Smoke point of olive oils

[chave982]

Originally Posted by Bilby

I am with DramaQueen on this. The good stuff for serving, the normal for cooking.

Unless, of course, you're Rachel Ray, in which case you would use the good stuff just so you can say the word "E.V.O.O." all the time.

[jennyema]

I use the good stuff for cooking and the really good stuff for drizzling.

I do not cook with it if very high heat is needed, though. It's never bitter and the taste comes through for me.

My everyday oil comes from Fairway. Not their private label stuff but their other varietal oils in the picture down at the left.

[DramaQueen]

Originally Posted by chave982

Unless, of course, you're Rachel Ray, in which case you would use the good stuff just so you can say the word "E.V.O.O." all the time.

You may have a good point there. I don't know why she uses the EVOO for cooking because when you add all the ingredients to the pan you lose the fine taste of Extra Virgin so you waste money on something you really can't get the full benefit from.

I know that Italians use a good grade for cooking (Pure) and the best quality (Extra Virgin) for dipping, and salads, so that the true flavor of the EV comes through with no interference and that's where the Extra Virgin flavor really shines.

[Andy M.]

MArio Batali, on his TV show Molto Mario and Mario Cooks Italy, makes a point that he uses only EVOO.

[GB]

Originally Posted by jennyema

I use the good stuff for cooking and the really good stuff for drizzling.

I do not cook with it if very high heat is needed, though. It's never bitter and the taste comes through for me.

I do the exact same thing for the exact same reasons.

My everyday EVOO is from Trader Joes and it is about $3 a bottle. I can taste the flavor come through in my cooking so why bother with yet another bottle of oil when my EVOO will work just fine. And at $3 a bottle I am certainly not wasting any $$$.

[GB]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

MArio Batali, on his TV show Molto Mario and Mario Cooks Italy, makes a point that he uses only EVOO.

This is true, even when he deep fries.

[black chef]

best EVOO i've used to date = pegasus kalamata.

absolutely delightful.