Olive oil helps in carrying food and spice flavors to offer a pleasing feel in the mouth and satisfy one’s appetite. When used freely, this oil can improve both sweet and savory dishes as it has many great health-boosting properties. Virgin oils and their extra-virgin variety must be cooked at low-medium temperatures or used uncooked. But, refined olive oils can be used when cooking in high temperatures like frying.

When Cooking Using Olive Oil

While virgin and extra virgin olive oils can stand up to heat well, they tend to lose their flavor when heated, thus, it is best to be used for uncooked dishes. They should be used for harmonizing the spices in a dish, although you can also use spicy olive oil. Also, it can improve and create flavor as well as add more depth and body. Olive oil balances the acidity in highly acidic foods like vinegar, tomatoes, lemon juice, and wine. Generally, it must be treated like wines by pairing its tastes with the other ingredients’ flavors. Olive oil can be used by drizzling it over salad, veggies or cooked pasta, using it marinades or sauces, using it as a replacement to butter, mixing it into salad dressing and more.

Baking with Olive Oil

A lot of people do not use olive oil when baking. However, the truth is that baking with this oil is an excellent way to get more monounsaturated fat and polyphenolic compounds in the diet. The best kind of olive oil for this purpose is the mild and light type, especially when you are baking bread and sweets. Using olive oil instead of butter can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in baked goods. Also, the oil does not have the cholesterol in butter. You can still the expected product with less fat, more heart-nutrients, and fewer calories.

Other Amazing Uses for Olive Oil

Fine virgin olive oil can be used in nearly any recipe. It is close in flavor to extra virgin olive oils but not as expensive. Plus, you can use this fine version in high-heat applications such as when sautéing, frying and stir-frying. Also, fine virgin oil is the perfect choice if you want to have the quality flavor without the strong olive taste. When using fine virgin oil in your kitchen, you can just brush it on meats before you broil and grill them to seal the flavor and juices of the meat as well as allow for a crispier exterior. Also, you can sprinkle it on brown rice, drizzle over toast, and add to eggs.