When we were in Mendoza, we bought 2 bottles of olive oil at Mendel Winery. We used a bottle, and put the other bottle away. That was 18 months ago. I just ‘found’ the other bottle.
Is there a shelf life for olive oil?
There is. Light and oxygen greatly accelerate it.
18 months may be fine or too long depending on storage conditions before and after you bought it. Your nose will tell you if it has gone rancid or not.
Thanks.
Here is a nice primer from Apollo Olive Oil:
Olive oil doesn’t improve with age like wine does. First, it must be said that ordinary olive oil, being predominantly refined, is essentially odorless and flavorless, and hardly changes – except eventually to go rancid from exposure to air. If you wonder what rancidity really is, just remember the particular smell and lingering taste of stale peanuts.
Extra Virgin olive oil on the other hand, is a natural raw product, subject to variations year to year and to changes with time. Generally speaking, a young EVO oil will be fresh and even perky with aromas and flavors. As time goes by, the filtered EVO oils will mellow, becoming softer and milder – but still quite pleasant. Unfiltered EVO oils may develop off-smells and flavors at any time, largely depending on storage conditions. Eventually, all oils will turn rancid.
Traditionally, due to the biannual bearing pattern of olive trees, olive oil is made every other year when olives are abundant. On the off-years, when the crop may be as small as 10% of the abundant years, table olives are made. Therefore, the life-expectancy of olive oil is generally taken to be two years. In truth, it depends on the quality of the oil and how it has been stored – some EVO oils are capable of extended life, beyond two years – but there is no point in buying old oil, and no reason to age the oil you buy.
When looking for a good EVO oil, always check the vintage date. If there’s no date, then there’s no way to know how old the oil really is. Olives are harvested in the late fall and early winter, anytime between October and the end of January in the Northern hemisphere. Blending and bottling usually occur in the new year.
I keep my good EVO from Italy in my walk-in at mid 50’s.
It depends too on the oil, as John’s post alluded to.
A local EVOO producer (Victorine) says the general accepted life of a bottle of oil is 2 years, but that this is based more on bi-annual harvest (every other year, an olive tree has a small harvest, and that usually goes into making table olives, so oil is only pressed every 2 years.)
http://victorinevalley.com/faq.html
However they make an Olio Nuovo which right off the press with no filtering or settling time, and so is high in olive particulate matter. It’s high in flavor but this also makes it more prone to spoilage, so it’s supposed to be used within a few months.
Storage in a wine cellar is a really good option, if it’s available.
Yeah, the nose will tell you all you need to know. I had a couple great bottles from Italy, the second finished at 2 years and didn’t miss a beat. The quality oils have a lot of anti-oxidant compounds, and tend to hold.