Cooking Oils 101: Olive Oil

Before jumping into any recipe, a good working knowledge of cooking oils is essential.

Extra virgin olive oil has become very popular thanks to cooking shows and the ever-popular tag, "EVOO" coined by culinary personality Rachael Ray. The popularity has led to a great variety of olive oils to choose from in every basic grocery store. The "extra virgin" tag, though, is not to be ignored. Extra virgin olive oil, as opposed to virgin or just regular olive oil, is different because it is the first press of the olives. The resulting flavor is often pleasantly fruity, sometimes grassy or buttery, rarely even having spicy notes. All of these characteristics help to bring layers of flavor to many dishes. Any olive oil, though, is not good for all dishes, no matter how high in quality the oil is. Olive oils, including extra virgin, have a low smoke or flash point. This means that deep frying french fries in olive oil would result in the oil not getting hot enough to really give the food a "crunch factor." Also, because olive oils do have strong flavors, foods that are outside the realm of Mediterranean flavors, such as Indian, Mexican and Asian dishes tend to taste better with lighter more neutral flavored cooking oils such as grapeseed or vegetable oils. Works out better, anyway, because those dishes often require much higher cooking temperatures. Most salad dressings, dipping oils, and grilling/roasting dishes do great with olive oil, though. Here is a simple recipe for a nice lemon herb vinaigrette:

Ingredients

1-2 lemons

1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup diced basil, tarragon, and/or parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Squeeze lemon(s) into a bowl 2. Add salt, pepper & herbs

3. Whisk these ingredients together and stream in the olive oil until the dressing has come together

>QUICK TIP:  To avoid getting the salad all wet and shriveled, try mixing the dressing at the bottom of a large bowl before adding the salad, then toss just before serving. It will taste very fresh and crisp, while still allowing for making things ahead of time.

>This recipe can be varied hundreds of different ways. Essentially there needs to be an acid, the oil and flavorings. Any vinegar or juice could take the place of the lemon here, and anything from herbs and spices to fruits can go into the dressing as flavor enhancers.

****Fun Fact: Olives for oil are cultivated all over the world but most of the world's oil is processed in Spain

For more information about cooking oils in general, including fat content and smoke temperatures, check out this table.