Pomace olive oil is a lower-grade olive oil extracted from the solid residue left over after olives are pressed for virgin or extra virgin oil. That residue, called pomace, still contains 5% to 8% oil, which is pulled out using industrial solvents or centrifugation, then refined to make it safe and neutral-tasting enough for cooking. It’s the least expensive type of olive oil on the market, and while it lacks the flavor and antioxidant richness of extra virgin, it has practical strengths that make it a common choice for high-heat cooking.
How Pomace Oil Is Made
When olives are crushed and pressed to produce virgin olive oil, the leftover pulp, skin, and pit fragments form a wet paste called pomace. This paste varies in composition depending on whether the mill uses a two-phase or three-phase extraction system, but in both cases, it retains a small percentage of oil that can be recovered.
The traditional recovery method uses hexane, a petroleum-based solvent, to dissolve the remaining oil out of the pomace. The hexane is then evaporated off, leaving behind crude pomace oil. Some newer facilities skip the solvent and use physical centrifugation instead, spinning the paste at high speed to separate the oil. Either way, the crude oil that comes out is dark, strong-smelling, and not yet fit for eating. It goes through a refining process (neutralization, bleaching, and deodorization) that strips out impurities, free fatty acids, and off-flavors. The result is refined olive pomace oil: pale, mild, and shelf-stable.
The bottle you’ll find in stores is usually labeled simply “olive pomace oil.” Under International Olive Council standards, this is a blend of refined pomace oil with a small amount of virgin olive oil added back for flavor. Its free acidity must stay below 1%, compared to the 0.8% limit for extra virgin.
Three Official Grades
The International Olive Council recognizes three distinct categories of pomace oil, though only the last one is sold to consumers:
- Crude olive pomace oil: The raw, unrefined oil straight from solvent extraction or centrifugation. It has no legal limit on acidity or peroxide levels and is intended either for refining or industrial (non-food) use.
- Refined olive pomace oil: The crude oil after full refining. Acidity drops below 0.3%, and peroxide values fall under 5.0 milliequivalents per kilogram, making it chemically clean but essentially flavorless.
- Olive pomace oil (retail blend): Refined pomace oil blended with some virgin olive oil. This is what reaches your kitchen. It carries a mild olive flavor and must have acidity below 1%.
How It Compares to Extra Virgin
The biggest difference is in flavor and bioactive compounds. Extra virgin olive oil is mechanically pressed at low temperatures and retains its natural polyphenols, the antioxidant compounds responsible for that peppery, slightly bitter taste. Pomace oil’s refining process strips most of those away. One laboratory comparison found crude pomace oil actually contained higher total polyphenol concentrations than virgin olive oil (roughly 201 versus 146 micrograms per gram), but the refining step that makes pomace oil food-safe destroys much of that content. By the time it’s on the shelf, refined pomace oil has significantly fewer polyphenols than extra virgin.
What pomace oil does retain is the same basic fatty acid profile as other olive oils. It’s still predominantly oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat linked to heart health. It also contains triterpenic acids, specifically oleanolic acid and maslinic acid, which are concentrated in olive skin and carry over into the pomace. These compounds have shown antioxidant properties in lab studies, though their practical health impact when consumed in cooking oil hasn’t been firmly established in clinical trials.
Health Effects
A clinical trial published in the journal Nutrients tested the effects of regular pomace oil consumption on cardiovascular markers in both healthy volunteers and people with high cholesterol. The results were modest: pomace oil did not significantly change total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, or blood pressure in either group. However, there was a noteworthy trend toward lower total cholesterol and LDL in the healthy group after the pomace oil intervention, with visceral fat decreasing significantly in both groups.
The study also found that pomace oil nudged levels of a molecule involved in blood vessel relaxation (eNOS) upward, though the change fell just short of statistical significance. Overall, the picture is that pomace oil is not harmful to cardiovascular health and may offer mild benefits, but it’s not a substitute for extra virgin if you’re looking for the well-documented anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects associated with high-polyphenol olive oils.
Why It Works Well for Frying
Pomace oil’s real advantage is heat tolerance. Its smoke point sits around 238°C (460°F), substantially higher than extra virgin olive oil’s 191°C (375°F). That makes it practical for deep frying, pan frying, and any cooking method where oil needs to stay stable at high temperatures without breaking down and producing off-flavors or harmful byproducts.
In a five-day frying trial comparing refined olive pomace oil to sunflower oil, the pomace oil showed higher thermal stability throughout the test. This means it degraded more slowly over repeated frying cycles, maintaining its quality longer before needing to be replaced. For restaurants and home cooks who reuse frying oil, that translates to better-tasting food and less waste. Its neutral flavor also makes it versatile. It won’t compete with the taste of whatever you’re cooking the way a robust extra virgin would.
Safety and Solvent Residues
The use of hexane in extraction raises a reasonable question about chemical residues. EU regulations cap hexane residues at 1 milligram per kilogram of finished oil, a trace amount that regulatory agencies consider safe. The refining process itself, which involves heating the oil to evaporate the solvent, removes virtually all hexane before the oil is bottled. Food-grade pomace oil sold in regulated markets consistently tests well below that limit.
An earlier concern involved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), contaminants that can form if pomace is dried at excessively high temperatures before solvent extraction. Tighter regulations on drying practices, particularly in the EU, have largely addressed this issue. Modern production standards and testing requirements mean commercially sold pomace oil is considered safe for regular consumption.
Best Uses in the Kitchen
Pomace oil fills a specific niche. It’s the olive oil you reach for when flavor doesn’t matter but heat performance does. Deep frying potatoes, sautéing vegetables at high heat, roasting at temperatures above 200°C, or greasing baking pans are all situations where pomace oil performs well and costs less than extra virgin. Some people also use it as a base for marinades or salad dressings where stronger ingredients like garlic, lemon, or herbs provide the flavor.
Where it falls short is anywhere you’d want the oil itself to taste like something. Drizzling over bread, finishing a soup, or dressing a caprese salad are jobs for extra virgin. The two oils aren’t interchangeable in those contexts, and thinking of pomace oil as “cheap extra virgin” misses the point. It’s a different product for different purposes, closer in function to a refined vegetable oil but with the fatty acid advantages of the olive family.