Filtered vs unfiltered extra virgin olive oil
If you have ever been trying to pick an olive oil to buy and didn’t know the difference between filtered and unfiltered, you’re not alone. Neither one is better nor worse, but you should know the difference before making a purchase. Continue reading to find out the differences between filtered vs unfiltered olive oil.
The Process
In the last step of olive oil production, the product that comes out of the point contains tiny olive, stone, pulp, and water particles. Quite simply, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil is bottled immediately from here. These tiny particles are not filtered out and are left in the bottle. Over time, these particles tend to deposit onto the bottom of the olive oil bottle and can eventually become rotten, turning into sludge.
In addition, the presence of water and enzymes in the unfiltered oil can trigger oxidisation of the oil’s chemical and organoleptic characteristics. This oxidisation takes away many of the health benefits that extra virgin olive oil provides. These factors do not make unfiltered extra virgin olive oil worse than filtered; it just means it should be consumed within 4 months from the it has been made.
What are the pros and cons of unfiltering?
The merit of the diffusion of Coratina is of an entrepreneur of Tuscan origin Raffaele Perfetti who, at the end of the nineteenth century, was the owner of one of the largest oil mills in Barletta.
The Perfetti family was well known in the Oleario world.
Mr. Perfetti, understanding the potential of the Coratina variety, asked the University Professor Girolamo Caruso, who was professor of Agronomy at the University of Pisa, to study this variety.
The prfessor was extremely impressed by the robustness, strenght, high productivity and beauty of this new variety of olive trees. He was assured that it was a variety that came from Corato (hence the name Coratina).
Convinced by the results of his studies, he published for the first time in 1882 the botanical description expressing the high potential of Coratina. His words were not unheard of, the result was a great spread of the variety that will be planted continuously making the province of Bari and Foggia a huge sea of olive trees.
Today Puglia is most productive region in Italy of extra virgin olive oil, reaching 51% of Italian productivity.
Pros
- More intense and fragrant appearance
- Packaged immediately after pressing in the mill
- Retains additional polyphenols and other nutrients
Cons
- Oxidisation can take away health benefits
- Ages faster than filtered oil
- The residues at the bottom of the bottle turn into sludge over time
Filtered Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Filtered extra virgin olive oil has had all water droplets and olive pulp particles removed and, therefore, will be clear. There are many different filtering techniques used, the most common one being cardboard filtering due to its speed.
It has been proven that removing the particles increases the stability of the oil and lengthens shelf life. The filtration process does not significantly influence any aspects of the extra virgin olive oil. The acidity, number of peroxides, tocopherol content, chlorophyll content and acid composition of the oil remains almost the same after filtering. Filtration is favoured by most of the world’s best olive oil producers.
Conclusion
As you can see, both filtered and unfiltered extra virgin olive oil are great. If you’re trying to decide between filtered vs unfiltered olive oil, you should consider to buy the unfiltered EVOO just directly from the producers just after the oil has been made.
Then, you should consume in how long it usually takes you to finish a bottle. As long as you choose a high-quality extra virgin olive oil you’re going to end up with something flavorful and nutrient-rich. Find out how to recognize an high quality extra virgin olive oil