Extra Virgin Olive Oil is good for you, right?

Have you been cooking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil because you thought it was good for you?  Well if so you need to know the latest nutritional information is that refined Extra Virgin Olive Oil can take heat but cold pressed or unrefined cannot.  When you heat unrefined and cold pressed the heat creates free radicals.

Definition of free radical: An atom or group of atoms that has at least one unpaired electron and is therefore unstable and highly reactive. In animal tissues, free radicals can damage cells and are believed to accelerate the progression of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related diseases.

If you follow the Nutritionist Circle they teach that there are as few as three oils to use for all applications, however, in everyday cooking I find we need a larger selection to prepare what the typical family wants to eat.

So let me do my best to simplify what oil and when to use them.  Cold pressed and unrefined oils should be your choice when you want to taste the flavor of the oil such as salad dressing or dipping bread.  Use refined oils in moderation for high heat applications like baking, grilling and stir-frying.

Oil	Heat	Flavor	Application
Almond	High	Nutty	Sautéing, stir-frying, searing, baking
Butter	Medium to high	Mild sweet and a little salty	Any cooking method
Coconut	Medium to high	Mild sweet coconut flavor	Baking, popcorn, stir-frying
Fish	No heat	Fishy and some have lemon	Protein shakes
Olive Oil	Medium	Neutral	Salads, cooking
Peanut	Medium	Peanut	Stir-frying, sautéing
Sesame	Medium	Sesame	Stir-frying, sautéing
Walnut	Medium	Walnut	Drizzle on salads and vegetables, add to homemade ice cream
Macadamia nut	Medium	Mild nutty flavor	Salads, add to homemade ice cream

Notice you don’t find margarine, shortening, or vegetable oil mentioned.  Reason being everyone agrees that there are better tasting and healthier oils such as those listed in the chart for all cooking application.

Stacy Klone
KitchenWerks.org

About these ads