588554 Sat Jan 17 04:19:17 -0800 2009 3 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4334014 Mom bought me a gallon glass jug of Syrian extra virgin olive oil. It sits on the counter and is about a year old. What is the shelf life please? Sat Jan 17 04:19:17 -0800 2009 27444 phelana 1 4334237 It has already deteriorated considerably. Oil should be kept in lightproof containers and not subjected to the kind of heat a kitchen counter gets. So it's not actually good anymore, though it may still be usable. To find out whether it's bad, sniff it and see if there's a vinegary smell, in which case it's gone off, and taste it. It shouldn't taste really greasy. Properly stored, an extra-virgin olive oil should be usable for a couple of years, but one year is better. Just bear in mind that the oil begins to deteriorate as soon as it's pressed, so even if it still tastes all right, it doesn’t have anywhere near the health benefits of a newly pressed, properly packaged and stored oil. Sat Jan 17 07:32:29 -0800 2009 4334014 83777 mbfant 1 4334596 Probably only good for cooking now, you need to keep it in a dark glass container and store it in a dark place, never the refrigerator. Sat Jan 17 10:55:58 -0800 2009 4334014 147961 treb 1 4334752 there were a couple of threads on this in the past year, but I can't seem to find the one I was looking for. The two biggest enemies of any oils are light and air, followed by heat. In a normal household environment exposure to light will degrade the oil many times faster than air, but keeping it out on the counter, especially on a shelf near the stove on a window is about the worst thing you can do. The exposure to light and much higher than average temperatures are sure to take their toll. There seems to be some disagreement about putting it in the fridge. Some people say that once it comes back to room temperature, it will be fine, and can last twice as long, others say that any time an oil changes state (liquid to solid or back) that the flavor and other properties are compromised. http://www.oliveoilsource.com/olive_oil_storage.htm Sat Jan 17 12:19:04 -0800 2009 4334014 57890 KaimukiMan