Which quality Olive Oil for cooking/ frying vegetables?

Question

can extra virgin olive oil be used in cooking involving extensive heating for longer periods? which quality olive oil can be used in the preparation of curries and pasta dishes.

Answer 1

Olive oil burns if heated too high.

Use it to saute vegetables is fine. Toss it with pasta.

But curries - I usually use canola or peanut oil. If you are using a lot of curry, you can't taste the olive oil anyway, so you might as well use something more neutral.

Answer 2

If you want to use olive oil for frying, choose a less expensive kind as extra virgin oil will lose flavor and has a low flash point (point at which the chemical composition alters (unhealthy BTW) beyond which a fire can result). Why pay for something you won't get taste-wise. Extra virgin olive oil is best used as a "seasoning" after the cooking is finished. You can alter the flashpoint of an oil by mixing two different oils together (e.g. olive and peanut oil). Peanut oil and coconut oil have the highest flashpoints, that is why they are used in deep fryers. I wouldn't bother using extra virgin olive oil in heavily seasoned curries because the flavors conflict (to my taste). Indians use ghee and Asians tend towards peanut or coconut oil. Of course companies like Bertolli make a cheap olive oil (which are chemically extracted unlike "first pressed" oils) that is pretty tasteless, so if you must.... As an aside, extra virgin olive oil has a variety of flavors, colors, and complexity like wine, there are even tastings at an Italian deli by me where people dip crusty bread in different oils.

Answer 3

olive oil is used in low temp conditions. each type of oil has a temp that it changes and burns. olive oil does this the quickest. extra virgin or other. it doesn't matter. use canola for high temps. all other qualities of olive oil are under extra virgin which is made from the first pressing of the olive. they are less desirable for the nutrients that olive oil is used for in the first place...and there fore cheaper but never better for anything. olive oil should be used for more of a seasoning thing. i do use it at a warm to medium temp to saute. other than that fry in other oils and add the olive last.

Answer 4

Extra virgin olive loses its flavour at high heats. It is best to use normal cooking oil for frying and save the extra virgin for dressing salads or with pasta sauces that dont require much heat.

I use ghee(clarified butter) when making indian curies because it adds a deeper nutty flavour.

Peanut oil is good for stir-frys, as is sesame oil (very strong flavour)