To compare avocado oil vs. olive oil, you must first understand each unique oil. Seems overly simple, but it’s true.
Unless you’ve been living in some remote cave for the past few decades, you probably have heard of olive oil. The chances are good that you have even used it.
You’ve likely also eaten an avocado or at least know what one is. However, have you had avocado oil? This is a less likely scenario. Avocado oil has typically been less available than olive oil, but that has changed in the last couple of years, much as coconut oil (which is saturated fat) is now more readily available.
As we said, to compare avocado oil vs. olive oil, you have to begin with getting to know about each oil individually. This will give you the best foundation upon which to begin looking at how they measure up to each other.
The Low Down on Avocado Oil
The avocado fruit has a large pit that is surrounded by a soft green or greenish-yellow interior that is all wrapped in thick, leathery skin. Avocado fruit is a rich green color inside and out.
Avocado oil (sometimes extra virgin avocado oil) is unsaturated fat that isn’t really new. We’ve always known this fruit is rich in healthy fat and oil because it’s not saturated fat.
The processing methods used on the oil also affect cost. The less refined it is, the less expensive it will be. Typically, the processing of avocado oil is similar to the processing of olive oil, which is just one reason why it is fairly easy to compare avocado oil vs. olive oil.
You extract the oil from the pulp and then extract the water from the oil through using a centrifuge that spins it at a high rate.
The fruit needs to come to maturity while still on the tree, however, an avocado will not ripen while still on the tree. In fact, you can leave them on the tree for about a year and a half before they are unusable.
What Is Unrefined Avocado Oil?
Unrefined avocado oil isn’t touched, but rather, it is cold-pressed. Unrefined avocado oil retains all of the essential nutrients, smell, taste, and color that make it so beneficial.
The result is a thick, green oil. If it goes through further refining, the oil color lightens. Highly refined avocado oil is typically yellow and has no smell, according to the American Oil Chemists’ Society.
The quality of the refined avocado oil is also impacted by the fruit used. The best oil comes from fruit picked at full maturity.
What Does Avocado Oil Taste Like?
The flavor is a key feature of avocado oil that you probably want to know more about. The typical flavor is a rich mix of avocado, butter, and mushroom. The balance of the flavors varies.
Growing and harvesting conditions, processing procedures, bottling methods, and storage choices can all affect the oil’s flavor. In the higher quality oils, the flavor stays pure longer. Higher quality means it has minimal processing.
Another important characteristic is this is a monounsaturated fatty acid-enriched oil, just like olive oil. It also has high levels of chlorophyll and carotenoids, along with the antioxidant tocopherol.
Using Avocado Oil
You can cook with refined avocado oil. It actually has a high smoke point, according to the Farmers’ Almanac, which means it can stand higher temperatures before it breaks down. This makes it ideal for frying foods.
Because it is so expensive, though, many people stick to using it for other food preparation. This includes salad dressings and as a drizzle for flavor over prepared foods. You may use it in place of other fats, such as butter or olive oil.
It also has a long shelf life, so it won’t spoil very fast. You could try a high-quality oil, such as Chosen Foods 100% pure avocado oil for all your cooking needs.
Manufacturers also often use it in beauty products. This includes skin and hair care items.
What Is the Smoke Point of Avocado Oil?
Virgin avocado oil has a smoke point of 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Health Benefits of Avocado Oil
The main selling point of avocado oil is that it is a healthy fat. That is why people like to use it in cooking and also why it is beneficial in different beauty products.
The most health benefits come from a higher quality oil. When looking at the general standards, this means you want to choose extra virgin oil as this is the least processed and most pure option.
As the oil goes through processing procedures, it gradually loses some of the health benefits.
People may use avocado oil instead of other oils because it is known to help with heart health. It can lower cholesterol in the body and contributes good fats to your system.
The chlorophyll in this oil can help detoxify your body. Avocado oil may also fight cancer and prevent cancer cells from growing.
It is great for skin because it can reduce wrinkles, treat skin irritation, and help the skin retain moisture.
Since it helps to reduce inflammation, this oil can fight gum disease, increase hair growth, and help the body to retain necessary nutrients better.
The Skinny on Olive Oil
It’s pretty likely that you know what olive oil is. Olive oil comes from olives and is easy to find at almost any grocery store.
You can also typically find it in a range of prices, from affordable to expensive. The price typically reflects the quality, which is yet another point that makes the comparison of avocado oil vs. olive oil easy.
It has been used for centuries and is best known for its uses in cooking.
To make olive oil requires crushing the ripe olives. This creates a pulp that then goes into a centrifuge that spins it to separate out the oil.
Sometimes olive oil goes through refining processes, creating refined olive oil. This happens most often when inferior olives are used.
Refining will neutralize the taste while also removing impurities. It also reduces the health benefits of the oil, according to The World’s Healthiest Foods. One popular version of olive oil is La Tourangelle olive oil.
Health Benefits of Olive Oil
The biggest selling point of olive oil is that it is a monounsaturated fat, according to Time. Olive oil is an excellent cooking oil because it is also known to not increase LDL cholesterol and it doesn’t have trans fat or saturated fatty acids.
Olive oil is a healthier choice than other oils and fats, including butter, vegetable oil, sesame oil, refined oil, virgin coconut oil, flaxseed oil, soybean oil, grapeseed oil, palm oil, corn oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil.
A healthy fat, olive oil is also rich in vitamin E, vitamin K, antioxidants, phenol, oleic acid, and polyphenol. Olive oil is known as an anti-inflammatory as well.
There is a formal grading standard for olive oil. The grade tells you the amount of processing and gives you an idea of what to expect from the oil as far as color and taste.
Extra virgin olive oil is the highest grade for cooking. It offers the strongest health benefits and is the least refined version of this oil.
Other grades include virgin, refined, and blend. Virgin and refined have more processing, while a blend is a mixture of different oils. Typically, in a blend, the manufacturer lists the percentage of each oil.
You may also see light and extra light on a bottle. This refers to the color and flavor of the oil.
Cooking With Olive Oil
The quality of the oil really is key to a good taste experience with this oil. The taste directly reflects the quality, so be willing to spend more on extra virgin olive oil, such as Colavita extra virgin olive oil. It should have a slightly bitter taste to it with elements of olives, apples, grass, and bananas.
Olive oil is also used in cosmetics and soaps as it is great for the skin. When lamps were more common as light sources, it was often used as lamp oil.
This oil contains a lot of monounsaturated fats. It also has some polyunsaturated fatty acids.
What Is the Smoke Point of Olive Oil?
Extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 325-375 degrees Fahrenheit.
You may already use olive oil in cooking. If so, then you know this oil has a rather low smoke point, which means it isn’t good for high heat situations because it will break down quickly.
You can bake with it. It actually enhances the flavor of cocoa, so try using it as a replacement for vegetable oil in brownies.
Of course, since it has a low smoke point, you don’t want to fry with it, but it is great in salad dressings or as a drizzle. Olive oil is commonly used to dip bread in.
How Healthy Is Olive Oil?
Olive oil is one of the healthiest oils you can consume. It has many proven health benefits.
Studies show it can protect the body against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health conditions. It really shines when it comes to heart health because it fights cholesterol build-up.
It is also great for hair. An olive oil mask can add moisture back into hair and lock it in to combat dryness and damage.
It has a similar effect on the skin, which makes it great for masks and other skincare products.
Avocado Oil vs Olive Oil
Now that you know a little about both oils, you can begin to break things down and get a real look at avocado oil vs. olive oil, both of which are rich in vitamins A and E.
Choosing and Using Your Favorite Cooking Oil
Right off the bat, you know they go through similar processing. They are both not cheap oils when you buy the best quality, which you should do for both if you want the most benefits.
When choosing either oil, aim to buy extra virgin only. This will provide the least processed oil with the most health benefits and the best flavor profile.
Both oils are rather versatile. You can use them both in cooking, but this is where avocado oil stands out a bit. Olive oil’s smoke point is lower so avocado would be a better choice for hot preparation of food. However, since avocado oil is more expensive, most people still just use it for adding flavor.
Impact on Health
Looking at the health benefits, they both offer up great perks for heart health. They also both work well on skin and hair to restore moisture and help with any issues. Olive oil kind of stands out in that it has more studies and research about it, so the claims made are substantiated.
Monounsaturated Fat
Looking at the properties of avocado oil vs. olive oil, specifically the number of monounsaturated fats, there are some differences worth noting. Olive oil is somewhere around 77 percent monounsaturated fat while avocado is around 70 percent. While this may not seem huge, these fats are so beneficial that the around seven percent difference could mean a lot to you.
Polyunsaturated Fat
Polyunsaturated fat has been shown in recent studies to be even more beneficial to heart health than monounsaturated fat. With that in mind, avocado oil blows olive oil out of the water in a head-to-head comparison here. Avocado oil comes in with about 20 percent whereas olive oil has around nine percent.
If your main motivation is to improve your heart health, this is something to really consider. It may be worth the extra work to find avocado oil and use it instead of olive oil.
Saturated Fat
You also may want to look at the comparison of avocado oil vs. olive oil when it comes to saturated fat. This is the bad fat that you don’t want to consume large amounts of. Avocado oil has 10 percent while olive oil has 14 percent.
But Which Should You Choose?
Overall, if heart health is your focus, choose avocado oil every time over olive oil when you can.
For general health, if you don’t really have a focus on heart health, you will probably find it is much easier to go with olive oil. It’s easier to find and typically more affordable than avocado oil.
Which Cooking Oil is Best for High Heat Cooking?
If you’re going to be cooking on high heat with olive oil, go with extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil can be heated to up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Even if it’s heated beyond its smoke point, extra virgin olive oil’s antioxidants keep it from producing many harmful compounds.
Avocado oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil, but the price point is also higher, so most people cook with olive oil.
Avocado Oil vs. Olive Oil: Final Thoughts
You should feel pretty good with understanding avocado oil vs. olive oil. You know the main features of each and how they stack up when you compare them head to head.
If you have the opportunity, you should use both oils in your diet and keep an eye out for products made using these oils. Then, you can get all the benefits they both offer.
