Which olive oil to use for cooking? Extra virgin olive oil is always used for frying and cooking in Spain. It is a healthy and stable cooking oil according to scientific studies. My Spanish family cooks with nothing else.
Since I moved out of my parents' house, I received a 5-litre tin of extra virgin olive oil Oro de Genave from my parents every year, which lasted me a year, and then I would receive a new tin in December. Just in time because the old tin was empty. As long as I can remember, this was the only cooking oil I used, apart from occasional butter and sunflower oil for oriental dishes.
Since I started my webshop, I found many myths and rumors on the internet that advised against cooking with extra virgin olive oil because it would be unhealthy. I therefore decided to delve deeper into the matter and read various studies. In this blog, I want to share the conclusions from those studies.
Scientific research on cooking with extra virgin olive oil
A recent study on cooking with various oils by Modern Olives Laboratory Services in Australia refutes this claim and actually shows that cooking with extra virgin olive oil is the best way to cook.
The main findings from this study are:
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Smoke point of extra virgin olive oil: Despite the fact that the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil is lower than common cooking temperatures, it is incorrect that extra virgin olive oil is unsuitable for cooking. The study by Modern Olives Laboratory Services showed that the stability of an oil did not correlate with the smoke point. Extra virgin olive oil even proved to be more stable in this study than oils with higher smoke points.
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Polyunsaturated fats are more unstable: Oils with many polyunsaturated fats, such as grapeseed oil and rapeseed oil, performed worse at higher temperatures.
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Antioxidants in extra virgin olive oil: The study emphasized that the antioxidants in extra virgin olive oil contributed to its stability when heated. This is contrary to the myth that antioxidants and polyphenols in olive oil are destroyed by heat, which has already been disproven by a scientific study in 2008, published in Food Chemistry. The thrust of this research is that the antioxidants do not burn, but are found in the food.
In addition to these studies, it also appears that the olive variety influences the stability of olive oil; research has been conducted on whether frying in olive oil made from Arbequina, Picual olives and sunflower oil differs from each other. The conclusion from this study is that frying in Picual olive oil is more stable compared to the other oil types and deteriorates less quickly in quality.
Conclusion
The conclusion from these studies is what many top chefs and everyone in the Mediterranean region already know: extra virgin olive oil is not only safe to cook with, but also a healthy way to prepare food. In addition, olive oil made from the Picual olive variety is the best choice for frying, because it remains stable longer.
I therefore recommend the Oro de Genave or the Señorio de Segura for frying. For great cooking enthusiasts and hobby cooks, we recommend 5-litre tins of olive oil.
Sources:
- "Is it safe to cook with olive oil?" - aboutoliveoil.org
- "What happens to olive oil when you heat it?" - aboutoliveoil.org
- Health effects of replacing butter, margarine, milk fats and mayonnaise with olive oil
- Changes in the physicochemical and nutritional parameters of Picual and Arbequina olive oils during frying
