Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is the highest quality olive oil. It must be free from any alterations in color, taste, or chemicals. The “extra virgin” refers to oil that is unrefined and cold-pressed without heat and has gone through additional certification to ensure its purity and quality.

When olive oil is exposed to oxygen, light, and heat, it may become rancid. Industry experts recommend storing extra virgin olive oil at room temperature in a sealed opaque container in a dark place away from the stove or other heat producers.

A good extra virgin olive oil will offer a range of flavors from fruity, floral and buttery, to a slightly bitter or peppery aftertaste. It will smell fresh with hints of olive and maybe even a grassy aroma. In contrast, old or low-quality oil will taste old and stale.

Olive oil has a primarily Mediterranean origin with a history of being used in everything from cooking to skin care. Most commonly used in the kitchen, global demand for olive oil has been powered in part by the health benefits associated with its consumption. Extra virgin olive oil is packed with fatty acids which helps to rid your arteries of bad cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar.

La Panza believes the freshest olive oil is the best-tasting olive oil. To ensure optimal freshness, the production process was designed to get the oil from the olive to the packaging as quickly as possible. Olives are milled on-site and then processed and packaged within eight hours of harvesting.