What kind of olive oil is best for all purpose cooking?

Question

Ive been using classic olive oil which is yellow in color, but I noticed alot of chefs on tv use olive oil when cooking and the color looks light green. What kind is the best to use?

Answer 1

Any kind is ok it depends on personal taste. The different colors come from the different kinds of olive oil.
Extra virgin - comes from the first pressing -dark green in color
Virgin -comes from the second and third pressing - usually a little lighter in color than extra virgin.

Olive oil - comes from all other pressings usually light green or yellow in color

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Well first off, olive oil can but shouldn't be used for all purpose cooking, if you are going to sear a meat or saute' some chicken where you'll be draining the oil I suggest using a good vegetable oil, because a good extra virgin olive oil does not come cheap!!! If oil is an actual ingrediant in the sause or dish than go ahead...bartoli, delsecco there are many types for many tastes..rule of thumb if not sure is to find the lightest and the darkest and buy in between cause the extra virgin which is the really dark green should be used mostly for dressings.

Answer 3

The different color is more about how ripe the olive was when pressed than anything else.
The best oil for cooking is actually pure or a blend because it has less of an olive flavor. it's cheaper and it has a higher smoke point.
The much heralded EVOO should never be cooked with because the heat of cooking destroys the nuance of flavor.
Use evo for salad dressings , aolis, as a dipping sauce or a drizzle over wilted broccoli rabe.
On a personal note; I wish the white people would stop buying all this olive oil because it's making it expensive for us Mediterranean types who grew up on the stuff and consider it one of the basic food groups.

Answer 4

for all purpose cooking use something light in color and rather neutral tasting. EVOO as everyone says since R.R. came on the Food TV scene is rather strong in flavor and does not hold up well to heat. Meaning that it burns very easily.
If you have not tasted many different olive oils I suggest you experiment a little. Buy the smallest bottles you can find of the types of olive oils mentioned in the answers to your question. You will find a huge difference from the green to the golden straw colors. Then, just learn to use what you like.

Answer 5

For all purpose cooking there is only one kind of olive oil. It is called Pomace and I sell it all day long working for a big food house. Save you extra virgin for light saute and salad dressings.

Answer 6

Vegetable oil is best for all purpose cooking, extra virgin olive oil is also great.

Answer 7

According to Rachel Ray, the best is EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I see many who have cooking shows use the same.

Answer 8

Just regular olive oil is good for regular cooking over high heat. If your not cooking with high heat extra virgin is great even for dressings or dressing a plate.

Answer 9

Well, it depends. If you are garnishing a soup or brushing the oil on bread, I'd use EVOO. If you are cooking onions and garlic, and will add other bold flavors, a mild OO is fine to use, and is lest costly than EVOO. I keep a ocuple of good EVOO's on-hand for garnishes and salad dressings, and some light colored OO (not extra virgin) for cooking. That is not to say I dont' cook w/ EVOO, sometimes, if the recipe is simple and the flavor will show thru.

Hope that makes sense!

Answer 10

A blended olive oil is best for general cooking yet the flavor is not as Strong the light green color is because we use virgin olive oil. chef braat