When Greek olive oil becomes cloudy

Olive oil starts to get naturally solidified when exposed to cold temperatures, usually between 1-4° Celsius.

The solidification of olive oil is a slow and gradual process and starts by it looking cloudy or crystalised. As the olive oil gets even colder, it turns into the same consistency as butter. When completely frozen, it becomes a very hard butter.

Again, this process doesn’t affect the quality — it will be the same Extra Virgin Olive Oil when you bring it back down to room temperature and it becomes liquid again. Some even suggest keeping it at this extra cool temperature to extend the shelf life.

Thawing Olive Oil At Home

•You can put the container into a “warm room”.
Move it to a warmer spot in your house before you use it. Make sure to give it enough time to turn back into a liquid — the larger the packaging, the more time it will need. This process can take anywhere from 1 day to 1 week, so make sure to plan ahead.

•If you are looking to bring your retail bottle of olive oil back to a liquid state, this process is quite simple. Just fill a sink with warm water, and place your olive oil bottle in it. Your olive oil will slowing come back to a full liquid form so that you can use it just like normal — just give it 10 or 20 minutes in the warm water.

•You may find that there are small particles that are floating in the oil after defrosting — these are small, natural molecules of the olive that tend to separate and settle when the olive oil solidifies. Don’t worry, your oil is still good and you can use it like normal.