Olive oil

[she_cookie]

Do you use olive oil when cooing or the usual type?
Olive oil is much healthier and it has a different taste, but in my area it's very expensive.
Do yo think it's worth the money to use olive oil almost all the time or is the regular oil good too?
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[Benton Tarantella]

In my area olive oil is pretty expensive too, so I don't use it on a regular basis... :( Usually normal sunflower oil is what most of the cooks I know use. There's a slight difference in what the taste of the food is concerned, but I think they are both good.:cool:

[mcnerd]

I prefer Olive oil, but it is often expensive so vegetable oil gets the workout most of the time.

Olive oil is intriguing and price does not always reflect quality, nor what it says on the label, especially the stuff that sells in the USA. You really have to do your homework. I was amazed when I first started researching it. I found a discount store locally that actually had a quality olive oil for under $4.00.

Same goes for Sesame Oil. Two kinds, one for cooking and one more as a spice flavoring.

[Barksdale]

I use extra virgin olive oil for almost everything but frying.

I'm picky and buy sort of pricey oil but there are loads of excellent but reasonably priced olive oils on the market.

[Ralphy]

Olive oil is a great asset in the kitchen :)
My wife uses it sometimes, she adds a bit of olive oil in the food when it's almost ready. Olive oil is also great in combination with beans.
It is a tad expensive but we can afford it, it's no problem.
We don't use it for frying potatoes or meat, however.. for that my wife uses regular oil.
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[beginnercook]

I use olive oil for salads most of the time since it's a tad too expensive to use for all the meals. For the other ones the sunflower oil does the job nicely for us all.

[she_cookie]

I think the money is worth it. Of course, if you don't cook everything with olive oil.. that would be a bit to expensive.
But i do as Ralphy's wife does :) I only use it for certain foods, i fry the potatoes in normal oil, for example.
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[Max Sutton]

I use canola oil unless a recipe calls for olive oil.

[Chef_Dad]

I tend to use olive oil in cooking stir-fry's and dishes that require a dash or two of oil. For heavier use, I now work with other oils ranging from canola to sunflower and peanut. It's interesting to see how different oils alter/enhance the flavor of various foods.

[Semigourmet]

well, I can still get olive oil for a descent price. but I think it is worth it. Unless you use a LOT of oil. I don't use olive oil in my dressings, or marinades, or for deep frying. I use peanut oil for deep frying (which is Rare) and veg oil for salads and marinades. But sauteing, or roasting certain things such as veggies etc. I like Bertoli or Colavita brands mostly.

[Sonja]

I try to use olive oil most of the times. For frying I use Sunflower oil, wich I think is more healthy than the regular oils.
Sonja

[mcnerd]

And then Grape Oil comes along and changes the game.

[gwydion]

I tend to use olive oil for general cooking and groundnut oil for anything that requires high temperatures (great for stir-fries and deep frying) as it has a higher flash point and won't burn as you cook.

[Liketobake]

Do you use olive oil when cooing or the usual type?
Olive oil is much healthier and it has a different taste, but in my area it's very expensive.
Do yo think it's worth the money to use olive oil almost all the time or is the regular oil good too?

I use extra virgin olive oil in everything I cook, or bake. It's the only oil we have in the kitchen. It is worth all the extra money.:D

[Semigourmet]

I too use extra virgin olive oil. My usual is bertolli. I don't deep fry with olive oil I use peanut oil. and since I don't do it very often the taste is worth the money.

[Grader999]

I like sunflower and Olive oil.

[Liketobake]

I like sunflower and Olive oil.

Just curious, what type of cooking/baking do you use sunflower oil for?

:)

[Catlady]

Do you use olive oil when cooing or the usual type?
Olive oil is much healthier and it has a different taste, but in my area it's very expensive.
Do yo think it's worth the money to use olive oil almost all the time or is the regular oil good too?

I use Olive Oil sometimes , not the extra virgin for cooking. I use extra virgin for salad or crostini , etc.

[dotcracker]

I prefer to use olive oil over anyother, they are simply fabolous, beside coconut old also does good, and especially if you're looking for cooking some veg curries and frying or for roasting stuff.





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[Kitchen Ninja]

I use extra virgin olive oil in everything I cook, or bake. It's the only oil we have in the kitchen. It is worth all the extra money.:D

SO true. I grew up in an Italian house, so that's been the standard my whole life.

My only two exceptions are when I'm cooking Asian food (toasted sesame oil) and when I'm deep frying (safflower oil).

[awesomeapril]

It depends on the dish and the type of olive oil. There are different grades of olive oil. Different grades have different uses

If using a very nice high grade olive oil with superior taste, use it as a dressing or something where you really want the flavor to shine through. If you are looking for an olive oil like this with a very clear distinct flavor I would go for something more expensive bought at a specialty store. Make sure you store it correctly (away from sun lite, this deteriorates its taste). By buying it a grocery store there is no real way of knowing what you are getting the bottle have often been exposed to the light for a long period of time. I would not use high grade olive oil in everyday cooking because you might overwhelm the other flavors with it.

A good example of a use: High grade olive oil on a slice of toasted baguette with some fresh parmesan.:D

Less expensive and lower grade olive oils such as pomace have less strong of a taste and won't overwhelm the flavor of a dish. Be careful with some lower grade olive oils because they might have undesirable flavors. I would use a lite virgin olive oil bought from the grocery store for this type of cooking.

But like always think of the flavor, if you don't want the taste of olive oil don't use it. Butter although not as healthy has a very distinctly different taste than olive oil.
For frying you would probably not want the distinct flavor of olive oil. Also, it is very important to take note when frying that different oils have different smoke a flash points. Peanut oil would be a better choice that olive oil for fying.
I would not use olive oil in baking!! That is unless its a savory dish like pizza dough or it is called for. Also if you substitute olive oil for something like shortening and butter when you bake you must realize that melting points sometimes play a key role in the recipe. Example i would never replace butter or shortening with olive oil in a pie dough.

[Tuscan chef]

Canola oil it's an industrial oil. Here in Italy we can't find it anymore as it is used in diesel engine cars and it's cheaper....
This gives you an idea of canola oil. If you want to know more.
Temperature used to heat before extraction is too high. Solvent used is hexane.
Hexane is part gasoline, glue for shoe (created a disease of shoemaker) and some other glue that is used as cheap sniff drug.....

[HattoriHanzo]

I'm lucky that where I come from good olive oil is locally produced with high quality produce and does not cost very much at all. usually I can buy a 3-5 litre bottle for 25-35 Australian dollars. I also keep other oils in my pantry for use in particular dishes.

[samue1eb]

Lot of good and interesting conversations on oil. HattoriHanzo, that's great that you can get locally produce oil.