If you use your kitchen most days to make dinner, chances are you have a bottle or two of olive oil in your pantry ready to assist you in roasting vegetables or searing meat. But have you considered the quality of the olive oil you're using? And has that bottle in your pantry sat there for nearly six months — or more?

There's a chance you may be cheapening your best dishes with low-grade diluted oil and not even know it. According to Larry Olmsted author of "Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don't Know What You're Eating and What You Can Do About It," in the United States, when the FDA looks for alterations, they typically find them in olive oil (via Business Insider). The history of modifying olive oil is vast with numerous examples of fraud dating back to the Roman Empire (via The New Yorker). How this all affects you lies in the quality and nutritional value of the food you're preparing and serving. There is a large difference between quality olive oil and its diluted counterparts. Learning these differences may benefit your taste buds and even your bank account.

Sometimes the short-term gain of spending less on groceries, especially cooking oil, can seem like a real benefit, but in the case of olive oil, you should always aim for a higher price tag (via Cooking Light). Olive oil that comes at a higher cost usually has a harvest date and more information on the bottle regarding origination. Pay for the fine print details as it lends to fresher olive oil. Higher price points also lead to better packaging; cheaper oils are filled in clear glass or plastic while higher quality oils are packaged in heat-resistant, darker glass (via Real Simple). Once you have a quality bottle, Maia Hirschbein, Oleologist for California Ranch, tells Cooking Light she recommends using it within a two-month time frame to ensure freshness up to the last drop.

Additionally, when you pay the price for better olive oil, you are getting a more nutritiously dense ingredient on your plate. According to a 2012 study published in the journal of Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, fresh extra virgin olive oil, in particular, has high anti-inflammatory agents as well as higher amounts of antioxidants due to the large polyphenol count. Higher quality olive oil may come with a price, but the effects it has on your health outweigh the price tag.

Now that you know there are different brands and levels of olive oil when it comes to purity, how can you use your high-class oil to make a showstopping meal? According to co-founder of the Extra Virgin Alliance, Alexandra Devarenne, refined extra virgin olive oil has a distinct taste, and depending on what part of the world it's coming from, the types of olives used to make it along with the phenol content, there may be different variants regarding flavor (via Well + Good).

Regardless of which variety you end up with, test your olive oil in a recipe where it serves as one of the main ingredients and you will not be disappointed. Crispy smashed potatoes or even something sweet like this classic olive oil cake will ensure you are getting the full experience of pure olive oil. The truth remains: The quality of your olive oil makes not only a difference in the flavor of your dishes but in the overall quality of your health.