Know how I realised I’m getting old? This Christmas, I’m not hoping for some pricey clothing or the newest tech. 

Instead, I’d love a huge bottle of great olive oil. 

The freshest, most pure olive oil can go for as much as £74-ish for five litres. It can come in beautiful tins or terracotta jugs and has a fruity, fresh taste cheaper brands can’t always compete with. 

High-quality extra-virgin olive oil also tends to be higher in polyphenols, the compounds that people think can boost your heart health. 

But according to the North American Olive Oil Association, I should be careful if I do end up scoring the pricey pressie. 

They shared that the worst thing to do with good olive oil is what so many of us are tempted to try when we get an expensive bottle.

Which is?

If your friend comes back from Italy with a costly bottle of olive oil, you might be tempted to hold onto it for special occasions. 

After all, you might tell yourself, a single glug works out to however many pennies or pounds ― it can feel too extravagant to enjoy it during your midweek meal. 

But the North American Olive Oil Association points out that actually, the more wasteful approach is to work your way through cheap bottle after cheap bottle of olive oil while your highest-quality version sits unused in the back of your cupboard. 

That’s because good olive oil is not like wine, they say. It doesn’t get better over time. 

“Once you open a bottle of olive oil, you should try to use it within two or three months,” they advise. 

Though it can keep for two years unopened if stored away from light and heat, quality olive oil should ideally also be consumed within 18 months of the harvest date, which is not the same as the date you got it. 

Any other tips?

Your olive oil should come in a dark glass or some other material that doesn’t allow light in, as this can degrade it. 

You should keep it away from light sources (like your kitchen windowsill) and heat sources (that’s why your olive oil doesn’t belong beside the hob). 

“Natural enemies of olive oil which can cause it to oxidize are HOLA:  Heat, Oxygen, Light and Age,” the North American Olive Oil Association writes.

If you want to work out how high-quality the olive oil you’re buying is, there are five markers on the bottle that can reveal its freshness and purity.