Is Olive Oil a Seed Oil? No — Here's the Difference
Short answer: no. Olive oil is a fruit oil. It is pressed from the flesh of the olive, which is a fruit, not from a seed. The oils people mean when they say "seed oils" — canola, soybean, sunflower, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, safflower — are extracted from seeds, usually with heat and a solvent, and then refined. Olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil are the three common cooking oils that are not seed oils.
Why the confusion
Olives do contain a pit, and a small amount of oil does come from it during pressing. But the overwhelming majority of the oil comes from the pulp of the fruit, and the pit contributes so little that olive oil is classified everywhere — by the International Olive Council, by Codex, by Canadian and US regulators — as a fruit oil. The word "seed oil" has also become a shorthand online for "industrial vegetable oil", which makes people wonder whether olive oil belongs in the same group. It doesn't, for three reasons.
Three ways olive oil is different from a seed oil
1. How it's made
Extra virgin olive oil is made mechanically: olives are crushed, the paste is stirred, and the oil is separated in a centrifuge, all at low temperature. Nothing is added and nothing is removed. Seed oils cannot be made this way at any useful yield; seeds are hard and low in oil, so they are typically heated, pressed and then washed with a solvent (usually hexane), after which the crude oil is refined, bleached and deodorised to make it edible. That process strips out flavour, colour and most of the minor compounds.
2. What's in it
Olive oil is roughly three-quarters monounsaturated fat (oleic acid), with only around 10% polyunsaturated fat. Most seed oils are the reverse: high in polyunsaturated omega-6 fats such as linoleic acid. Because extra virgin olive oil is unrefined, it also keeps its polyphenols — the antioxidant compounds responsible for its bitterness and peppery finish — and its vitamin E. Refined seed oils contain essentially none. Our own oil tested at 260 mg/kg of polyphenols.
3. How it behaves when you cook
Monounsaturated fat is more stable under heat than polyunsaturated fat, and polyphenols protect the oil further. That is why extra virgin olive oil holds up well for sautéing, roasting and pan-frying, despite the persistent myth that it can't be heated. Its smoke point is typically 190–210 °C (375–410 °F), above normal home-cooking temperatures.
So is "extra virgin" the same as any olive oil?
No, and this is where people get caught. "Extra virgin" is the unrefined grade: cold-extracted, with free acidity under 0.8% and no sensory defects. "Pure olive oil", "light olive oil" or just "olive oil" on a label usually means refined olive oil with a little virgin oil blended back in for flavour — still a fruit oil, still not a seed oil, but with most of the polyphenols gone. If you are choosing olive oil specifically to avoid refined oils, buy extra virgin.
What about "olive pomace oil"?
Pomace oil is made from the leftover paste (pulp and pits) after the first extraction, using a solvent and refining — the same process as a seed oil. It is sold cheaply for deep frying and food service. It is legally an olive oil product, but if the seed-oil process is what you are trying to avoid, treat pomace oil as one.
How to check what you're buying
- Look for "extra virgin" on the label, not "pure", "light" or "pomace".
- Look for a harvest date or a lab report. Extra virgin oil is a fresh product.
- Prefer dark glass or a tin; light degrades the oil.
- Taste it. A little bitterness and a peppery catch in the throat are signs of a genuine, fresh extra virgin oil.
Golden Spoon extra virgin olive oil is cold-pressed from Chemlali olives in the Sfax region of Tunisia, lab-tested, and shipped from Ottawa. Our certified organic oil is the robust, high-polyphenol style; our Naturally Smooth oil is milder for everyday cooking. Lab reports are on our lab analysis and certificates page.
This article is general information, not medical or dietary advice.