Spanish olive oil

The purpose of this post is to recommend why I recommend Spanish olive oil. If you like me, do not have a great income and love olive oil for health and taste reasons, then you will find this post of value.  However, I need your feedback on Spanish olive oil as I may be partial. This is my own personal experience with choosing olive oil, and again leave your ideas.

Why olive oil

It is the best oil to use as it is monounsaturated. This is a very important point.  Do not dismiss this, if you use Spanish olive oil or any other it does not turn bad when heated or cooked with.

In contrast when you heat polyunsaturated or normal vegetable oil it will destroy your health.  Do not cook with polyunsaturated oil.  It is the worst thing for your weight and health.  Only use butter or olive oil.  Vegetable oil must be raw or for salads. But the main reason is olive oil tastes great.

Why olive oil from Spain?

It is simple economics, I do not understand it myself, but boy I love it.  Spanish olive oil is usually the cheapest. There are so many different brands and flavors that I can not even go into it here, however, for me the country of origin is important for the price.

If you are frugal like me first go right for the for Latina olive oil.  Now that Olea europaea is the center of every supermarket shopping aisle, as it should be first focus on the country of origin.   Then focus in on the specific type you want. I think the low cost producer of Hispanic olive oil is Goya.  This is only about 2 dollars a bottle. This I pour on everything.  It is so cheap it is basically free.

When it comes to Spanish food in general Goya is the cheapest.  However if you take a look at Goya olive oil and hold it up to the light you can see it is also low quality in terms of richness.  It is not bad to use as your main oil, however, if you are preparing something special maybe you want to chose another brand.

How to choose good Hispanic olive oil

I simply hold it up to the light.  Be careful because a lot of the bottles have a tint and can deceive you regarding the color and look.  However, generally if you are in a shop, you can see the quality and even how the oil moves in the bottle. I like the olive oil from the Madrid region as the arid warm climate gives it a good taste but any Español (language) speaking country produced good olive oil.

Do not get too involved with the label and what it says, first press or this or that, look with your eyes. You do not have to read everything you can on it, uses your own senses, taste, smell, look, I think personal experience not someone’s recycled information on the Internet is the best way to choose.  I like a little cloudy unfiltered thick look. However, I think first pressed is the best.

Pomace oil is extracted with a chemical process, is this good for you? Of course the pure olive oil is the best but it comes down to price.  I have to do more research is this Pomace is really all that good for you as they use hexane to extract it.  I think they use this grade in cheap restaurants.

What about Mediterranean oil from olives countries?

Production of olive oil:

1. Spain 32%
2. Italy 22%
3. Greek 16%
4. Rest comes from Tunisia, and other Mediterranean countries.

These are great quality countries but you pay a price. Italy they have this volcanic soil that really changes the taste in positive way, but there is a cost factor, which changes in a negative way.  This is why I stick to Spain.

I am American living in the EU.  For me here in Europe, Spain is the country of choice. If I was in the States I think I would look for Mexican in the future (once it develops this tree crop, and it will) or  now Spanish oil from olives.

Uses of this wonderful oil

1. Olive oil soap
2. I use it for a hand moisturizer
3. Massage for my back or feet or healing uses
4. Mixed with other things can be a good night anti-wrinkle application, make your own that is
5. Put herbs in it like rosemary or even garlic and have it as decoration
6. Use it for burning in a lamp
7. Aromatic uses

Let me know if you think my assessment of Spanish olive oil is correct or I am partial because I like the culture of this country.