Extra virgin olive oil, as a formal classification, owes its existence to the disastrous state of Italian olive oil in the 1950s. When it was first introduced, only around 20% of oil qualified. Today, you would be hard pressed to find any oil on sale that does not claim to be extra virgin. That, however, is no guarantee of quality, according to Professor Carl Ipsen.

His forthcoming new book — tentatively entitled A True History of Olive Oil — traces the evolution of olive oil from its early role as a lubricant of industrial development, when less than 1% was considered edible, to today, when it is almost exclusively used for food.

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