Difference Between Yellow & Green Extra Virgin Olive Oil
All olives begin life as green, then darken to other shades. Olive oil also comes in shades ranging from green to yellow and is graded as extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil or commercial olive oil.
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Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
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Extra-virgin olive oil -- premium olive oil -- is not processed or refined and has no chemical additives. It has the strongest tasting, most complex bouquet, and when freshly pressed, the oil will be a pale green or yellow.
Virgin Olive Oil and Olive Oil
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Virgin olive oil, which tends to be yellow, has a milder flavor than extra-virgin olive oil. Commercial olive oil is usually a combination of virgin olive oil and some other type of oil, often from soy or other vegetables.
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Color in Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
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According to Professor Stan Kailis, University of Western Australia in Perth, olive oil color, whether in extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil or commercial olive oil, depends on whether the oil has a higher chlorophyll or a carotenoid content.
Chlorophyll Content
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Green olives contain more chlorophyll, producing a green extra-virgin olive oil with an intense "grassy" flavor. Green olives produce less olive oil -- as fruit ripens and becomes darker and oilier, chlorophyll content decreases, though weather, ripeness at harvesting and pressing method can also affect chlorophyll content.
Carotenoid Content
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Ripe olives produce a yellower oil because they have a higher carotenoid content, meaning, they contain more yellow-red carotenes, rather than green chlorophyll. Riper olives yield more oil, so they are used for larger-scale commercial olive oil preparations.
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