"richard gams" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Some people (like me) use Extra Virgin for all cooking (except deep frying which I don't do.) I've
> heard that the smoke point for EV is lower than other oils and Canola or Peanut or regular olive
> oil would be better choices.
>
> Is this a myth or is there merit in this?
>
> Richard
There is merit to this. You can fry with EVOO, but the smoking point is lower so you have to be
more careful with the temperature. Also, one thing about EVOO (and VOO I believe) is that no heat
is allowed in the production of it. If you heat it up, ****, it is just regular olive oil, so why
not just use a good olive oil instead of the expensive EVOO for these purposes ? I have a bottle
of EVOO, a bottle of regular OO, and a bottle of canola oil at home (and I'm a bachelor) and use
the canola for the higher heat applications. I still use the EVOO for some cooked things because
it is higher quality the others and still tastes batter even after cooking. But I won't waste it
on frying.
Peanut oil has a very high smoking point, and thus is good for deep frying and other high heat
applications like stir frys.
Another way to think about it is to compare to butter. Sweet cream butter tastes good on bread, but
burns quickly when cooking. This is because of the milk solids. If you clarify it, it can be used at
a much higher temp without burning. EVOO is similar. It is great on bread, but all the stuff that
makes it taste so good also causes it to burn at a lower temp than regular OO.
Dean