fried, baked...etc.

YES, You can use EVOO for any food, but you must take into account the pairing. Each food needs a type of EVOO.

There are sweet EVOOs and strong>strong/intense EVOOs. If we go to the intensity of flavors that we have in the spanish culture, they are all intense flavors that is why Picual EVOO is one of the most used (for stews, lentils, gazpacho, salads, tomato sauce, chocolate-based desserts (....). Etc). If, for example, picual EVOO is used in a mayonnaise, it will be too strong. In this case, a sweeter EVOO could be used.

It depends. If we are talking about EVOOs of different varieties and from the same year, they can be mixed, in fact you can get EVOOs of organoleptic qualities to the consumer's taste. For example, a picual EVOO could be blended with an arbequina EVOO. What is never convenient to do is to mix EVOO with a refined vegetable oil (for example a sunflower oil) or with a pomace oil, because it would spoil it. 

Yes, all vegetable oils lose their properties when heated. The ideal, from a health point of view, is to cook food at a low temperature, and always avoid the smoking point. When an olive oil starts to smoke it means that it is burning, which is not good for health. The best way to cook in a frying pan is to poach, since the temperature does not usually exceed 70º.

YES. The better EVOO is, the more beneficial properties it has, and therefore, when heated, even if it loses these properties, it will still retain some of them. This goes against the false belief that a good EVOO cannot be used for frying.

- Fry at a temperature lower than 180 degrees, although the ideal is not to exceed 70º to maximize the organoleptic properties. The lower the temperature, the more properties the EVOO preserves

- EVOO should never be burned (when EVOO smokes) because they produce a substance called toxic aldehydes that favor the appearance of diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's...

- The food must be as dry as possible.

- The food must be as dry as possible.

Our recommendation is not to reuse it more than 5 times, because every time you expose EVOO to high temperatures it alters. In addition, a used EVOO can make the food absorb it more, and taste or smell strange...this is called cross-contamination.

The ideal is to buy EVOO that is within the best-before date. The date of extraction of EVOO depends greatly on each region. 

At Dehesa de la Sabina, 100% picual variety, the first extracted, between October and November, is the PREMIUM, Early Harvest Organic EVOO, a real jewellery for its very high quality. Then, between November and early December it is extracted AOVE DAILY ECOLOGICAL DAILY another healthy jewellery that we recommend using as the base EVOO in our kitchen.

It is important that EVOO is freshly bottled. We bottle gradually. We do NOT accumulate stocks so that our organic EVOO retains all its properties for as long as possible.

You have to taste EVOO to know if it is in good condition. It has to be done with a spoon without any other food. Taste is the sense that we recommend to see the quality and condition of EVOO. When tasted, EVOO has to have a pleasant flavor. 

- Look at the product labelingIt must be Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)and produced with first cold extraction.

-Choose non-transparent packaging (dark bottles or inside cases that protect it from light). EVOO is sensitive to light and oxygenation.

- Choose EVOO with low acidity.  The characteristic acidity of a good EVOO is close to 0.1, and the higher the acidity, the lower the quality. By law EVOO can have an acidity of up to 0.8. Normally it does not appear on the product. The best way to find out is to ask the brand.

In Dehesa de la Sabina we have 2 organic EVOOs:Premium(acidity 0.11) and the Daily (acidity 0.14)

-Choose an EVOO within the best-before date The appropriate consumption period is 12 months after extraction. 

- Taste it at home with a spoon and no other foods. The positive qualities of EVOOs are fruity, bitter and spicy. Any flavor that deviates from these characteristics is a defect. The easiest defect to detect is rancidity. 

The reality is that it is practically impossible to find a high quality EVOO at a relatively economical price. The normal thing is to be able to obtain economic prices sacrificing the quality of the product. 

Contact us and we will answer any questions or doubts you may have.

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