Tips in Cooking with Olive Oil
November 29, 2010
Olive oil is being used in cooking since time immemorial, and it has proven its worth not only when it comes to making a tastier dish but most especially when it comes to helping an individual live a healthier life. Although this practice has been going on for thousands of years, there are some ways wherein you can better enhance the flavors of your dish if you know just how to use the right kind of olive oil for your dishes. For this reason, here are some simple tips in using olive oil for your cooking.
There are different varieties of olive oil, so it would be to your advantage to know what will work best for what type of dish. For example, you can use light virgin olive oil for your baking needs such as when you are going to bake a cake. Light virgin olive oil is also perfect for making mayonnaise, and if you are going to use it for cooking, light olive oil is perfect for sautéing as well as frying.
On the other hand, strong virgin olive oil is perfect for cooking any type of meat – be it red meat or white meat. Robust olive oils also work wonders for ingredients that are known to have strong flavors such as garlic and onion. You can also use this type of olive oil as a marinade.
Lastly, medium-intensity virgin olive oils are perfect for bread dipping. They can also add layers of flavors to steamed veggies and work as a dressing for your baked potatoes and greens. This type of olive oil also goes perfectly well with mozzarella cheese.
Olive oil is known for the rich flavors that it lends the dish, so, if you are going to use it for sautéing or frying, you have to know that the higher the temperature the olive oil becomes, the faster it loses its fragrance as well as taste. Too high a temperature dissolves the essential alcohol content and esters that give olive oil its subtle flavors, so, for your frying needs, you can make use of olive oils that are cheaper. They are not that flavorful to begin with as compared with the more expensive olive oils, but you are still going to get the same healthy benefits.
Lastly, you should know how to properly store your olive oil particularly since the process of oxidation takes place and the integrity of the olive oil diminishes the moment you open a bottle of olive oil.
Image Credit: recipes.howstuffworks.com
