Everything you need to know about Olive Oil
Olive oil is a popular cooking oil that comes from olives, fruits of dark green olive tree. It is extracted from the fruit by cold-pressing and comes in different varieties- plain, virgin, and extra virgin. The oil mainly originated from the Mediterranean region. But, for its versatile uses and potential health benefits, today it has become one of the most used cooking oil all over the world.
The oil is rich in antioxidants and monosaturated fatty acids. Antioxidants in olive oil help protect the body from cellular damage, therefore from different chronic health issues. The fatty acid (monosaturated HDL) reduces inflammation, bad cholesterol, and eventually the risk of heart diseases. It is also a good moisturizer and helps to enhance skin health. Many people use it as fuel for a certain type of lamp. We can also recycle expired food grade olive oil into various usable goods even after it has lost its food value.
For all these usefulness, people consume this oil in cooking, medicine, soaps, and various other purposes. In this article, you will discover all about its nutritional value and health benefits in detail. You will also learn, how you can use this oil in cooking, how to dispose of old olive oil, and how to recycle expired food grade olive oil.
Nutritional value
Olive oil is one of the healthy plant-based cooking fat that comes from the fruit of the olive tree. It is a native tree of the Mediterranean and Asia minor region. Production of this oil starts by collecting olives from its tree. It is very important to pick olives carefully to ensure the quality of their oil. After picking up the fruits, the next step is to crush them with a stainless steel roller, stir water into the crushed material and wait for the oil molecule to concentrate. When the mixture is centrifuged, water is removed and the outcome is golden yellow olive oil.
Olive oil is a calorically dense vegetable oil. Every 14 grams of oil contains 119 calories. It is also rich in healthy fats. On average, one tablespoon of the oil (14 grams) provides 14 grams of fat which includes 9.86 grams of monounsaturated fat, 1.42 grams of polyunsaturated fat, and 1.86 grams of saturated fat. It also supplies the body with important nutrients, namely vitamin E (1.9 mg), vitamin K (8.1 mcg), and little amounts of potassium (.1 mg).
Olive is one of the most popular cooking oil both in households and commercial kitchens. For its wide range of health benefits, unique taste, and aroma, you can easily replace any cooking oil with it. Plus, it’s a ZERO CARB cooking oil with no protein and sugar which makes it a perfect addition to a low-carb diet.
Olive Oil as cooking oil
Olive oil is a largely used cooking oil in the USA. For its rich and unique taste and a smoke point of 470⁰F, it is suitable for any type of cooking, frying, baking, or even salad dressing. Research also suggests that olive oil is the most stable cooking oil, resisting degradation and depletion of nutrients better than other oils even at higher temperatures. Surprisingly, cooking vegetables (tomato, eggplant, pumpkin etc.) with olive oil, boosts antioxidant properties of those vegies.
It is absolutely nutritious. Restaurants and commercial kitchens often choose this oil to prepare dishes for its massive popularity and many health benefits. And when the oil reaches its lifespan, we can recycle expired food grade olive oil into various useful products including medicine, skin product, and biofuel.
Olive oil, expired food grade olive oil, olive oil recycling, used olive oil collection, used cooking oil collection, expired food grade oil collection
Is olive oil the healthiest cooking oil?
Many people consider this oil to be the most healthy fat to cook with. No doubt, with its rich profile of fats and nutrients, it may just be a strong candidate for that position. Let’s have a look at some of the health benefits you may receive from consuming olive oil-
Promote cardiovascular health
Olive oil is quite heart-healthy. It contains a high profile of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats which increases high-density lipoprotein – HDL (also known as Good cholesterol) and helps to decrease low-density lipoprotein – LDL (Bad cholesterol). Research shows, that a low level of bad cholesterol is the key to good cardiovascular health. USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supports the claim that consuming 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil may reduce the risk of coronary diseases.
Supports brain health
Antioxidant properties in olive oil help relieve oxidative stress which is the prime cause of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease.
Works as a natural anti-inflammatory
If you’re suffering from inflammatory conditions, olive oil may be a good addition to your diet. It is high in Monounsaturated acids which are well known for reducing inflammatory markers. It’s a proven fact, that regular consumption of olive oil will be able to reduce inflammation remarkably.
Fights against cancer
Olive oil being a part of the Mediterranean diet, may be one important reason for low cancer rates in Mediterranean countries. The oil contains a decent amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as omega-3 which is massively used in the nutritional therapy of cancer patients. No food is a magic cure or prevention for cancer but there’s clear evidence available that shows the nutritional elements that olive contains may be able to potentially reduce the growth of certain types of cancer.
Add Your Heading Text Here
Olive oil is a long-lasting product. And you can store it for months without the risk of it getting rancid or expired. But like every other things on this planet, it has a shelf life too. After this period is over, it doesn’t taste great. If stored properly, it lasts about 12-18 months without losing its value. After these timespans, the oil starts to develop acrid or bitter notes, smell bad. You should never use expired food grade olive oil for cooking, it tastes bad and starts to lose its food value.
Olive oil, expired food grade olive oil, olive oil recycling, used olive oil collection, used cooking oil collection, expired food grade oil collection
How to dispose of old olive oil?
Restaurant owner faces a lot of difficulties while running a busy commercial kitchen and dealing with used cooking oil is one of them. Food establishments use cooking oil every day when they cook and fry. They produce used cooking oil in abundant amounts. It is necessary that they need dispose of their old cooking oil properly. When a food business fails to dispose of its used oils in the right way, they bring danger both to the establishment and the environment. Municipalities all around the USA have coded that commercial kitchen must hand over their used cooking oil to a licensed IKG hauler to recycle.
Disposing of used or expired food-grade olive oil requires a proper storage facility. Just like other used cooking oils, olive oils also should not be washed down the drain to avoid several fatal plumbing issues and unwanted penalties. A food establishment must store their used or expired food grade olive oil in a sealable (UCO storage container). The best thing you can do with your old, used or expired olive oil is to store them in a safe container with other used cooking oil and hand them over to a licensed UCO collector.
Recycle expired food grade olive oil with the Grease Company
The Grease Co. is a licensed IKG hauler. We provide the most comprehensive and reliable used cooking oil collection services in different cities of Southern California. Our UCO collection experts are highly trained, experienced, and aware of the regulations of the municipalities. We collect all types of used cooking oil, deep fryer oil, yellow grease, and expired food grade cooking oil. To make the oil collection process simple for our customers, we provide and install UCO storage containers (completely free of cost) in their establishment. Most of the used oils we collect get recycled into biodiesel.
Got over 1000 gallons or pallets of used cooking oil? Call us today, we’re available 24/7.
The Grease Company
One Stop Solution to Used Cooking Oil Collection
Are you looking for professional restaurant cooking oil collector? Call us NOW. Or email us with your details to get a free quote.
