Olive Oil



R

Richard Gams

Guest
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
 
"richard gams" <[email protected]> wrote ...
> 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?

Merit. EV is the first squeezing, and is the most volatile.
 
"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
 
"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

I'll probably get crucified for this but: I use EVOO in a wok. I don't think the smoke point is any
different if the oil is flavored. I use in in a wok all the time-sometimes I will use other oils if
there is a certain flavor I am looking for.
 
[email protected] (richard gams) wrote:

>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

Smoke Points Safflower 265 degrees C Sunflower 246 degrees C Soybean 241 degrees C Canola 238
degrees C Corn 236 degrees C Peanut 231 degrees C Sesame 215 degrees C Olive 190 degrees C Lards 183
to 205 degrees C

190 C = 375 F

from the 'net.

Dennis
 
"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

It's true that the smoke point is lower, but it is a myth that this makes a difference for most
frying. Most frying is done below the SP of EVOO, and even if it smokes a little there is no harm.
You can also mix OO and another oil to reduce smoking.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the **** from my email address before using.
 
On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:56:54 -0600, "di" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> 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?
>
>Merit. EV is the first squeezing, and is the most volatile.

smoke point EV and Peanut are almost equal.

the best for frying is a mix 90% peanut and 10% olive oil (for the taste)...

best,

Jiminy
 
"di" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "richard gams" <[email protected]> wrote ...
> > 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?
>
> Merit. EV is the first squeezing, and is the most volatile.

EV is fine for cooking when you're not working close to the smoke point: tasks like wilting spinach.
It's wasted at higher temperatures and may even work against you by smoking at too low a
temperature.

--
Chris Green
 
It has been my experience that how the oil is processed has everything to do with the smoke point.
Back in my health food days, I wanted to use the minimally processed oils from the health food
store, but they were useless for stirfry or anything on top of the stove because they smoked in no
time at all. They were dangerous in baked goods because they went rancid so fast. I decided
processed oils from the supermarket were far healthier and all had high enough smoke points that I
didn't need to choose an oil on that basis. I once did a fair amount of research to learn what went
into processing food oils and learned that it is way complicated. There are differences as far as
how the oil is pressed and cleaned and purified and a bunch of other stuff I don't remember. I do
remember the bottom line: Get fresh, processed oil from the supermarket, not the health food store.

--Lia

Dennis G. wrote:

> Smoke Points Safflower 265 degrees C Sunflower 246 degrees C Soybean 241 degrees C Canola 238
> degrees C Corn 236 degrees C Peanut 231 degrees C Sesame 215 degrees C Olive 190 degrees C Lards
> 183 to 205 degrees C
>
> 190 C = 375 F
>
> from the 'net.
>
> Dennis
 
I think I read somewhere that Safflower oil is very healthy...not quite as healthy as Olive oil, but
still better than a lot of the oils. If this is true, should I just be using Safflower for all of my
cooking, and just use the EVOO for flavor then?

"Dennis G." <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

>
> Smoke Points Safflower 265 degrees C Sunflower 246 degrees C Soybean 241 degrees C Canola 238
> degrees C Corn 236 degrees C Peanut 231 degrees C Sesame 215 degrees C Olive 190 degrees C Lards
> 183 to 205 degrees C
>
> 190 C = 375 F
>
> from the 'net.
>
> Dennis
 
I am late for this post, but I am of the opinion that the only olive oil worth using is the top
grade extra virgin cold pressed. I use it exclusively with Italian cooking and especially antipasto
ingredients.

For general oil cooking, I use Italian grapeseed oil. I find it very consistent and flavour-free. It
costs a bit more, but well worth it.

For Asian cooking, I tend to use peanut oil, with a splash or two of sesame oil.

I would never use soya oil and am a tad suspicious about canola and safflower oils.

Grapeseed oil can be used quite successfully in Asian wok dishes, but one sacrifices a bif of
flavour, compensated by consistency of quality.

Daisy.

Don't assume malice for what stupidity can explain.
 
"Jiminy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:56:54 -0600, "di" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >> 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?
> >
> >Merit. EV is the first squeezing, and is the most volatile.
>
> smoke point EV and Peanut are almost equal.

I could be wrong, but it is my understanding the EVOO has a smoke point around 320 F, where
(refined) peanut oil has a smoke point around 450 F. Granted, for unrefined peanut oil, it is also
around 320F, but I'd much rather have my peanut oil refined than my EVOO.

Dean G.
 
On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 04:13:45 GMT, Julia Altshuler
<[email protected]> wrote:

>There are differences as far as how the oil is pressed and cleaned and purified and a bunch of
>other stuff I don't remember.

AFAIK only EVO oils are pressed, all the rest (i.e. seed oils) are extracted by means of (chemical)
solvents...

best,

Jiminy
 
Jiminy <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 04:13:45 GMT, Julia Altshuler <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>There are differences as far as how the oil is pressed and cleaned and purified and a bunch of
>>other stuff I don't remember.
>
>AFAIK only EVO oils are pressed, all the rest (i.e. seed oils) are extracted by means of (chemical)
>solvents...
>
>
>
>best,
>
>Jiminy

Canola available in grocery chains is first pressed and the final extraction made by the solvent,
hexane. However, cold pressed canola oil is available in speciality stores.

As the solvent is easily removed completely by heat, I see no reason to pay extra for pressed
canola oil.

Dennis
 
On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 02:50:40 GMT, Dennis G. <[email protected]> wrote:

>Smoke Points Safflower 265 degrees C Sunflower 246 degrees C Soybean 241 degrees C Canola 238
>degrees C Corn 236 degrees C Peanut 231 degrees C Sesame 215 degrees C Olive 190 degrees C Lards
>183 to 205 degrees C
>
>190 C = 375 F
>
>from the 'net.

Sunflower and Soybean have a Smoke Point of 130 °C Corn = 180 °C Lard = 260 °C

best,

Jiminy
 
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