What Is Cold-Pressed Olive Oil? How Can You Tell?

One of the most common terms we come across on olive oil labels when shopping is **”cold-pressed.”** So what exactly is cold-pressed olive oil, and how is it really different from other olive oils?

Cold-pressed is not merely a marketing phrase — it is a concept that describes a production method for olive oil. Under Turkish regulations, the term “cold-pressed” can only be used for extra virgin or virgin olive oils obtained by processing olive paste through percolation or centrifugation at below 27°C.

What Does Cold-Pressed Olive Oil Mean?

After olives are harvested, they are separated from leaves and foreign matter, cleaned, and then crushed to produce olive paste. Extracting the oil from this paste is one of the fundamental stages of production.

Raising the temperature during production can make it easier to separate the oil from the paste. However, keeping the temperature under control is important for preserving the olive’s distinctive aroma compounds and certain phenolic compounds.

This is exactly what the cold-pressing method refers to: a production process in which the temperature is kept below 27°C at this stage.

Why 27°C?

The 27°C figure is not an arbitrary number. The Turkish Food Codex explicitly specifies this temperature limit for a product to use the term “cold-pressed.”

There is an important detail here:

Cold-pressed is not a quality grade of olive oil — it is a production method.

Therefore, the phrase “cold-pressed” appearing on a package alone does not, by itself, explain all of an olive oil’s quality characteristics. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s food literacy guide also points out that cold-pressing alone does not determine an olive oil’s overall quality.

Is Cold-Pressed the Same as Extra Virgin?

No. This is one of the points consumers confuse most often.

“Cold-pressed” refers to a production method, while “extra virgin” refers to the olive oil’s grade.

For this reason, when evaluating a product, you should look not only at the “cold-pressed” label but also at which olive oil grade the product falls under.

According to the Turkish Food Codex, the term “cold-pressed” can be used for both extra virgin and virgin olive oils, provided the necessary production conditions are met.

Since this topic is frequently confused, we will cover it in more detail in our separate guide titled “What Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil? How Is It Different from Cold-Pressed?”

How Can You Tell If an Olive Oil Is Cold-Pressed?

It is not possible to tell whether an olive oil is cold-pressed simply by looking at its color.

The color of olive oil can vary depending on the olive variety used, the harvest period, and production characteristics. For this reason, assumptions such as “dark green oil is definitely high quality” or “light-colored oil is not high quality” are not a reliable way to choose.

When purchasing, it is important to first examine the product’s label and product information.

You can check the packaging for information such as:

• The olive oil’s grade,
• Information about the production method,
• Net quantity,
• Recommended consumption date,
• Producer or operator information,
• Storage conditions

are all things worth checking for.

Choosing a reliable and traceable product in particular is a much healthier purchasing approach than deciding based solely on the oil’s appearance or packaging.

What Does Cold-Pressed Olive Oil Taste Like?

The sensory characteristics of olive oil depend on many factors, from the olive variety used to the harvest timing and production conditions. For this reason, not all cold-pressed oils should be expected to have the same taste and aroma.

Moreover, there are specific regulatory conditions governing the use of certain taste and aroma descriptions. For this reason, it would not be accurate to generalize that “cold-pressed always means a specific taste.”

The different characters found in olive oil are, in fact, part of what makes the world of olives so rich.

How Should Cold-Pressed Olive Oil Be Stored?

Purchasing a properly produced olive oil is just as important as storing it under the right conditions.

As much as possible:

protect your olive oil from prolonged exposure to light, high heat, and air.

Close the cap tightly after use and avoid leaving it in a spot exposed to direct sunlight. Rather than storing it right next to areas exposed to constant temperature changes, such as stoves and ovens, you may prefer a cool, dark space.

Dark-colored glass bottles and suitable tin packaging also help protect the oil from light.

What Should You Pay Attention to When Buying Olive Oil?

While “cold-pressed” is important information, it should not be your only criterion when choosing a good olive oil.

It is more accurate to evaluate the product’s olive oil grade, packaging, producer information, label, and storage conditions together.

It is particularly important to choose packaged products with clearly stated producer information, rather than unlabeled products or ones of unclear origin. In fact, under the Turkish Food Codex, olive oils offered directly to end consumers are required to be placed on the market pre-packaged.

Discover Olive Oil with Irmak Zeytin

Olive oil is not just one of our tables’ indispensable flavors — it is the product of a deep-rooted culture that stretches from the soil where the olives grow to the method of production.

Explore Irmak Zeytin’s extra virgin olive oil options and check out our 1 L glass bottle and 5 L tin alternatives.