Do I have to refrigerate Olive oil?
Don Matthews
If I don't, how long will it last in my pantry?
Sallie Montuori
> I'd just like to know if I have to refrifgerate my olive oil.
> If I don't, how long will it last in my pantry?
>
If your refrigerate your olive oil, it will get thick and cloudy (until
reheated). I do not refrigerate any oil, and I buy the large economy
size from Price Club (er, Price Costco). My last jug of olive oil
lasted me for about four years with no deterioration.
Sallie Montuori
fox...@widomaker.com
lebasel
Don Matthews <d...@newshost.li.net> wrote:
>I'd just like to know if I have to refrifgerate my olive oil.
>If I don't, how long will it last in my pantry?
I don't refrigerate my olive oil, but then I use it up within
three months. I've been told that if you put the oil in a
container appropriate for the volume (i.e. oil fills the
container without spillage), that the oil will last longer.
How long? I don't know. But i've never had my oil go rancid,
FWIW.
Leslie
leb...@nando.net
John E. Taylor III
Oxygen is what causes the rancidity. If you keep the "headspace" or
volume of air above the oil small, there's less oxygen at a time to
oxidize the oil.
Unfortunately, the oxidation reaction doesn't slow down much as the
temperature is lowered, within the range of regular refrigerators, or
even freezers.
Three months or so sounds about right to me.
(Does my sig line work from home now?)
Mike and Jeanne O'Hara
I learned the hard way last summer. Jeanne
A. T. Hagan
========
/>I don't refrigerate my olive oil, but then I use it up within
/>three months. I've been told that if you put the oil in a
/>container appropriate for the volume (i.e. oil fills the
/>container without spillage), that the oil will last longer.
/>How long? I don't know. But i've never had my oil go rancid,
/Oxygen is what causes the rancidity. If you keep the "headspace"
/or volume of air above the oil small, there's less oxygen at a
/time to oxidize the oil.
/Unfortunately, the oxidation reaction doesn't slow down much as
/the temperature is lowered, within the range of regular
/refrigerators, or even freezers.
/Three months or so sounds about right to me.
This has been a topic of some discussion here at the house.
My brother insists that cooking oil will go rancid rather quickly
and that it should be refrigerated. He does this with his olive
oil and it turns solid enough to slice. I use peanut oil myself
and after having it too go solid in the refrigerator I quit doing
that. He says that even without the presence of atmospheric
oxygen that the free radicals in the oil will pull the oxygen out
of other organic molecules. I don't believe this myself, but
haven't any reasoning with which to dispute it. Am I
understanding you correctly in what you're saying above that
merely refrigerating the oil will not keep if from oxidizing (go
rancid) and that it is the oxygen in the air that is used in the
oxidation? Also, once a bottle has been opened, that three
months is about the length of time that you can reasonably expect
to keep cooking oil before it begins to reach an unacceptable
level of oxidation? If stored in the proverbial dark, cool, dry
place how long do you think unopened bottles of oil will safely
keep before adverse reactions to it begins to occur?
Apologies for the barrage of questions, but this cooking oil
storage/shelf life question has been knocking around here for a
long time and I haven't found any good info about it. I'd really
like to buy it in the larger half-gallon and gallon sized
containers because of the price differences, but I don't use a
great deal of it at a time. A gallon of oil would probably take
me seven or eight months to use. I'm thinking that rather than
trying to come up with a series of smaller containers to keep
transferring the oil to as its volume shrinks that I would just
replace the volume with water. The oil would float on top and I
keep always keep the container full with little air in the
bottle.
/(Does my sig line work from home now?)
Heh heh heh, I don't know. Is this it?
Alan.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Fron the House at Cat's Green. Alan T. Hagan
Semper peratus
The Universe is utterly indifferent to the fact that you
do not realize the consequences of your actions, you will
have to deal with them all the same.
E-mail c/o Dun...@dkeep.com
Liz deForest
Different olive oils have different keeping qualities. I generally
buy small bottles so they are used relatively quickly, but I like the
completely unrefined type.
Liz
Anne
Olive oil will last for several months at room temperature.I buy a gallon
of pure olive oil at a time and have never had a problem.Even unrefined
oils with visible sediment last well at room temperature for a month or
two.Refrigeration will prolong the shelf life but then you have to wait
for it to liquify every time you use it.
Kerry
John E. Taylor III
Dun...@dkeep.com (A. T. Hagan) wrote:
> This has been a topic of some discussion here at the house.
[deletions]
> Am I
>understanding you correctly in what you're saying above that
>merely refrigerating the oil will not keep if from oxidizing (go
>rancid) and that it is the oxygen in the air that is used in the
>oxidation?
Right. And moreover, the _rate_ of oxidation is not strongly affected
by the temperatures that can be achieved at home.
> Also, once a bottle has been opened, that three
>months is about the length of time that you can reasonably expect
>to keep cooking oil before it begins to reach an unacceptable
>level of oxidation?
Rough estimate...YMMV
> If stored in the proverbial dark, cool, dry
>place how long do you think unopened bottles of oil will safely
>keep before adverse reactions to it begins to occur?
Dark and cool are important...dry is less so. Year, maybe longer?
The bottles of olive oil I have in the kitchen don't have a "use-by"
label, so it won't be very critical until they're opened.
> A gallon of oil would probably take
>me seven or eight months to use. I'm thinking that rather than
>trying to come up with a series of smaller containers to keep
>transferring the oil to as its volume shrinks that I would just
>replace the volume with water. The oil would float on top and I
>keep always keep the container full with little air in the
>bottle.
Interesting approach. I'd suggest you boil the water before using it
that way, and cool it without agitation, so that you remove dissolved
gases (including oxygen) in the water. Offhand I can't see any
reason, based on the chemistry, that it wouldn't work.
I got that sig line working. 8^)
--
John E. Taylor III W3ZID
E-mail: w3...@voicenet.com