Why and at what temperature does olive oil freeze?

Olive oil is a valuable product whose beneficial properties are legendary. It is used not only in the food industry, but also in cosmetology. People who buy the product at home know that it has a fairly high cost, especially a cold-pressed product. In order for the oil to retain its properties and not change its taste during storage, several important rules must be followed. Can olive oil be stored in the refrigerator? Can it freeze during storage? What conditions are considered optimal for preserving its beneficial and taste properties? Answers to all of the above questions are further in the article.

Beneficial features

Surely each of us has come across olive oil at least once in our lives. No wonder it contains a large amount of monosaturated fatty acids, which have a positive effect on the body:

• Reducing blood cholesterol levels.
• Decreased appetite. This makes olive oil a dieter's best friend. At the same time, you should not be afraid of the high calorie content of the product. The product contains exclusively vegetable fats, which are completely digestible and remove harmful toxins and cholesterol from the body. It is not for nothing that in almost all diets related to calorie counting, 1 spoon of butter per day is acceptable. Moreover, it is better to take it before meals, on an empty stomach.
• The product is also easily digestible, speeds up metabolism and promotes the outflow of bile and even restores cartilage tissue.
• In addition, the oil is actively used in cosmetology: when interacting with olive oil, the skin becomes softer and more elastic.

Let's consider how to properly store this product, whether high-quality oil freezes in the refrigerator, and how to return it to its original state.

Dishes

The vast majority of olive oil varieties end up on supermarket shelves in glass containers. In the question of how to store olive oil after opening it, the bottle plays an important role. You can leave it in the same one in which it was sold, or you can pour it into a special one. Vessels for storing olive oil usually have a cone-shaped shape, narrowing towards the top. This minimizes contact with air. Ideally, the bottle should be opaque or tinted and have an airtight cap.

How does temperature affect oil storage?

You bought a bottle of olive oil. But now you are faced with the question - how to store it correctly? Or even another situation: without thinking twice, you put the butter in the refrigerator and forgot about it for two or three days. And then, when they remembered and decided to use it, they saw that the oil had thickened, hardened, or even precipitated out. And now, a hurricane of thoughts is already rushing through my head: the oil is fake, it’s gone, now throw it away, and so on.

But! We hasten to reassure you, nothing bad happened if your olive oil froze in the refrigerator. At least, there is no need to get rid of the product here and now. According to recent research conducted by Dr. John Diane, olive oils do not undergo any changes at temperatures above 4 degrees. If the temperature is from 4 to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the oil can quickly thicken and become creamy in consistency, and at a temperature of -12 degrees, olive oil freezes so much that you can’t even pierce it with a fork. However, you shouldn’t go to the other extreme and think that you bought the highest quality oil. This is just completely normal.

First rules of purchase

The bottling date and expiration date are the first factors influencing the choice. The shorter the bottling date, the fresher the product is, and it contains much more useful substances. Try to purchase olive oil by analyzing your needs. The optimal choice would be containers that are not very large in size.

Be sure to pay close and special attention to the storage conditions of the product in the store. This should be a place sheltered from light and also protected from low temperatures.

The most careful storage and following instructions, recommendations and advice will help the oil retain its beneficial properties and nutrients in their original form for as long as possible, since rough handling can completely and irrevocably spoil the product in just a few days.

Why does oil freeze?

It's all about the temperature gap, so insignificant that if you don't know about it, you won't even guess what's going on. Almost all manufacturers of modern refrigerators set the default operating temperature to 3 degrees. And the freezing point of oleic acids, which make up the oil, is 4 degrees. And this difference of one degree leads to this effect. And it is for this reason that oleic acid and wax in olive oil freeze with all the ensuing visual effects.

Yes, you read that right. In addition to oleic acids, olive oil also contains wax. But we hasten to reassure you: this substance is of the most natural origin. Oil is essentially olive juice. And the olives themselves have a thin but very durable skin, which helps them retain moisture and protects them from insects. And it is the wax from this skin that is part of olive oil. When cooled, this same wax can fall out in crystals in the form of sediment, and sometimes even in the form of unattractive flakes. But this does not mean at all that the oil is bad or has deteriorated: a couple of hours at room temperature and it will return to its original state.

The product, which is exported to a country with a cold climate, undergoes additional filtration. Otherwise, the oil may precipitate right in the store, thus losing its presentation and scaring off the buyer.

A Guide to Vegetable Oils - Freezing and More

Vegetable oil has many uses, some of which you may not even realize. There are also several cooking oil storage options that can come in handy when you need a long-term storage solution.

If you have vegetable oil on hand but just don't use it very often, freezing is the right option for you. If you buy cooking oil in bulk and it takes quite a bit of time to use, freezing is the way to go. We'll share with you different storage options so you can determine which one is best for your cooking oil.

Return to original state

Returning olive oil to its original state is simple. You need to put it in a dark, cool place, and after some time it will return to its original form. At the same time, it does not lose its taste or beneficial qualities at all. Many transport companies, which, for example, transport oil on airplanes, claim that a certain hypothermia of the product during transportation is a common practice.

The ideal temperature for storing olive oil is 10 degrees Celsius. It is at this temperature that it oxidizes the slowest and does not freeze.

There are two myths about this product:

• If the butter is frozen in the refrigerator, it means it is of good quality. As we discussed earlier, this is simply a normal reaction of any olive oil. Each variety goes through its own path of purification and filtration. And even the highest quality product in one case can precipitate with flakes, and in another it can just thicken. This is normal. The same goes for the fact that if the oil is not frozen, it means it is fake and should be thrown away. It’s just that this product could have been filtered more thoroughly.
• Butter freezes because it contains saturated fatty acids. This myth is also completely wrong, because such acids are found exclusively in fats of animal origin. Such fats are found in butter, lard or margarine, which give the product a solid consistency at cold temperatures. Olive oil either does not contain such fatty acids at all or contains minimal amounts. And that is solely due to the presence of wax in the product. By the way, if you are still confused by the fact that olive oil contains wax, let’s give a simple example: even the most ordinary apple has a waxy coating. Because of this, by the way, it has a slightly shiny effect.

If force majeure occurs

What to do if the olive oil expires, but there is still a fair amount of product left. Several options are possible:

• Use it as you would a regular vegetable. You can fry eggs or potatoes on it.
• Chop the greens, place in ice cube trays, add olive oil and place in the freezer. In winter, you can gradually take out this wealth and add it to soups and various salads.
• And finally, look for cosmetic recipes. You can make masks for the face, body and hair using olive oil, or add it to homemade creams.

And let the most useful product given by nature only benefit you.
Store correctly and be healthy!

Checking oil quality

As we can see, freezing olive oil does not at all entail a loss of beneficial or taste qualities. However, if you want to know ways to check the quality of oil, then keep a few folk life hacks:

• If you fry something in a frying pan with olive oil, do not rush to wash the dishes. Just pour a little detergent into the pan, and a minute later add cold water. If the oil is of good quality, the product will turn white.
• Good oil, if heated, is very easily absorbed into the skin. In addition, it leaves behind a pleasant olive aroma.
• The oil should have a characteristic floral taste. This is a clear sign that it was made from fresh olives picked within 24 hours. A vague aroma and taste is a sign that the olives were over-aged.
• If the oil tastes a little bitter, this is normal and even correct. But, if the bitterness appears not in the throat, but already on the tongue, it means that the quality of the oil is not the best.

How long does olive oil last after opening the bottle?

After opening the container, it is recommended to store the oil for no more than two months. It is advisable to use the product within four weeks. This applies to both refined and unrefined varieties.

You need to decide in advance how much seasoning will be used per month, and select the container volume accordingly.

Important! If more than a month has passed since opening the container with oil, but all storage conditions have been met, it will acquire the properties of sunflower oil. This product is used for frying and preparing dressings for hot dishes.

Storage

Olive oil should be stored in a dark place, protected from light. This rule also applies to the delivery of oil to stores. Therefore, if you want to buy good oil, give preference to darkened bottles, or even better, tin cans. Important: you should be careful with tin containers. No matter how well the oil is stored in it before opening, it begins to deteriorate just as quickly after unpacking. This is due to the fact that the product begins to oxidize when interacting with oxygen. If metal also begins to participate in this process, it begins to proceed many times faster. So the most ideal option would be to purchase the oil in a tin container and pour it into a dark glass bottle at home. If there is none, then ceramic or porcelain containers may be suitable.

Some experts believe that the highest quality olive oil only lasts 9 months (unopened bottle) before becoming a useless vegetable fat.

It is important to know! Manufacturers write on glass containers exactly the expiration date for an unopened bottle. An unpacked bottle, even if it has been left in the refrigerator for the entire period of time, still loses its properties after 3 months. Moreover, please note that if the oil is frozen, that is, placed at a temperature below 12 degrees, then within 24 hours from the moment of defrosting it will completely lose its quality. Also, the oil should not be overheated - at temperatures above 30 degrees the product deteriorates very quickly.

What to look for when choosing olive oil

When purchasing oil, you must first decide for what purpose it will be used. If the product is purchased for frying in a frying pan, there is no point in overpaying for Extra Virgin.

It won't bring much benefit. Refined oil is more suitable for frying. Salads are seasoned with pure oil that has not been processed.

On a note! The refined product does not burn and does not foam.

High-quality olive oil can be determined by several criteria. It is preferable that the packaging bear the designation "DOP". It is used to mark oil produced in the same country of production and bottling where the raw materials were grown.

The “IGP” designation indicates that the product was not made and bottled where the olives grew.

Another criterion that needs to be emphasized is the period between production and bottling of the oil. The shorter it is, the more benefits the product will bring. This oil did not interact with the environment for long.

The color of the oil does not play a special role at the selection stage. The product may be greenish or yellow. The color is influenced by the variety of olives used for production, their degree of ripeness, region of growth and processing technology.

Important! Under the influence of sunlight, the oil loses its original properties; it is recommended to purchase it in dark glass containers or tin containers.

A manufacturer that values ​​its reputation will not pour oil into transparent plastic bottles.

The key selection parameters are:

1. Date of bottling (information contained on the label). You should give preference to a product that has been no more than 6 months from the moment of bottling.
2. Tara. Counterfeits are sold in plastic containers.
3. Sealing method. Experts advise buying bottles with a screw cap, not plugged ones.
4. Volume. It is more difficult to maintain the freshness of a product in bulk containers.

You should not buy oil with an expiring shelf life.

On average, the product is stored for 12 months. But some manufacturers double this period. If the storage conditions are met, the oil will not lose its properties during this period, but its taste and smell may change significantly. You need to choose the freshest product from the available assortment. Focus on the placement of goods on the store shelf.

Advice! Try to take the seasoning located at the back of the shelf. The freshest goods are usually placed there. The bottles that stand in front protect it from the sun's rays.

When buying olive oil, you need to beware of counterfeits; unscrupulous manufacturers counterfeit the product, diluting it with cheaper soybean or sunflower oil. There is no relevant information about this on the label, and many buyers seeking to save money fall for this trick. You should buy products from trusted brands. High-quality olive oil cannot be cheap, especially if it is made in the country where the raw material is grown.