Olive oil used to be handled in vats, amphorae and leather bags in the ancient times. As for its storage: Large vats with an enameled interior, narrow mouth and bottom and a broad belly which may contain 100-300 kg oil were usually preferred. Such large vats stood half buried in the ground in cool cellars which did not receive sunlight.
Further, small or large underground cisterns which were internally plastered with a special compound were used to store olive oil ar large palaces, mansions, oil mills and even crowded houses. Glass demijohns, bottles, tin cans or plastic drums, PET bottles serve the same purpose at present. However, lacquered tin cans and glass containers are considered the most preferred and appropriate ones among all the types of packaging.
Enemies of good olive oil
Let us emphsise that olive oil dislikes four things which may change its specific flavour, odour, colour and aroma: light, heat, air and aging.
Light: Bright sunlight causes the flavour of olive oil to get bitter. Let us consider that you purchase your olive oil at a general store or supermatket. First, prefer the one which has plenty of customers and where the goods stand on the shelf for a shorter time. Then, avoid purchasing bottles on the shelves near the windows or strong light. Do never neglect to see the production date. You may go to general stores for edible olive oil. Always keep in mind that the olive oil which we purchase in a tin can or glass bottle should be kept in an enclosed place which does not receive light.
Heat: Like the adverse effect of intensive light, high temperature is not good for olive oil either. Light and heat increase the acid percentage and deteriorate the composition of olive oil and invite foreign flavours and odours. Therefore, olive oil which should be stored not to exceed the needed quantity should be kept in a cool and dark place in the houses. Your olive oil should not be close to the heater or central heating system. It is recommended to be stored at 18°C in the celery or closet.
Well then, should olive oil be put into the refrigerator? No. Water forming on the crown of the bottle due to condensation drops onto the oil. His may deteriorate the flavour of and acerbate the oil. On the other hand, while the olive oil placed in a refrigerator solidifies at –6°C, its clear colour naturally gets “misty” due to the glycerides in its chemical composition. Do never get worried, your oil will maintain its specific properties. It shall re-gain its fluidity, becomes clear and restores its former colour and consistecy at room temperature.
You may use the olive oil which you purchase in large tin cans by first transferring to glass botles. Dark coloured glass bottles shall better protect your olive oil against light. Practical crowned plastic bottles with a less risk of breakage which you may litter after use do not have any drawbacks for a short time. However, plastic containers are not suitable to store olive oil for long periods of time. Even very little, olive oil may absorb some undesired properties of plastic.
Air: Olive oil is exposed to oxidation when it contacts the air. Oxidation makes the olive oil sour, deteriorating its flavour. For this reason, keep the mouths of your olive oil bottles tightly sealed. Further, fil lup the diminishing olive oil so that the gap between the top of oil and the crown shall not be too large.
Time: Unlike red wine, olive oil is not a product which refines and improves in its bottle in a cellar as the years go by. The average time for each olive oil to e able to maintain its specific colour, odour and flavour is one year and a half. Briefly, even if olive oil does not “deteriorate” as it waits, it gradually loses its aroma and its colour increasingly becomes lighter.
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