Heat olive oil? Indeed! But above all, naturally cloudy olive oil should not be used for frying: the aromatic compounds, i.e., the typical flavor of this oil, evaporate when heated too much. As long as it is a high-quality olive oil (extra virgin olive oil – the highest quality), you can use it for frying, braising, stewing, deep-frying, and baking up to a maximum temperature of 190 degrees Celsius (°C).
Olive oil is a healthy and tasty cooking oil. However, here we’ll tell you what you should pay attention to when heating olive oil. Whether you’re sautéing onions or seasoning a pasta sauce, you can use most olive oils for this purpose.
As long as the olive oil is boiling, braising, or baking in a pot with water-containing foods, it will rarely get hotter than 100°C.
You can even deep-fry in olive oil, provided you use a deep fryer with a temperature control and don’t set it above 180°C.
Be careful when frying: Don’t let olive oil get too hot. The reason for this is that olive oil can actually burn, losing both its delicious flavor and its health-promoting properties.
The so-called smoke point of olive oil is approximately 180°C. The higher the smoke point of an oil, the better it is for frying and deep-frying. Above this temperature, the oil burns, producing dangerous and sometimes carcinogenic byproducts such as the toxic acrolein.
If olive oil is absolutely essential, only hot-pressed, chemically extracted, refined olive oil would be suitable for searing. This is heat-resistant at temperatures up to 220°C. However, during hot pressing, a large portion of the oil’s aroma and health-promoting properties are lost.
However, in a recent study (June 2018), Australian researchers compared the effects of heating on “extra virgin olive oil” with a number of other common cooking oils and refined olive oil. They found that extra virgin olive oil is the safest and most stable choice, even at high temperatures.
The smoke point in the study of extra virgin olive oil was around 207°C, practically the same as refined olive oil (208°C). The reason why extra virgin olive oil is the best fat for hot cooking is again the polyphenols it contains. They are not only healthy for humans but also protect the oil from aggressive fatty radicals.
In countries around the Mediterranean, however, extra virgin olive oil is also used for cooking and frying. Extra virgin olive oil is relatively heat-resistant. This is due to its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, which are significantly more stable than polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Olive oil consists of only 10% polyunsaturated fatty acids. This results in good stability even at high temperatures.
It also contains many plant-based antioxidants that reduce heat stress. These protective substances – as the name suggests – also counteract the oxidation of the oil and thus increase its heat stability.
Extra virgin olive oil releases fewer pollutants when frying and deep-frying than the sunflower oil used for comparison. Interestingly, extra virgin olive oil is unstable in the microwave: for reasons still unknown, all of its valuable ingredients are quickly lost.
Every oil is subject to decomposition due to the effects of oxygen, light, and heat. The high temperatures during frying accelerate this oxidation process. The term “cold-pressed” is outdated. Olive oil may be too expensive to heat, but it’s never too precious. The higher quality a product is, the more antioxidants and fewer free fatty acids it contains.
The myth that olive oil becomes toxic as soon as it starts to “smoke” is false. Australian researchers conclusively clarified this in 2018. They examined variousThey tested several vegetable oils. These included cold-pressed olive oil (extra virgin), refined olive oil, and virgin olive oil. The study found no toxic substances.
Extra virgin olive oil is the most stable oil when heated. Their study shows that after six hours of heating at 180 degrees Celsius, olive oil still contains the most unsaturated fatty acids. These are considered very healthy. Very little of the unhealthy and potentially carcinogenic trans fats is produced in olive oil.
In contrast to rapeseed oil, the researchers recorded a 25 times lower proportion of trans fats after heating.
So why do many top chefs advise against frying with olive oil? On the one hand, this is because virgin olive oil contains many valuable ingredients that are considered beneficial to health, such as antioxidants like polyphenols. These are destroyed at high temperatures.
On the other hand, the high temperature also alters the unique flavor of the expensive olive oil. Therefore, the veal escalopes in olive oil are certainly a bit of a waste, but not toxic.
The better the olive oil, the more suitable it is for heating.
Heating virgin olive oil? Yes! It is suitable for all gentle cooking methods such as steaming and pan-frying, as well as for gentle roasting and baking in the oven at moderately high temperatures. Here, the typical aroma of each variety can develop.
Important Note: aceitedelcampo.com promotes the consumption of extra virgin olive oil for its culinary qualities and health benefits. However, no medication or current treatment should be replaced without the guidance of a healthcare professional.
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