Extra Virgin Vs. Virgin Oil - Nutritional Differences - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. The difference between extra virgin oil and virgin oil is really the amount of the processing. Extra virgin olive oil has the least amount of processing, so it is cold pressed which means it is not treated with chemicals and it is not treated with heat. So pretty much its kept the quality is maintained, the color is maintained and the flavor is maintained. So the nutrition, especially the antioxidants, are preserved because olive oil has polyphenols vitamin E and it has beta caratine which all act as antioxidants, and so those are preserved with the cold pressing. Virgin olive oil has a little bit higher acidity, it is made with riper olives and it is a little bit lower in quality, although it is still cold pressed. The olive oil you really want to avoid would be pure olive oil. So the name is misleading because it sounds really good but pure olive oil is actually chemically treated or it is treated with heat, and a lot of the properties are destroyed. It is colorless, it is tasteless, it is oftentimes it is of such a low quality that they have to mix higher quality oils with it just to make it palatable. So I would avoid the pure oil and the extra virgin olive oil is definitely the highest quality taste in nutritious oil.