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I am about to car camp one week and I am wondering if I may safely carry some olive oil in a glass bottle - I expect day temperature to peak around 30 degrees Celsius.

I would like to know ahead of time if the oil is going to get rancid, or to deteriorate in any way.

Thank you very much

Dakatine
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1 Answers1

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Olive oil will degrade over time, but that is measured in months and years if stored out of the light, and in cool conditions.

If you leave EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) in a glass container in sunlight, it will start to loose some of it's amazing flavour, astringency, and smell, but again this will take many days to be even slightly noticeable. It will still be safe to use.

Just don't leave a glass bottle of oil in the sunshine, keep it in a cool place (like under the seat in the car), and it will be OK.

If you have a few hours read up on it: http://static.oliveoiltimes.com/library/Olive-Oil-Storage-Conditions.pdf

The key point is that it takes 3 months at 37°C to ruin EVOO.

Cascabel
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TFD
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  • How cool? The OP's camping in 30C weather, so there's a good chance the two viable options are a car that's much hotter than 30C, or an ice chest. – Cascabel Jul 06 '15 at 23:35
  • @Jefromi Maybe we need a definition of car camping! Floor of car, under seat, will average much less than 30°C over a 24 hour period with daily peak at 30°C – TFD Jul 07 '15 at 00:22
  • Ah, you're assuming you can park in the shade, I think, or at least focusing more on the average than the worst 6 hours. Not sure it matters what the average is if it's in a 45C car for 1/4 of the time. – Cascabel Jul 07 '15 at 00:36
  • @Jefromi Floor of car should not rise above outside temp – TFD Jul 07 '15 at 00:49
  • @Jefromi Check attachment, it took 3 months at 37°C to ruin EVOO – TFD Jul 07 '15 at 00:51
  • In other words, your answer to my initial question is that the floor of a car in the sun is sufficiently cool. That'd be good to edit into your answer. (However, given my experience living in Texas, I'm really not sure I buy that the floor stays at or below the outside temperature.) – Cascabel Jul 07 '15 at 00:58
  • @Jefromi In a normal ventilated car not parked in direct sunlight in middle of asphalt car park, the temp should stay ambient. People generally don't camp at the local supermarket. I would assume they aren't staying in car all day, but are actually camping, so time in car should be minimal – TFD Jul 07 '15 at 01:35
  • Okay, well, then I disagree: cars parked in the sun on dirt parking spaces in campgrounds routinely heat up way above ambient temperature, and the shade under the seats offers only partial protection. If the OP is able to park in the shade, awesome. But I've camped a plenty of places where your car gets very hot during the day and there's nothing you can do about it. – Cascabel Jul 07 '15 at 01:37
  • In any case, whatever the temperature may be under the OP's car seat, some of the things you said in comments are directly relevant to the question, so I've edited them into your answer. – Cascabel Jul 07 '15 at 01:49