Facts and myths about olive oil

Can you bake in extra virgin olive oil or not? And what about the health benefits of olive oil?

Wilma followed a 4-year training as an olive oil sommelier and tells us all about the facts and fables about olive oil.

You cannot heat extra virgin olive oil and you cannot bake in it

This is a fable – and also the most frequently asked question to Wilma. You can bake in extra virgin olive oil, in fact, it is very healthy. Just don't choose the most beautiful and expensive one, because the flavor is lost when heated; after all, you don't make the sangria with a Barolo either.

Green/cloudy olive oil is tastier and healthier than clear yellow olive oil

This is a myth – color has absolutely nothing to do with taste or how healthy the oil is. Not even if it says bio on it. That's why we taste olive oil with blue glasses so that our eyes can't fool our minds.

Read also: How do you recognize a good olive oil?

Extra virgin olive oil from the first cold pressing is the best

This is a myth – all extra virgin olive oil is cold-pressed. It is a marketing trick to mention it on the label.

Extra virgin olive oil is good for health and there seems to be a direct link between consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's

This is a fact - two tablespoons a day is part of the Mediterranean diet and the average for a Greek. They consume by far the most olive oil per capita – people live long on average, have less cardiovascular disease and less Alzheimer's.

Want to know more about olive oil?

Olive oil:the reference book (€25.99 – Lannoo Publishers) by Wilma van Grinsven-Padberg will be available this month. The book about olive oil, including surprising recipes.