Good question, fun answer. We were asked this on our Facebook page and then we realized that surely more people want to know this. So we’ll present you the short answer first: the acidity of Gkazas Olive Oil is between 0.2 and 0.5 percent. Still no idea what is meant by the acidity of olive oil? Great, then keep reading.
What is the pH value of olive oil?
The pH value in general terms often refers to the acidity in the human body. Ideally, this is around 7, within a range from 0 to 14 (where 0 represents the strongest acidity and 14 the highest alkaline reaction). Alkaline basically means the opposite of acidic. A value of 7 is the neutral point, as is the case with pure water.
Everyone is familiar with the aggressive effect of acids from personal experience. Heartburn is unpleasant, but we also know acids outside the human body. For example, we often use acids when cleaning the kitchen or toilet at home.
pH olive oil – practically unusable
A disturbance in the acid-base balance in the human body can be caused by a variety of factors, resulting in changes to the pH value. Usually, it’s a combination of factors, but the main one is a one-sided or unhealthy diet.
Now something funny. People often talk about the pH value of olive oil, while this is actually incorrect. pH value only applies to an aqueous (water-based) solution. Olive oil is not that! That’s why we talk about the acidity of olive oil instead.
Why is the acidity of olive oil so important?
You may only call an olive oil extra virgin olive oil if its acidity is less than 0.8%. The lower that percentage, the better the quality. Because the acidity of olive oil is a quantifiable way to express the quality of olive oil, it is closely monitored. For many, a low acidity indicates careful harvesting and pressing, without damage or oxidation of the olives. The acidity can increase if there is too much time between picking and pressing or if oxygen gets into the olive oil during production. Then the olive will ferment, and the acidity will rise.
Measuring olive oil acidity
You measure the acidity of olive oil by determining the content of free fatty acids, expressed as oleic acid. This is done through a chemical analysis, where a basic solution is added to the oil to measure the amount of free fatty acids. Finally, the acidity of the olive oil is expressed as a percentage.
The acidity of our olive oil
Gkazas Olive Oil has an acidity between 0.2 and 0.5 percent. We don’t mention this on the olive oil bottle or the olive oil can because it varies with each batch and harvest. We do not blend different harvests or batches together. This way, we bring the olive oil to your kitchen table as naturally as possible.
The best olive oil?
What’s good to know is that the olive oil from Crete is very consistent in quality. This is due to the Mediterranean maritime climate. Because of this, many batches are very similar, and only a true connoisseur will taste the difference. But if you really want to be 100% sure that you have the best olive oil, then looking at the acidity is not the very best method.
Organoleptic evaluation is actually the most reliable method. Our founder Floris: “That means determining the quality of olive oil based on taste. You have a taste analysis performed by an independent panel of olive oil sommeliers who look for positive attributes and negative defects. There are 3 main parameters: fruitiness, bitterness, and the peppery sensation in the throat. The higher these values, the higher the quality of the olive oil.” Want to know more about the best olive oil?
