Should olive oil be stored in glass or plastic?

You’ve just found the perfect olive oil, but now you’re not sure how to store it…

Storing olive oil–dos and don’ts

When choosing the right storage solution and area for your olive oil, there are a few factors you want to keep in mind; the amount of light, temperature and moisture level. Properly storing olive oil will allow you to keep your oil tasty and unaltered for as long as possible.

Storing olive oil in an airtight, opaque container makes huge headway toward preserving the oil in pristine condition. Placing that container in dry, cold storage, such as an appropriate cupboard, safeguards the oil with good results and at a reasonable cost.

Storing olive oil–why the container matters

You might hope that all containers are equal and you could store your oil in just about anything, but as it turns out, things are more complicated than that. Olive oil can take on some of the flavors of its container–a fact that is put to good use by olive oil producers who use wooden caskets to produce luxury extra virgin olive oil.

For the average Joe, it is enough to make an informed choice by choosing an inert container made of material that doesn’t interact with or affect the taste of olive oil–such as glass and steel.

Storing olive–advantages of a glass container

Glass is a lovely material for keeping olive oil. It won’t alter the oil’s taste in any way, and as long as it is opaque, it will protect the oil from damage due to light. Aesthetically, there is something rather pleasing in a beautifully crafted, well-made glass container that few alternatives can match.

Storing olive oil–disadvantages of a plastic container

Plastic bottles seldom protect olive oil from UV or fluorescent light (the kinds of light that damage olive oil), but even when they do, plastic has the unfortunate side effect of reducing phenols, carotenes, and chlorophyll, which happen to be important health-supporting antioxidants that make olive oil so beneficial.

Sure, plastic will leave your olive oil tasting the same, but unbeknownst to you, plastic will take a sledgehammer to much of the goodness you ought to get from the oil.