Do you know what the acidity of oil is?
In today's article, we will explain what the acidity of oil is, where it comes from, and what it determines in the oil according to its amount.
Oil is naturally produced inside the olive, forming triglycerides, which are composed of three fatty acids joined by a molecule called glycerol.
The bond between glycerol and the three fatty acids is not very strong, so under any oxidizing or aggressive environment it breaks, freeing the three fatty acids, and the oil degrades.
Acidity measures the amount of free fatty acids in the oil; therefore, acidity is a general indicator of the quality of virgin olive oils.
What are the acidity values according to the type of virgin olive oil?
As mentioned earlier, acidity is a parameter that measures the quality of virgin olive oil and divides them into two categories:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Its acidity is less than or equal to 0.8 degrees.
- Virgin Olive Oil: Its acidity must be less than or equal to 2 degrees.
When virgin olive oils have an acidity higher than 2 degrees, they are classified as lampante.
Many times, there is a mistake of associating the acidity level with the taste of the oil by linking the word acidity (amount of free oleic acid) with a sour or acidic flavor.
However, acidity does not influence the taste of olive oil; it only determines the quality of the oil and, therefore, its classification.
How is a certain degree of acidity achieved?
The environments in which the olive is grown can affect the acidity of extra virgin olive oil, as they can be oxidizing or aggressive.
When the olive is on the tree, these triglycerides are protected by its skin. If the skin breaks, the triglycerides come into contact with oxygen, which begins to deteriorate them and increases acidity.
This deterioration can occur while on the tree due to pests, hail... or once harvested and stored, as olives at the bottom get crushed.
- The milling and production process of extra virgin olive oil must be as fast as possible because once milling is done, the product comes into contact with air and begins to oxidize, losing quality.
- Finally, storage is also very important because the containers in which it is kept must be opaque to avoid light exposure.
Additionally, within extra virgin olive oils, we find different acidity grades below 0.8, reaching premium category EVOOs like those you can find at https://www.aceitedejaen.es
