Extra virgin Olive Oil, Color

[GlorifiedRice]

Im in a slight debate on another forum about the color of quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

It started with this pic:

http://i39.tinypic.com/6g8olx.jpg

I say that Rachel Rays EVOO is not a good quality due to its ORANGEY color.

My friend says that shes seen $80.00 EVOO that was orange in Cali.

Me thinks there is something wrong with orange EVOO or at least a switcheroo is occurring. After all, olives are green and a first cold press would impart the green color into the fresh oil.

What say you?

Edited March 16, 2009 by GlorifiedRice (log)

[slkinsey]

Oil from ripe olives tends to have a golden color. Oil from green olives tends to have a green color. And everything in between, depending on the olive and the levels of ripeness.

Edited March 16, 2009 by slkinsey (log)

[Raoul Duke]

The traditional method of tasting olive oil for sensory evaluation is in pear shaped glasses that are blue in color. This insure that the color has no influence on the tasters decision. There is a large range of colors, other than green, for olive oil, but I've not seen orange colored olive oil.

[GlorifiedRice]

Oil from ripe olives tends to have a golden color.  Oil from green olives tends to have a green color.  And everything in between, depending on the olive and the levels of ripeness.

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Wouldnt the fact that the orangey oil was made with ripe olives then have a risk of being slightly off due to the fact that you cant ensure that some of the olives in the batch are not over ripe and rancid?

[RDCollins]

Could be the color of the glass bottle, too, and the lighting in the store could affect the apparent color in your photo. It certainly looks different in the photo on this site: http://www.famousfoods.com/rarayexviolo.html

[GlorifiedRice]

Could be the color of the glass bottle, too, and the lighting in the store could affect the apparent color in your photo. It certainly looks different in the photo on this site: http://www.famousfoods.com/rarayexviolo.html

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No. What I shot the pic of I actually picked it up and looked at it. The bottle is colorless. So is the representative bottle of green EVOO from Giant next to it. Ive seen it in different stores and its always orangey.

[Chris Hennes]

Wouldnt the fact that the orangey oil was made with ripe olives then have a risk of being slightly off due to the fact that you cant ensure that some of the olives in the batch are not over ripe and rancid?

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Possible? Sure. Likely? Who knows. The proof is in the tasting... you going to take one for the team?

[slkinsey]

Rancid, no. I don't think olives "rot on the tree." If you've ever seen an uncured olive, you'd see that they're extremely tough.

Over-ripe (or damaged), possibly. And this could potentially contribute to an oil with less fruity character and more acidity. However, only the more expensive extra virgin olive oils are made from olives (usually hand picked and sorted, and pressed within a day or two) that have been carefully selected to screen our any over-ripe or damaged fruit. I can tell you right now that this would not be true of any of the oils in your picture.

[GlorifiedRice]

Wouldnt the fact that the orangey oil was made with ripe olives then have a risk of being slightly off due to the fact that you cant ensure that some of the olives in the batch are not over ripe and rancid?

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Possible? Sure. Likely? Who knows. The proof is in the tasting... you going to take one for the team?

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Hahaha!

I just dont want to give her money.