Stale Olive Oil

TAT,

welcome first off. I wish I could offer something other than... Olive oil has never sat long enough in any of our households to develope an undesireable flavor. I don't believe I have ever tasted "bad" olive oil because of this. Hehehe I would be careful tho if it tastes off it's either bad or close to being there. I have been told this can make you sick if you use enough of it.

Always remember to store it away from heat, the bottle/can covered in a cool, dry and I prefer dark area since light affects it as well.

I would probably discard it and just get a new bottle. Buy small amounts and according to how often you use it.

Agreed. It's too far gone to use for eating purposes. Try getting a book on massage oils or herbs and you can do something else with it. Like massage oils or incense burning type oils. Good luck, but be ready to dump it since old oil may not be good for those items either.

Part of the problem could also be attributed to the age of the oil when purchased. Much of the oil sold in many markets is already rather old. I think producers should be encouraged to label oil with a vintage date . This is far better than a "best by date" as there are many differing opinions to how long olive oil will last. The best way to encourage this is to purchase oil that does have a vintage date.

I think "stale" is a good description . I personally prefer oil that is within 12months of vintage and has a "fresh lively taste" . As with bread you can still eat it 2, 3 or 4 days old , but nothing beats a loaf just out of the oven .

You can help avoid this in the future by keeping the bulk of your oil under refrigeration. It will coagulate, so when you want to refill your bottle, you will need to let it warm up. Olive oil is a great hair conditioner. Add either some liquid oil fragrance to it, or pour it over potpourri and bring to a barely warm temp. Let steep a few hours, strain, and you'll have a really great conditioner. Put just a little bit in your hair and warm with a hair dryer. Don't use too much as it's hard to wash back out.

I was just reading about rancid oils. (Shirley corriher's Cooksmart) - she says that research shows one of the most damaging things for the arteries is rancid fats. They contain something that causes lesions in the inside of the arteries, and it's around those lesions that later cholesterol will collect. Other oils will later stimulate the liver to produce cholesterol, but the rancid ones do the first damage. So THROW IT OUT. (Also, rancid oil stinks, do you really want to make a back rub with it?).