Filtered Olive Oil vs Unfiltered Olive Oil
Have you heard of unfiltered olive oil? Do you wonder what it is, what it is used for and even if it is good? Well, in this article Let’s solve all your doubts about unfiltered olive oil and talk about their differences (and similarities) With the most common oil, which is filtered to remove the remaining particles, which are precisely the ones that make non-filtering special.
Now you will understand better:
What is unfiltered olive oil?
It is the olive oil that has not gone through one of the final processes of regular crafting, fine filtering. Follow the Oil production phases in the oil mill -the washing, the sieving, the grinding, the smoothie and the packaging-, but does not go through a fine filter at the end of the process, so it contains particles of skin, pulp or very small remains of bone from the fruit. In fact, it is also known as olive branch oil (in a parallel with the branch wine) or as olive juice. In any case, the filtered extra virgin olive oil is also 100% olive juice.
Due to these particles, it acquires a more cloudy appearance and much less transparent than the filtered oil.
What is unfiltered olive oil used for?
It is advisable to use unfiltered olive oil only raw, because the olive oil particles it contains do not make it optimal for frying. Due to its consistency, more intense color and turbidity, we often see it decorating cold dishes or as the final touch of a hot plate.
Here you can find some tips for the raw use of EVOO.
4 Differences and Similarities Between Unfiltered Olive Oil and Filtering
1. Unfiltered olive oil omits the fine filtering process
The main difference is reflected in his name. Unfiltered olive oil does not go through this process, but it does through a previous screening in which larger particles such as bones, leaves or small pebbles are eliminated.
Many people automatically relate unfiltered olive oil as a “more natural” product. But the reality is that filtering or not, both products are completely natural, since the filtering does not imply the addition of any chemical, simply, it is one more phase of the process.
2. Unfiltered olive oil is more difficult to preserve than filtering
The most common EVOO, filtering, can be kept between 18 and 36 months, however, it is not advisable to consume the oil without filtering beyond 6 months of purchase.. Therefore, you have to consume it as soon as possible and apply the conservation advice with even more care: above all, not expose it to light or heat.
In fact, it is not a good idea to buy a bottle of oil without filtering before summer, the ideal is to do it as soon as you leave the mill, in the winter months. This product is always “young” while it is on sale, since the particles it contains ferment over time, ruining its flavor and quality.
Therefore, it is advisable not to store this oil for “special occasions”, but to start consuming it as soon as you buy it to enjoy it in its optimal state.
Find more information about oil conservation here.
3. Unfiltered olive oil is not of higher quality than filtering
Sometimes there is a false feeling that unfiltered olive oil is of higher quality than the one that has been filtered, more natural or even a gourmet product (it will only be if the oil is of an excellent quality, not because it is not filtered).
Nothing further from reality, Unpressed oil is of the same quality as pressing And, although some people defend that its flavor is more intense, the tasters deny it. To do this, you only have to do a test at home by filtering this oil with a coffee filter to see that its flavors do not differ.
Of course, unfiltered olive oil is equally delicious, only you have to take into account its conservation advice, not store for a long time so that they do not ferment the particles it contains and consume cold.
4. Unfiltered oil may contain more polyphenols
Unfiltered oil, with a small percentage of particles and should always be consumed from the last campaign, often contains a little more polyphenols than a filtered one.. Polyphenols are compounds with healthy effects on the cardiovascular system and with antioxidant properties.
But as this points Green Chronicle article, a 20-minute specialized blog, “additional polyphenols that, being not filtered, can increase their concentration on the product, would not compensate, in the opinion of those who know about this, their greatest demands for conservation and consumption”.
And so far our information and opinion on the unfiltered oil or oil in branch. In short, the important thing about the oil is that it be of the highest quality -extra virgin olive oil- and then you choose your preferences on whether it will be filtered or not, taking into account that the unfiltered has greater limitations, both in conservation and uses.
And find in our online shop for olive oil the product (in our case, filtered) you are looking for! Empeltre, Arbequina and Selection, know our options of Aragon Premium EVOO.
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