Olive oil has become very popular in American kitchens in the past twenty years
. The majority of households have at least one bottle of olive oil in their arsenal of cooking supplies. What a lot of people do not know are the subtle and not so subtle differences between the different kinds of olive oil. On the production side there are two classifications of olive oils. Virgin olive oil is oil that is produced physically, without the use of chemicals. Refined olive oil has been chemically treated. These chemical treatments are used to counterbalance the strong tastes that some oils have from their acid content. Pomace olive oil is pulled from the solid byproduct using chemicals and heat. There are also retail classifications which most people are at least vaguely familiar with. Extra-virgin olive oil is the least processed oil from the first cold-pressing of olives. The acidity of extra-virgin olive oils must be 0.8% or less and cannot have any refined oil. Virgin olive oil is from the second pressing of olives with acidity less then 2%. Virgin olive oil also cannot contain any refined oil. Pure olive oil is a blend of refined olive oil with one of the virgin oils. Regular olive oil is also a blend of the two but must have an acidity of 1.5% or less. Olive-pomace oil is a blend of refined pomace olive oil and in some cases virgin olive oil. This oil is edible but is rarely sold at the retail level. Please visit this link to learn more about Sicilian olive oil.